Lead Generation Campaign Best Practices

Digital Media Solutions

Lead generation campaigns can be incredibly beneficial for brands looking to boost customer acquisition and engagement. With U.S. spending on digital lead generation campaigns estimated at $2.6 billion in 2019 and projected to grow to $3.2 billion by 2023, it’s clear that more and more brands are launching and expanding lead generation campaigns. In order to create a successful lead generation campaign, there are key factors that must be taken into consideration prior to campaign launch.

The best practices highlighted below will help ensure your lead generation campaigns are set up for success.

MAKE SURE YOUR CRM FITS YOUR PURPOSES

A lead generation CRM (customer relationship management system) must be able to segment and isolate records by source. Segmenting by source is crucial, as high-volume lead generation campaigns typically include a variety of placements, sources and media traffic that can be identified with source identification codes (source IDs). Advertisers who can segment and track outcomes by source ID can understand how individual sources are performing, which allows for source-level optimization down the road.

MAKE SURE YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS IN PLACE

Email campaigns require an advanced email marketing platform solution: For marketers building out email subscriber lists, having the backend infrastructure for email address intake, email message distribution and tracking is essential for effective and compliant campaigns. Excel files and manual processes can supplement sophisticated email technology, but they should not be relied on for email campaign management.
Email campaigns must comply with CAN-SPAM rules: Subject lines, from lines and the address information that goes in the footer should be clear so as not to misrepresent the purpose or sender of the email in any way. Providing an option for email recipients to unsubscribe is also important, as is managing the opt-out list so email messages are not sent to the unsubscribed.
Successful call campaigns require professional call center agents: Whether an in-house call center or an outsourced call center is used, having trained and scripted call center agents is important to keep the message on point and headed toward conversion.
Call center technology makes outbound dialing more efficient: Having technology that helps call center agents handle both inbound and outbound calls with routing and queue prioritization is important to manage all communication. Systems that allow for streamlined call recording and auditing can also be beneficial for agent training and compliance management.
Unique scripts should be written for inbound and outbound campaigns: Inbound and outbound calls are different experiences, and scripting should be unique to the experience. Some teams even divide call center agents based on the call direction.
All outbound dialing campaigns must align with TCPA laws: To be legally allowed to communicate with consumers via outbound dialing, all leads generated for outbound call campaigns must include the proper consumer consent, including company name or dba.

DETERMINE CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES PRIOR TO LAUNCH

Effective performance marketers understand the importance of defining key performance indicators (KPIs) and baseline measurements before lead generation campaigns launch.

Common email campaign KPIs include: Open rate, click-through rate (CTR), action-based metric (like how many people convert on the landing page).
Common call campaign KPIs include: Contact rate, appointment rate, action-based metric (like how many people convert on the landing page) or sale.

Optimal KPIs should back into the desired cost per sale, so if the KPI is achieved, the cost per sale is in line with campaign objectives and a positive return on investment (ROI) is also achieved.

ESTABLISH A CONSISTENT AND ROBUST FEEDBACK LOOP

For lead generation partners to be able to effectively optimize campaigns, they need to receive performance data from the advertiser. Weekly excel files that show lead IDs, source IDs and dispositions provide the intelligence needed to optimize campaigns at the source level and establish lookalike campaigns to connect with more consumers who have the greatest propensity to take action.

LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW DIGITAL MEDIA SOLUTIONS^® CAN HELP YOU BUILD A SUCCESSFUL LEAD GENERATION CAMPAIGN AND SCALE CUSTOMER ACQUISITION: CONTACT THE DMS TEAM