BtoB Media Business - November 2007 - (Page 10) LEAD GENERATION Publishers can avoid downstream problems with their clients by clarifying what the word “lead” means to each client and for each program. “As publishers, we need to become more sophisticated,” Bimblick said. “It’s incumbent upon us to ask questions and find out what clients are looking for in a lead.” In many ways, lead-generation programs give b-to-b media companies an opportunity to shine, Bimblick added. “It’s a core capability of b-to-b media to take a large mass audience and filter it down to find our customers’ clients,” he said. content-creation capabilities and marketplace insight to differentiate themselves from the pack. “We’re definitely finding that the content has to be better than ever before to cut through the clutter,” Bimblick said. “Whether it’s a webinar, a white paper or a blog—it better be compelling.” “Content drives engagement,” DeBalko agreed. “This is even more important in lead generation than in advertising.” He said the more the content is targeted to a small, specialized niche, the more likely the prospect will trade personal information to receive it. “In our case, we have people who understand how to create great content and who also have deep knowledge of the vertical markets,” DeBalko said. A lead-generation program that incorporates multiple media to spin out qualified leads is costly to implement. So how are b-to-b publishers charging for these programs? For the time being, they have shied away from pay-for-performance programs such as cost-per-lead (CPL) and cost-per-action (CPA). But DeBalko, for one, expects to see the more sophisticated marketers moving in that direction. “I think it’s inevitable that this model will become more prevalent as lead generation matures,” he said. Among the media companies interviewed for this report, only one has been involved in this type of program—and it was a print, rather than online, advertising program. “We tested a new paradigm: performance payment,” Cygnus’ Gensch said. The client, a large financial institution, paid a fee for each lead that connected it to the elusive small-and-midsize business segment, he said. “We also offered a corporate buy across the breadth of our publications, which in itself is unusual,” he said. The CPA campaign came out of a partnership between Cygnus and ID Media, a direct response-services company. Leads, page 14 Moving content to the forefront As advertisers gravitate toward lead generation, an entire industry has emerged to provide lead services. Among those involved are vertical search engines, online directories, advertising agencies, consultancies and software companies. As a result, b-to-b media companies are relying more than ever on their How did we know he would drop $3,457 on a custom long board? We asked. We ask the questions that help you sell more advertising. Call us at (866) 977-7716 or visit www.litchfieldresearch.com to learn about our custom approach to research. A personalized business research company 10 | Media Business | November 2007 | mediabusinessonline.com http://www.litchfieldresearch.com http://www.litchfieldresearch.com http://mediabusinessonline.com
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