Leads vs Qualified Leads (Yes, there is a difference)

Leads, impressions, clicks, views…. Everything matters, right?  If everything matters, then nothing matters. Your business grows when you have added new clients.  It doesn’t grow if your website gets more views or impressions or leads. We call that Vanity Metrics! They are feel good numbers that shows “progress” but doesn’t impact your bottom line. It is the lead that converts to a paying client/customer that matters. 

First, what is a lead in digital marketing?   A lead is when someone takes an action toward the idea of being a customer! They haven’t committed yet, but do have enough interest to call or fill out a form.  A simple example would be an urgent care. You are sick and need medical help. You do a search and come across ABC Urgent Care.  They are nearby and offer the services you need. You take an action and call their office. You are now that lead! You are a client if you set the appointment and pay for the service.  Yes, there was a click, impression, and view of the urgent care website but none of it matters until the action occurred. The higher the likelihood the lead will become a customer, the higher the quality.

If you are receiving 10 leads a day, but only 1 of those becomes a customer, then the quality of those leads is low at only 10% conversion.  It sounds simple, but our industry is notorious for saying all leads are high quality, and the client should be aware of that. Thankfully, our industry also benefits from being able to track everything and actually verify those type of leads.   Traditional marketing (radio, TV, billboards, and print) cannot track the leads being generated. The client must be able to evaluate their revenue and compare to historical data to see the impact. Although, some clients do not care about the leads, but rather the exposure or feel goodish of marketing.

So the next time your digital marketing team talks about number of website visits, impressions, and clicks, make sure you ask them about the tract leads. If they can’t produce the list of leads, then there is a problem with their process.   Finally, has your revenue growth outpaced your marketing dollars? If yes, you are winning! If no, time to re-evaluate and see what other options are out there.

Do you need help bringing leads into your business? We can help! Schedule 15-minute consultation call with us today!