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As the first post in our Lead Generation 101 series, this post will give you an overview of the lead acquisition process and the roles involved. We dive into more detail about each role in the rest of the series.<\/span><\/p>\n In order to understand the lead acquisition process, we need to start with the definition of a lead. So, what is a lead?<\/span><\/p>\n A lead is a consumer who has expressed interest in buying a product or service.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At a high level, this means that the lead acquisition process is the act of converting the consumer\u2019s interest into lead data (name, address, email, etc.) which is then sold by a lead seller and bought by a lead buyer.<\/span><\/p>\n You may be asking yourself why companies need to buy leads. Don\u2019t they already get customers through their own marketing and advertising?<\/span><\/p>\n Yes and no.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While most companies do get leads from their own efforts, direct marketing can be expensive. By buying additional leads from other companies whose business it is to generate and sell leads, lead buyers can lower customer acquisition costs and increase their reach to more consumers, thereby increasing their own sales.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s hardly surprising that an entire industry has grown out of this need to acquire more leads. Known as lead acquisition, lead generation (lead gen), or lead buying and selling, this process is all about the lead data transactions between lead sellers, lead buyers, and consumers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While in real life there are multiple scenarios and multiple players, this article will simplify the process to better explain how the relationships between all of those parties work.<\/span><\/p>\n The three parties involved in a classic lead acquisition scenario are the lead buyer<\/a>, the consumer, and the publisher and\/or lead seller.<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s introduce those three parties as our cast of characters for this particular lead acquisition story and identify their needs:<\/span><\/p>\n Based on those individual needs, we can now see how the three roles interact to achieve their goals.<\/span><\/p>\n Tracey isn\u2019t getting enough new customers for her bank through their own efforts, so she contacts Marco to buy more leads from him. She is especially interested in leads who indicate an intent in the near future to apply for an auto loan, which her bank provides as a service. Tracey knows that consumers who sign up for loan accounts are more likely later to sign up for additional services, like checking and savings accounts.<\/span><\/p>\n Carley needs a new car but doesn\u2019t have enough money to buy one outright. That means she needs an auto loan to cover the purchase cost. She starts researching online for auto loans with the best interest rates, and she finds a site called <\/span>www.bestcarloans.com<\/span> that takes her contact information and forwards it to loan lenders.<\/span><\/p>\n Marco has recently published a website called <\/span>www.bestcarloans.com<\/span> that gathers consumers\u2019 information. Carley\u2019s information is included in the leads pulled from his site which means that when Marco sells these leads to Tracey, she receives Carley as a lead.<\/span><\/p>\n Tracey forwards the leads to her sales department, who call Carley to discuss the bank\u2019s auto loans. Carley applies and is accepted, and soon she\u2019s on her way to an auto dealership with her auto loan documents in hand.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Marco made money by selling a lead to Tracey, Tracey got a lead that increased her customer base, and Carley bought a new car.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Everyone wins!<\/span><\/p>\n Now, let\u2019s go back and replay that entire scenario, but with ActiveProspect inserted into the process.<\/span><\/p>\nAn Example Lead Acquisition Scenario<\/span><\/h2>\n
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Lead Acquisition with ActiveProspect<\/span><\/h2>\n