Comment: Extend the reach of your B2C marketing campaign with Online Lead Generation

Add to this mix the latest and fastest growing form of web-based direct marketing, Online Lead Generation - a market which is set to double in size over the next two years. More and more retailers - including top multi-channel UK retailer, Next - are using this new and exciting form of online marketing to harness targeted and timely customer information, and rapidly convert it into new sales opportunities.

Businesses need direct marketing. Every organisation has to be in contact with customers, with a view to generating new sales. Direct marketing is targeted, easily measured and can often generate rapid results. Some forms of direct marketing, such as postal and telephone campaigns have been around for many years but they do have their limitations - most notably the preference services that automatically opt consumers out of uninvited contact.

The steady increase in broadband subscriptions means there are now more consumers on the Internet than ever before and online retailers are succeeding in taking business off the high street. In July 2007, online sales were 80 per cent higher than the same month the previous year - by December 2007 online sales had hit £15.2bn, up from £9.61bn in 2006. Christmas 2007 saw overall online sales increase by an extra 50 per cent in comparison to the rest of the year - with some stores reporting that their online sales doubled over the Christmas period. In contrast, highstreet stores last year reported their worst December sales figures for 13 years - with like-for-like sales increasing just 0.3 per cent over 2006. This means that the web is now, more than ever, an ideal place to gather marketing data and capture leads.

Many retailers are harnessing the power of the Internet within their B2C direct marketing campaigns. The Internet has established itself as an effective marketing tool, and that is reflected by the fact that 71 per cent of businesses have established multi-channel sales and marketing operations - using multiple forms of advertising and contact media. Of these multi-channel businesses, 74 per cent gather online leads with the intent of converting them offline (E-consultancy.com, Online Lead Generation Report, 2007).

Search Engine Optimisation is a popular Internet marketing tool with over 70 per cent of organisations using Natural Search or Paid Search techniques. Affiliate marketing is also a key online tactic for retailers as it enables them to market themselves through complementary sites in order to generate new sales - referring clicks, leads, or sales to the merchant - Amazon is a great example here. The use of Online Lead Generation will double over the next two years

The newest and undoubtedly the fastest growing form of B2C direct marketing over the web is Online Lead Generation. The Online Lead Generation industry is expected to double in size between 2007 and 2009, and it is proving successful as it enables retailers to use the Internet to contact consumers who express an interest in their product. It also enables them to set up and launch campaigns that quickly capture and qualify leads, so retailers achieve higher conversion rates compared to most other direct marketing activities. Advertisers can specify exactly what leads they wish to receive - for example they may only be looking for customers that are women living within the M25 and earning over £30,000 a year.

Online Lead Generation uses a Lead and Data Network containing thousands of website publishers to host a consistent campaign, reaching further across the Internet. They will generate the leads and then pass them back through the host's central system for cleansing, verification and forwarding to the client.

Instead of a database sitting at the back of a company's own website, collecting the data submitted by visitors, Online Lead Generation proactively drives traffic to the site to automatically capture consumer details, qualify them and send them through for sales agents to convert. This approach also sends leads directly to a client's CRM system or contact centre where agents are ready to follow up with the customer within minutes of information submission. The lead is very hot when it is contacted, which enables retailers to increase their conversion rates, and subsequently the value of Online Lead Generation within the overall marketing budget.

Online Lead Generation offers a one-stop-shop for the gathering and management of large volumes of high quality B2C sales leads. The unparalleled speed of start-up and delivery means that Online Lead Generation campaigns can be switched on or off very quickly, in line with its success or a company's marketing budgets.

Campaigns reach a far wider audience without adding extra management or quality processes for the end customer. Because each lead is put through an unincentivised opt-in process, it is qualified for relevance and then automatic verification ensures the information meets pre-set data quality guidelines.

Simon Wajcenberg, CEO, Clash-Media