The science of generating leads

Excerpts from BtoB Magazine, article by By Sean Callahan

Scott McCafferty and Mike Emich this month are launching a magazine called Design World. When calling on potential advertisers, the pair emphasize their Web site’s novel means for generating leads.

Designworldonline.com will offer CAD drawings for engineers to download into their product designs. The offering is intended to allow Design World to enter into engineers’ work flow; it also provides advertisers with strong leads.

“When an engineer downloads a model into his design, the manufacturer gets the name, address and phone number of the person who downloaded the product,” McCafferty said. “We’re giving the sales guys the exact tools they like to have.”

Design World’s approach underscores a new reality in b-to-b media and marketing—a publisher would be short-sighted to launch a product that didn’t at least promise to deliver high-quality leads. With a climate of marketing accountability that seems here to stay, the Internet’s speed in delivering leads and the depth of prospect information that can be gleaned online, leads are more important than ever.

Leads, of course, have always been important, a critical tool for measuring a publication’s performance. Who could forget the trade magazine bingo card?

But in the Internet age, the bingo card has become passe. “I’m sure a bunch of kids selling today, if you say ‘bingo card,’ they’ll look at you like, ‘What do you mean?’ ” said Bruce Morris, president of Source Media’s banking group.
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