Generating leads in a tough economy

No one needs to be reminded that these are tough times in which we're all trying to market and generate new leads for our products and services. But even though things may be difficult right now - it doesn't mean they have to be impossible. In fact, now may be the perfect time to make specific changes and improvements to the way your company goes about generating new leads. Making these changes now will enable you to be more efficient and effective with your lead generation not only today, but also well into the future.

Focus on Your Value

"Many companies, in an attempt to appeal to a large audience - thinking that doing so will increase revenue and profits - dilute their marketing message. Selecting a narrower target market allows a company to focus marketing communications on specific customer needs. As a result, prospective customers have more confidence that the company understands their needs; that confidence, in turn, leads to a closer relationship - and increased loyalty." reports ClickZ's (www.clickz.com) Cliff Allen, co-author of One-to-One Web Marketing.

Now is not the time to be everything to everybody. Trying to provide too many solutions to too many different types of companies is usually a recipe for failure. This not only creates confusion for your prospects but also limits your ability to clearly demonstrate true value to any one market segment. So instead of looking for new business in broad segments, concentrate your efforts in specific areas where you have had the most success in solving business problems and where you can most easily demonstrate your value. Demonstrating your value proposition is particularly important in an economic slow down.

Kevin Roberts, writing for Advertising Age Magazine says, "Consumers don't stop buying when economies go through down cycles. They look harder for value."

So your first step should be to make sure everyone in your organization understands your unique value proposition. Then make sure your prospects are aware of and clearly understand your unique value proposition. Use testimonials or case studies to illustrate the value you have provided for customers just like them. Don't make these testimonials hard to find - publish them on your web site and provide them at every opportunity.

In today's economy, this is a sure-fire way to separate yourself from the competition. By clearly stating your unique value proposition and backing up your claims with customer testimonials, you'll give new prospects the confidence they need to engage with you.

Integrated Marketing

According to many marketing experts, integrated marketing may be the two most important words for companies looking to increase their lead generation results in 2002. Long gone are the days when a simple direct mail or telemarketing activity would generate enough leads to qualify as a successful campaign. Traditional "one-time" activities that worked just few short years ago, seldom work in today's economy. Fueled by an increasing need for marketing activities to be both measurable and accountable, marketing teams must re-focus their efforts to support their Sales staff with qualified leads, cut costs and more directly contribute to generating revenue.

Delivering results and providing a high ROI are key drivers that are forcing marketing teams to re-think they way they approach and apply their marketing strategies and lead generation tactics. For most companies, integrated marketing will become not only the solution - it will be the standard for success.

Don't Eliminate Your Marketing

When times get tough, marketing expenditures are usually the first to go. Many executives try to justify cutting marketing and lead generation activities as "too expensive". But in reality - marketing is only expensive when it doesn't work.

When you reduce your marketing activities you're making it easier for the competition and ultimately harder on yourself. Contrary to what many people think, companies still buy products and services during uncertain economic times. They may take a little longer to make their final decision but they do eventually make a decision. The key to closing these sales is obviously being there when they're ready to make that decision.

Instead of reducing your marketing efforts look to re-distribute how and where you spend your marketing dollars. Focus on integrating multiple mediums (direct mail, e-mail, etc) that allow you to maintain a "top-of-mind" presence with prospects. It is possible to build brand awareness and develop new leads at the same time. You can do this by focusing the majority of your marketing plans towards direct marketing activities that are results-oriented. As you build your marketing plans, make sure your internal prospect database is current with the right classification rankings so you can prioritize your activities to focus on the prospects that will produce the highest ROI for your marketing dollars.

In talking about what companies must do this year and where they will be spending their marketing dollars - Ellis Booker, writing for BtoB Magazine, states, "The smartest companies will make two resolutions this year. First, they will spend on projects with definitive, expected results, building ROI measurement mechanisms from the start, not as an afterthought. Second, they will continue to fund technologies and marketing initiatives that promise a desirable ROI."

Plan Your Process Now - While You Still Have Time.

When we're busy and business is good, we often make the mistake of taking our success for granted. We may, in fact, not even be totally sure why we're successful. We tend to get too comfortable, maybe even a little careless - especially when it comes to keeping our business processes current and competitive. Then, when business slows or the economy takes a downturn - we're often left wondering what went wrong and what we can do to "fix it".

One key business process that can eliminate confusion and uncertainty when it comes to lead generation is a closed loop lead generation process. A closed loop lead generation system is process by which every marketing activity is tightly integrated to produce a consistent message to prospects, targeted results and ultimately more qualified leads. And in addition to the combination of all marketing functions, this process essentially "closes" the loop by integrating the sales process as well. Not only does this eliminate any gaps between sales and marketing it also ensures consistent communication with prospects at all points throughout the lead generation and sales processes

It was not that long ago, many people thought only large companies could implement such a process and benefit from the synergy created by closed loop systems. However today, companies of all sizes are not only realizing the benefits of such a system - they're quickly realizing a closed loop system is a required process to stay competitive in today's market.