It’s a brave new world out there in terms of lead
generation—and that’s due to consumers who are
more engaged and informed than ever before. Relevancy is the watchword, because today’s consumer
has no time to waste.
According to Yuchun Lee, VP and general manager
of IBM’s Enterprise Marketing Management Group,
lead generation currently has little to do with the old
“blast, spray, and pray” method of marketing. Now,
if an offer isn’t pertinent, it’s an “unwanted intrusion.”
For Brent Wheeler, SVP of customer acquisition
services at Response Mine Interactive, generating
Web traffic is only the start when it comes to creating
and managing an effective online lead gen program.
Hey CMO, want to generate strong leads?
Well, then you have to be relevant
In the bygone era of lead generation, marketers would blast messages and promotional offers into the universe
and then wait to see which messages would actually stick. Chief
marketing officers (CMOs)
would then apply some type
of mathematical equation to
determine which leads were best
and translate those leads into
opportunities. With approaches
like this, is it really any surprise
that when it comes to response
rates, these antiquated methods
are losing steam?
In this new world of empowered and engaged consumers,
a lead is only a lead if you have
connected what is relevant to
the customer. To that end, here
are five key tips for generating
relevant and real leads:
1Forget the traditional methods. The blast, spray,
and pray method of marketing is
over. Customers are more intelligent and savvier than ever, and
have found ways to quickly filter
out irrelevant messages. The
only objective that matters now
is being relevant and speaking
to customers how, when, and
where they want to be spoken to.
2Deliver relevancy by provi- ding a system of engagement. Systems of engagement
ensure positive customer experiences across all touchpoints by
delivering content and communications relevant to each
individual recipient. Through
this personalization, marketers
can go beyond the advertising
channels and deliver promotions
that provide real value to the
consumer. When done correctly,
CMOs and their teams can
gain trust with their customers,
which in turn drives loyalty and,
of course, business success.
3Focus on successful imple- mentation. Organizations
don’t just need to handle the distribution of millions of personalized messages and offers—they
must also be nimble on the back
end in terms of fulfillment. This
requires the creation of an agile
culture that relies on a handful
of trusted partners, as opposed
to dozens of various vendors.
Then, marketers should make
sure they bring partners into an
integrated system instead of a
box of unconnected tools. This
requires the breaking down of
silos and finding ways for IT
“The blast,
spray, and pray
method of
marketing
is over.”
Yuchun Lee
VP and general manager,
IBM Enterprise Marketing
Management Group
and marketing to work together
to generate better results. It’s a
CMO’s job to create synergy
or a partnership with the chief
information officer. By working
in tandem, these two C-suite
powerhouses can streamline lead
generation processes.
4Embrace a culture of tak- ing risks. Marketers must
be fluid enough to iterate and
improve, because at the end of
the day the ability to be quick
and adaptable is what will drive
success. This means marketers must strive for agility over
certainty. The fact is, you won’t
generate the right leads if you’re
not willing to take the right risks.
5Treat marketing as a service. We all know what
bad marketing feels like and so
do consumers. CMOs need to
treat their marketing less like an
activity or a promotional effort
and more like a service that
brings value to the customer.
If marketers can speak directly
to an audience, their marketing
will morph from an unwanted
intrusion to something far
greater that brings value to each
individual consumer. n
