The Internet Advertising Bureau’s first online lead generation snapshot survey has revealed a lack of understanding among marketers about the definition of lead generation and how to deploy it, despite more budgets being allocated in 2012.
The sector grew by 20% in the first half of 2011 and the study indicates that lead generation is growing more quickly than the industry's understanding of the discipline.
While there is clearly an appetite and the majority of respondents understand how it can increase a customer base, more than half (52%) of the marketers polled believe they are not using it in the most effective way.
The disparities stretch from defining what lead generation is and what budgets to apportion, to demystifying jargon and understanding what makes an effective lead generation campaign. Almost half equally described it as ‘database building’ (49%) or ‘customer generation’ (48%). Despite an apparent lack of clarity, a third of respondents allocated more than £100,000 to lead generation in 2011, while 40% claim they will increase their budget in 2012.
