How to Beat the Silent Killer of Lead Generation Initiatives
You’ve invested the time. The campaign is well thought-out. It’s strategically sound. It looks great. And what do you know? It works! Leads are rolling in. As you should, you’re feeling great… until you discover that sales have barely budged.
“How could this be?” you ask. Alas, you have fallen prey to the silent killer. And even worse… as great as it is, your campaign may actually be doing your business more harm than good.
What am I talking about? The vital link between marketing and sales and the logistics that govern the transfer of consumer interest from the campaign to the sales organization. These mundane details kill marketing campaigns, harm brands, and burn marketing dollars when they go unaddressed.
The worst part is that these details are commonly overlooked because everyone makes the logical assumption that leads will not be squandered.
It may be the strangest phenomenon that I have encountered as a marketer, but leads are OFTEN squandered if not totally ignored.
It’s especially strange because no one has an incentive to waste leads. Marketing is jazzed about producing leads, and salespeople love good leads because they lead to commissions.
In recent months, I’ve been working on a new Web presence for a company that sells insurance to consumers. Their particular claim to fame is that they will shop more than 40 insurance companies to find the right policy (best terms for the best price) for you.
Historically, all of their sales have been made through a network of branch offices where consumers are served mostly face-to-face. It’s a great service that delivers on its promises, and not surprisingly, people like it. Until recently, however, the company has failed to harness the Web at all.
I was engaged to tap the potential of the Web, and in short, the site has proven to be a success in the two months since we launched it – exceeding even my own expectations.
The primary goal of the site is to generate quote requests through an online form that requires real trust and effort on the part of the user (SSN, driver’s license number, VIN, approval for a credit check, etc.). This information is used by the company to shop some 40 different companies and produce the best policy recommendation for the customer, but it does not happen instantaneously. Consumers must be followed up with in order to get their quotes.
To my surprise, to date, 13% of site visits have resulted in a completed quote request (a qualified lead). Slam dunk. High fives all around. Chalk up another success story. Right? WRONG!
The company’s close rate on a phone lead is 65-85% depending on who takes the call. The close rate on these Web leads to date is 6%.
Why?
While I can’t say with complete certainty, I am almost positive I know what the problem is. We’re witnessing a classic example of logistics killing an otherwise effective marketing initiative.
Where the program is derailing is in the transfer the Web leads to a person who will pursue each lead to closure – QUICKLY. No one in the company owns these leads.
In residential real estate, if a Realtor waits 30 minutes to respond to a Web lead, there is a 25% chance that the lead has already found another Realtor. AFTER ONLY 30 MINUTES!
The bottom line when it comes to converting consumer Web leads is pretty simple. People demand a darn near immediate response. And if you aren’t willing to respond immediately, someone else probably will. There is no shortage of places to look for insurance quotes or Realtors, and those who are equipped to rapidly respond to their Web leads are killing those who aren’t.
In the case of my insurance client, the resolution will start with assigning ownership and rewarding the behavior we desire (fast response times leading to high close rates). Many of their leads are coming in after business hours. So, someone needs to get a BlackBerry and be “on call” in the evenings.
I don’t think the on-call duty is as daunting as it may sound at first. I actually don’t believe that the consumer has to have a quote within minutes in order to be closed. What they do need is:
- A blistering fast, personal reply by phone letting the prospect know that their request has been received by a real person;
- An assurance that they have made the right decision to work with this company to find the best policy; and
- An explanation of what will happen next, when, and by whom within the company.
I honestly think that if this happens consistently and if the company lives up to its commitments regarding follow up, the close rates on Web leads will jump from 6% to 30%+. My first challenge is to sell the company on building its “rapid response team.”
As I said earlier, this is a strange phenomenon that I see over and over - good marketing derailed by simple logistical details and poor coordination with the sales organization. If I had to guess, I’d say that given the personalities of marketing people and sales people, there aren’t many among us who jump at the chance to own the logistical details that most lead generation initiatives demand. But as the saying goes, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. So it is in the coordination of efforts between sales and marketing.
I hate to write a post without offering some clear action items. So here is what I suggest.
- Never implement a marketing initiative without planning in advance for success. What happens when people respond? Who receives the lead? Who owns the next step in the process? And the step after that… until the sale is closed.
- If you are generating leads through the Web, NEVER underestimate the importance of response time. In many consumer markets, it is the ONLY variable that really matters when it comes to converting those leads.
- Build a “rapid response team.” Web leads are unique, and they require ownership and reaction times that are different from other leads. So what if you aren’t open 24-7? Isn’t that why God made BlackBerries?
- Reward the rapid response team. They are being asked to go above and beyond the call of duty in most cases. Make it worth their while.
- If yours is a more complex sale that takes time to process, keep the prospect informed at every step of the way. People love speed. And in the absence of immediate gratification, people need to feel IN CONTROL. Do you read the whole email when Amazon notifies you that your book is on its way to your house? No. But it’s darn nice to know that it shipped. Give them immediacy, and give them control, and they will give you their business.
