Stimulating and capturing interest of a customer is paramount to lead generation. As chief marketers, Deborah Holland and Dany Sfeir know this well. Holland, EVP of Publishers Clearing House, and Sfeir, CMO of North America for mattress brand Dormeo Octaspring, weighed in with four strategies for new lead generation at the Direct Marketing Club of New York’s “New Lead Generation” seminar. They are:
The Call-to-Action
Holland: [Marketers] must have a call-to-action. People are basically people. They tend to do what you ask them. ‘Call now. Tweet now. Save now.’ It’s very effective. Just asking for it elicits a response and can generate leads.
Sfeir: Delivery of your message—and your call-to-action—is crafted by the channel. The mediums definitely matter; what you offer is key. Understand who your audience on each channel is, and each medium will determine how you communicate with your customer. In effect, it’ll optimize your ROI.
The Cost
Holland: Every company isn’t at the same stage. Remember that as you examine cost per lead. If you’re in a building scale mode, your team might want to set the target to break even—or even at investment. If you want to maintain and grow your leads, then you may want to focus on the ROI.
Sfeir: It’s great to have Facebook likes, and retweets on Twitter, comments on Pinterest. But, companies are in business to make money. So as marketers determine their plans, consider cost per lead. What’s the biggest reach, the cost of that lead, then ROI. Respond accordingly. Thinking outside the box is pretty key. Test different platforms and times. It makes a great difference.
A Multichannel Approach
Holland: Companies and marketers need to be where the audience is. Traditional marketers should be online and go digital. For example, since its founding in 1953, Publishers Clearing House has had a traditional approach through our direct mail marketing. But we’ve expanded to have prize-based games, search, and lotto websites. Most brands are online or digital because they are trying to appeal to a different audience.
Sfeir: It’s important to be exposed to various channels—traditional and digital. Most customers will respond to just one channel, so it’s crucial to have a diversified, multichannel approach to generate leads.
Attribution
Sfeir: We tend to attribute the sale to the first touchpoint. So, make sure to look at the original channel the customer came in contact with. They may come in contact with your company at many different stages before buying, so marketers should be able to track the original touchpoint.
Holland: Attach intelligence to the user. Track what touchpoints helped to support the customer and encouraged him or her to buy.
