Marketers who find new customer leads on the Internet should follow up with those people immediately, and by telephone, according to a report scheduled to be released today by KnowledgeStorm. The
report, "KnowledgeNote: The Fine Art of Lead Follow-Up," based on a 2004 telephone survey of about 1,100 online business and technology professionals, found that 88 percent of potential buyers felt
positively about being contacted when they were called the same day they signed up online for more information. The Artemis Group assisted KnowledgeStorm in analyzing the data. "Personal contact and
timeliness are the most important elements of an effective lead follow-up strategy," states the report. "The best practitioners of online marketing are those who meld Internet marketing and technology
tools with timely follow-up and tried-and-true, old-fashioned human contact." --Wendy Davis