Lead exclusivity

Lead exclusivity refers to whether or not a lead is sold to one advertiser or multiple advertisers. The exclusivity or not of a lead will impact upon lead quality and will affect the value of the lead and how an advertiser should process the lead.

Lead exclusivity is often dependent on whether or not the lead was generated for a specific brand or advertiser, or alternatively, a generic product or service where a consumer is likely to be price shopping or comparing similar products.

If the lead is advertiser specific then generally it should only be sold once. If the consumer has responded to a generalised offer, lead exclusivity refers to how many times that lead is sold. It is generally accepted that the more times the lead is sold, the less value it has to an advertiser because they are potentially competing with several other advertisers.

However, advertisers should be aware that exclusivity can only be guaranteed on a per provider basis. What this means is that even if a lead is sold exclusively from lead provider A, there is nothing to stop the consumer from filling in a form controlled by lead provider B and that lead being sold to the same advertiser. Lead suppliers should consider duplication rates before undertaking any lead generation campaign with multiple suppliers.

In the UK, the current status quo is for all leads to be sold exclusively – i.e. sold once.

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