One of the great advantages of working in Membership Marketing is the opportunity to investigate marketing techniques I have never taken the time to fully understand. So, this confession:
I have avoided leads.
But, I do know this: leads equal potential members; potential members equal revenue, growth, and continued success for a membership organization.
Since my days in the for-profit world, I learned one thing: even in the world’s most sophisticated companies, most leads go unanswered. What I did not realize is how, with the introduction of internet leads, that single point of unacknowledged contact now represents previously-unparalleled levels of ignored potential.
Recently, from ResponseAudit, I uncovered these three simple facts about internet-generated leads:
Shocked? I am.
Let’s take a quick look at each of these. First, from the same resource, the best chance you have of contacting a lead is within the first five minutes! After 30 minutes, your chances are next to nil. So, it pays to plan for an immediate response to all leads.
Second, persistence in contacting leads will help you gain more members. Within the first five minutes, your chances of reaching leads are greatest, but only 38%. If you attempt the average 1.5 contacts, your chances of reaching those leads are still only 50%. If you make 6 attempts to contact your leads, the average chance of reaching them is 90%.
Finally, to the 55% of organizations that do not respond to leads at all, I offer MGI President Rick Whelan’s formula for successful marketing:
“90% of marketing effectiveness is just showing up!”
For more information on the promise and pitfalls of making leads profitable for membership and financial gain, please click here and access the webinar MGI Account Director Elisa Joseph Anders and I recently hosted, Wow, Look at All Those Leads! Now What? (October 13, 2015)
For any additional questions or information about the profitable potential of leads, please contact Harold Maurer at hmaurer@MarketingGeneral.com or tel. 703.706.0391.