Lead generation 'used to measure marketing success'

Nearly three-quarters of US companies use lead generation to measure the success of their marketing programmes.

This is according to new research from King Fish Media, which showed that 73 per cent of respondents take the number of leads they have generated as an indication of how their marketing departments are doing, eMarketer reports.

The number of customers acquired was the most popular metric, the survey found, with this being adopted by 77 per cent of businesses that took part.

Overall net increase in sales was cited as a factor by 67 per cent, followed by net sales from current customers (42 per cent) and a quantified increase in awareness (40 per cent).

And over two-thirds (67 per cent) observed that face-to-face events such as exhibitions and trade shows are an effective way of communicating with potential customers and generating leads, making this the fourth most popular method.

Many firms are also looking to create unique content in order to improve their marketing efforts, the conclusions also showed, with 74 per cent saying that doing so generates increased return on investment.

Industry expert Aaron Dun said at a event organised by Marketing Sherpa recently that businesses need to consider opportunity cost when deciding how much to spend on lead generation.