During the inaugural Lead Generation World (LGW) conference in January, Digital Media Solutions^® (DMS) COO Fernando Borghese and DMS CRO Joey Liner presented the importance of creating value with every engagement. During their session, they highlighted 10 lead generation predictions for 2020 and challenged the audience to identify their own predictions.

After a vote by industry peers, the following three lead generation predictions came out on top for 2020.

1. Clients Will Demand Higher Quality Leads.

Submitted by Google Engineering Lead Jagadish Arguwal, the demand for higher quality leads was the winning prediction. For years, advertisers and publishers have worked to find balance between lead quality and lead quantity. Too often, quantity wavers when quality climbs. In 2020, Arguwal and the industry predict advertiser demand for quality will grow, as advertisers seek to make better use of their marketing budgets and their teams’ time.

2. Customers Will Control The Way They Communicate With Brands, Not The Other Way Around.

Not long ago, brands were in control of their messages and their relationships with consumers. But according to Kelley Kern, Vice President of Marketing at Chatmantics, control has shifted. Many lead generation industry peers agree with this prediction. The online world, inclusive of review sites, social influencers and robust search capabilities, allows consumers to research options before ever approaching a brand. Likewise, call-based and email spam filters are giving consumers better control over their engagements. Brands staying current have recognized the need to connect with consumers how and when the consumers want interaction.

3. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Will Be Further Incorporated Into Streamlining Business Processes.

Verse.io Strategic Account Manager Ralph Gramajo predicts AI will help businesses become increasingly efficient in the year ahead. Powering the most popular search engines, AI has already made significant impacts on the lives of most consumers. But many within the lead generation industry believe we’ve only just begun to implement AI. By processing data quickly, artificial intelligence allows us to better understand everything around us. Businesses using AI to better understand how their products and services map to consumer needs and desires have the opportunity to become more efficient in 2020.

Change Is Coming To Lead Generation

As Borghese and Liner detailed from the LGW main stage, the rise of the internet has significantly altered consumer expectations and marketers’ ability to streamline and personalize engagement. Most of the lead generation industry predictions submitted by LGW conference attendees relate to new compliance regulations, increasingly sophisticated technology and shifting media channels. Thank you to everyone who submitted and voted for 2020 predictions. We look forward to see our industry progress in the year ahead.

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