Lead Confidential » Glossary

Co-opetition

Jay Weintraub — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:21:57 +0000

Co-opetition comes from the combination of cooperation and competition. In the world of online lead generation, it refers to the varying degrees that competing companies work together. An example comes from the world of auto insurance lead generation. As with most verticals, the emphasis is on coverage – how many buyers a company has. Many times, one company has more buyers than another or at least different buyers. In order to maximize the amount of money earned, one company will sell a lead to its competitor if they could not find the maximum number of buyers within their own buyer network. The practice helps those in areas where a per lead dollar value is low, but it draws concern within and outside of the industry as companies evaluate the best long-term option (one where users and buyers win).

Scrub

Jay Weintraub — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:20:55 +0000

Describes the percentage difference between a gross amount of data received and the net amount that is considered valid. The scrub is a term commonly used when a party generating traffic is negotiating with a party buying that traffic. As the party generating the traffic receives payment for performance only, it will often want to minimize its exposure to potential loss and negotiate a maximum scrub. The scrub applies not just to lead buys, but was a commonplace discussion when two properties worked together and had their own tracking systems. With the advent of Google, the discussion in certain areas became moot as the advertiser paid what was recorded without any room for discrepancies. There, regardless of what the advertiser tracked, they paid what Google counted, with any disagreements having to go through a lengthy and not guaranteed process of seeking a return due to fraud. With both clicks and actions, the ultimate goal of the advertiser is to pay only for valid traffic, while the publisher wants to make sure they can charge for their work.

Link-Out

Jay Weintraub — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:20:17 +0000

Used to describe a method for sending traffic from a third-party page, most commonly for non-standard arrangements. When a company advertisers via search or banners, it is common for that traffic source to send the user to the advertiser’s page. In these arrangements, there is an ad copy and a click through URL. The term Link-Out generally describes arrangements with sites that might want to collect the data themselves (see Hosted Landing Page), but one where the advertiser either is not set up or chooses not to accept direct posting on information. In those scenarios, when the site must send the user to the advertiser’s page for the conversion to take place, the term Link-Out is commonly used to describe that relationship.

Lead Validation/Verification

Jay Weintraub — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:19:35 +0000

The term used when checking the details/data of any given lead, most usually with regards to contactability. Prior to the concept of Lead Scoring coming into vogue, the main emphasis was on validation, i.e. verifying the lead data. Before the rise of internet-based lead generation, the main focus was on the validity of the postal address as most follow-up and advertising took place via postal mail. Companies receiving leads wanted to make sure they weren’t sending something to a non-existent address. The majority of online lead generation, on the other hand, relies not on the postal address but the phone number as that is where the follow-up takes place. As a result, the current focus is on mapping validity with intent. The classic assumption is that someone who entered valid data has a greater interest than someone who didn’t. Various services in the validation/verification space look to provide a rating or score of the validity of the data. This includes whether the address is a working address, whether the name entered matches the name of the resident at that address, if the phone number is working, what type of phone number, whether it matches the name entered, and so on. Perfectly matching data is not guarantee of intent, but it is a big start and essential especially for those selling leads and those buying leads who do not buy enough to use Lead Scoring.

Lead Scoring

Jay Weintraub — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:18:52 +0000

A process that grew out of the lead validation / verification industry where leads receive a score suggestive of their likelihood to close. Lead Scoring is highly analytical and one of the more rapidly advancing industries as buyers of leads realize that not all leads are created equal. If a person buys just a handful of leads, scoring is not that important, but once a person/company starts to deal with resource allocation issues, i.e., who should work what leads and which leads do we make priorities, lead scoring can play an invaluable role. It is not magical though and requires a lead buyer to have kept records on past lead performance, namely what leads worked and what didn’t so that those in lead scoring can create a custom framework for them moving forward. For certain companies, lead scoring is used internally and then buyers allowed to purchase leads based on score; this application works well for small to medium buyers who don’t have enough lead data to use lead scoring services on their own lead data.

Lead Management

Jay Weintraub — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:17:46 +0000

Describes systems that buyers use to maximize the leads they receive. In traditional sales organizations, software for managing prospects has long been employed and is a preferred way for employees and their managers to track progress. Lead Management is a similar concept involving specialized software to help lead buyers track their leads from purchase to close, with lead management systems integrating into other industry specific programs. Buyers who use some form of lead management system will close more business and find themselves spending more effectively, knowing which sources convert best.

Lead Delivery

Jay Weintraub — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:17:00 +0000

Refers to mechanisms and processes used to receive the leads. In the online lead generation business, generally a website collects the leads and then needs to send it to the buyer. The buyer’s level of sophistication will dictate how they wish to receive the lead. The major categories for transfer include real-time and batch. Real-time delivery means that once the lead is submitting the buyer receives it with no delay. Batch implies that the leads are collected and sent over in a bundle on some designated schedule. While real-time leads can include an email with the data, or in the very early days a fax, the majority of real-time leads are delivered via some method of posting, i.e., the data is sent in real time and entered into the buyers back-end.

Landing Page

Jay Weintraub — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:16:02 +0000

A term used to refer to the page that a user sees after clicking on an ad. A landing page is relative. If the ad takes the person to the company’s homepage, then the homepage is the landing page. More often than not, specific pages are designed to be the landing page. This is done to increase the likelihood of conversion. Let’s use a travel example. If the ad talks about great European vacations, it makes sense to send the person to a page that talks about European vacations rather than sending them to the generic home page. Or, sub-optimally, if you send them to the homepage, make sure there is a clear call out for the European vacations. The same holds true with commerce. If the promotion talks about holiday savings, take the user to that content to increase the conversion rate.

Incentive Marketing / Incentive Promotion

Jay Weintraub — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:15:17 +0000

Also referred to as incentivized marketing, this method of advertising offers users something in exchange for their participation, thus users have an incentive to take action. Incentives can span the gambit, and offline they generally take the form of buy one get one free or buy one get one half off. Online, the use of incentives, especially incentivized marketing generally refers to users who are undertaking a specific type of marketing promotion. Historically, incentivized mareketing referred to the “Free iPod” offers, where users saw an ad for a “free” gadget, gift card, etc., and in order to receive that item, they have to both endure a long funnel of ads as well as complete a certain number of specific offers. The greater the value the gadget the higher the hurdle for completion. Incentivized marketing has traditionally had a poor reputation as users will often complete offers for which they have no interest. They simply want their “prize.” Unsuspecting advertisers can find themselves placed in these funnels only to be overwhelmed by disinterested leads. New companies that use incentivized marketing are trying to show that certain forms can be effective, such as those operating in the Alternate Payment Platform sector.

Filters

Jay Weintraub — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:14:37 +0000

A term used to describe parameters that help refine a lead; using mortgage as an example, not every lead buyer wants or can service every lead. A buyer may want only leads in a certain region and those fitting other criteria such as Loan to Value. Those sets of criteria are filters. Each vertical has different filters, and the more established the vertical, the more fixed the filters. The term filter comes from the processing of sorting data, which means that the filters for lead generation must be based on the data collected. If a lead buyer doesn’t collect age, they cannot offer age as a filter (for example).