Re-engage old leads, advises expert

Companies wanting to boost their lead generation campaign should consider returning to prospects they had previously abandoned.

This is the view of industry expert Max Schroeder, who told TMCnet that this practice is an ideal way of acquiring new customers relatively easily.

Old leads, firms that could not find space in their budget and prospects that "went cold" are all avenues that businesses should explore, he observed, adding that some businesses may have changed the opinion of the product or service being offered since contact was last made.

"A proposed solution that did not have an acceptable ROI (return on investment) three years ago may look great today," Mr Schroeder was quoted as saying, noting that budgets, priorities and technology all evolve over time.

"Rather than limiting lead generation to the development of new leads, mine the ones you already own," he concluded.

His comments echo those of lead generation specialist Brian Carroll, who told attendees at Marketing Sherpa's recent Business-to-Business Marketing summit that re-engaging old prospects is a viable option.

Noting that around 80 per cent of leads are ignored, discarded or lost, he advised establishing a way of getting sales teams to return unsuccessful leads to the marketing department, where they can then be nurtured further.