When I hear clients make a statement like “we rely exclusively on pay-per-click to drive leads into the business”, I cringe. Don’t get me wrong – I am as big a proponent of using pay-per-click SEM for lead generation as anyone else, but it’s the word “exclusively” that frightens me. The most successful lead generation marketers I know follow some simple rules:
- They start with identifying the metrics that matter for any lead generation campaign – initial value of a new customer, lifetime value of a new customer, average lead-to-sale conversion rate, target cost per lead, target cost per new customer, etc.
- They set up the appropriate tracking mechanisms (web analytics, CRM, lead scoring tools, etc.) to ensure that their lead generation campaigns are measurable.
- They diversify their lead generation sources as much as possible.
- They test, test, and test again.
- Based on testing, they refine each campaign tied to each source of lead generation.
- They test, test, and test again.
- Based on testing, they narrow down what works and what doesn’t and adjust their lead generation “portfolio” to reflect that.
