Lead Generation and Missed Opportunities

by Erin Banister

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Your essential function in [tag]marketing[/tag] is communication. From the beginning of the sales cycle onward, you need to assure your target that you are the one that knows it all.

[tag]Philippe Borremans[/tag] of [tag]ConversationBlog[/tag] realizes this. He’s set up this great whitepaper on his blog ConversationBlog, which is a blog devoted to PR and media in Belgium, Europe, and beyond. So, his amazing whitepaper, The Business Case for RSS, is waiting for you to download. (And, I highly recommend you do - it’s quite good) But, that’s not our point here.

His pdf is just sitting there, alone on a page, waiting for someone to download. There’s no text describing the pdf. There’s no email capture, no barrier of any kind. I can just download and go on my merry way. And, there’s quite the possibility that as often as I may refer to this pdf, I’ll never care too much about the company that gave it, because they’re not following up with me.

And this is a huge problem with many of our whitepapers. While we think it’s great to educate and give away information freely, we openly miss the one oppotunity to get prospects in our funnel.

Just because it’s free doesn’t mean there are no strings attached. Have them opt-in to your list in order to get your paper. By them giving their permission for you to market them, you’re not only opening a channel to market, but you’re opening up a conversational channel - somewhere you can educate your new prospect… and hopefully turn them into a customer.

So where is your [tag]lead generation[/tag] lacking? Are you missing the point with some of your articles or white papers?

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  1. 3 Responses to “Lead Generation and Missed Opportunities”

  2. By John Scott on Mar 23, 2006 | Reply

    you need to assure your target that you are the one that knows it all.

    I so disagree with that. I don’t think knowing it all is anywhere near to being as important as assuring your market that you are sincerely concerned for their happiness as a customer. Consumers look for responsiveness, accessibility and credibility on the Internet more than credentials, IMO.

  3. By Lucas Wyrsch on Mar 23, 2006 | Reply

    I agree with John and think there is nobody who may know it all but everybody may collaborate on the big issues! The future services will allow multiple users to group, collaborate and share including blogging, bookmarking, tasks, to-do etc.

  4. By Erin Banister on Mar 30, 2006 | Reply

    Believeability, credibility, and likability, IMO, are so intertwined in business, that differentiating is like splitting hairs. That’s aside from the point, though, because in order to be responsive and accessible, you have to have a way to communicate - and in your communication, you have to know your markets needs and desires. Communication is a two-way street!

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