Misperceptions

False. Actually it’s really hard. Why? Because people don’t like to be leads. People don’t want to register and be followed up with by a salesperson. They want to learn about your product in their own way and if they are interested, they will contact you. We find that more than 50% of the people who are interested in reading your white paper will turn away when they realize that they have to register and agree to be followed up upon. This makes it hard for content producers to generate your leads.

True or False: People like it when your salespeople phone them up after reading your White Paper.

False. People hate being interrupted by a phone call from a salesperson — don't you? In surveys across SD Times, Systems Management News and Software Test & Performance magazines, fewer than 2% of the respondents wanted to be contacted by phone.* So instead of annoying your prospects with phone calls, consider following up with e-mail and perhaps an offer to subscribe to your company newsletter. In addition, requiring your Lead-Gen provider to collect phone numbers will drop your response by at least 30%. Those are people who want to learn about your company and solutions, but are turned away by the hard sell.

* Readex Studies: Nov 15, 2008, SD Times; July 2008, Software Test & Performance, July 15, 2008, Systems Management News. Question was: “How so you prefer to be marketed to by software tool companies?” Multiple choice listing.

True or False: All you need is White Paper Leads.

False. Most busy IT and software development managers don’t have time to educate themselves randomly. By the time they get to reading white papers they are pretty serious, at least about the technology, if not in making buying selections. But if all you do is lead-generation programs, you are missing many customers — customers that your competitors are selling.

Let’s say you have a white paper on virtualization… or static analysis. Frankly, most white-paper topics are well covered by your competitive set. Busy technical managers aren't going to read every vendor-written white paper on a topic. Instead, they’re generally going to read technical documents from companies they have heard of, and about products they are comfortable with. And that means companies that have increased their brand awareness among their target audience using brand preference-building media like print advertising along with their lead gen programs. You need a balanced meal, not just protein or dessert.

True or False: If you just generate 2,000 Leads per quarter, your job will be safe.

False. You are a marketer. Marketers market. An over-obsession with lead generation without integrating other forms of media would be like eating all your meals at McDonalds (oh, that’s been done). You may think you are being fed, but long-term your company’s business is going to suffer. Many people don’t want to become “a lead” and will go to great lengths to avoid becoming “actionable,” to you and your sales team.

Prospective customers want to learn about you the way they want, at their own speed in their own way. That means many good prospects will not be in your lead pool and you will not be reaching them. You need to make your product offering available to prospects in a balanced, integrated manner using targeted print, face-to-face exhibitions, banners, newsletter sponsorships and webinars along with the ubiquitous White Paper programs to reach your prospects and increase sales. When sales drop, so does marketing headcount.

True or False: Branding and awareness have little to do with Lead Generation.

False. Thinking of cutting our branding and awareness programs to spend it all on lead generation? Think again. Your marketing effort may survive the short term but it will underperform and be malnourished. Why? Because prospective buyers don’t know who you are, what you stand for, what you make, whether you are a solid company or a fly-by-night operator. So many prospect will skip it and wait until the information they need comes to them from a trusted supplier, a vendors that they know they can count on to be in the business for the long term.

Size doesn’t matter either! If no one has seen an ad from Compuware in the last 18 months you can bet Compuware is no longer on buyers' minds. (Oops, did we say Compuware?). Buyers want to know that you are committed, before they’ll commit their precious time to your white paper. Awareness and preference-building need to be used hand-in-hand with lead gen to reach your best prospects.

True or False: A Lead is a Lead is a Lead.

False. Sure. just like bingo-card names are great leads. Which would you prefer? A lead that knows who you are, has been following your company and seen your print ads, your banners and your presence at shows? Or some random tire-kicker with time on his hands to read white papers from strangers? Lot of unemployed people out there reading white papers to prep for job interviews…

By using targeted print advertising, face-to-face exhibitions, banners, newsletter sponsorships and webinars along with your white paper lead-gen program, you’ll reach better informed prospect who know why they are reading their white paper. Rather than curiosity seekers, they know exactly who you are and why they are reading: because they’re serious.

True or False: You customers and prospects like to read white papers.

True and false. Yes and no. Prospects get information from a variety of sources. Just as in real life different people prefer mysteries to romances to comedies, your prospects have a variety of ways they may want to be marketed to. For example, in an August 2008 survey of SD Times readers, 66% said they did NOT want to read vendor-written white papers. That means that by just doing white-paper lead generation you are missing are large number of potential buyers In fact, here is how this buying sample does want to be marketed to by you:

62% Print Advertising
44% Vendor White Papers
42% Trade Shows
32% Webinars
28% Analyst Reports
15% direct postal mail
0% phone call from salesperson

True or False: The content of your white paper isn’t that important. A data sheet will do, as long as you get those dang leads.

False. BZ Media has executed hundred of white paper lead generation programs for companies and the quality of the content makes a difference. Not only are these programs more difficult to fulfill, but a sloppily created white paper or a sales data sheet is a poor reflection on your company. Essentially it’s a bait-and-switch and your sales team is likely to be met with hostility after someone went to the trouble to register and was presented with specs and a price instead of the useful technical information they were promised. That's a lousy way to make a first impression with a hot prospective customer, isn't it?

Lead generation is a wonderful tool — but it is just one piece of an integrated marketing program. For more information on how BZ Media can help you achieve your marketing goals using print, lead generation, face-to-face, banner and e-newsletter marketing, please contact Ted Bahr at ted@bzmedia.com

This site's contents copyright © 2008-2009 by BZ Media LLC, · All rights reserved.
SD Times® is a registered trademark of BZ Media LLC. ·
I-Am-Not-A-Lead™ is a trademark of BZ Media LLC.
Legal and Privacy · Contact Us