• by Jere Doyle , February 22, 2007

Choosing an online lead generation provider can be a daunting task -- as you should not only evaluate the company's performance, but also if its methods and tactics are in line with your values as a reputable brand.

While the previous article, "5 Questions to Ask Your Online Lead Generation Provider" was very helpful, here are my "6 qualities to insist on before engaging your lead generation provider":

To ensure you get both lead quantity and quality, your online acquisition provider should meet all of the following criteria:

1. Abides by best practices throughout all aspects of your campaign and their own business. How and where are your offers appearing? Is your provider using responsible email practices with their own business? Does your provider bombard its own consumers with email after email, and are they working with other clients that do the same? If so, it will be hard to get your message through, and therefore the quality of your lead will suffer. Does your provider operate under a strict policy of "individual opt-in strategy," instead of a commonly used "opting in for third-party offers"?

2. Trusted by leading consumer brands in your industry. Will your brand be represented responsibly? Look at the other type of clients your lead generation provider is working with. Are they working with clients in a similar business?

3. Uses a multichannel approach, including targeted opt-in email, destination Web sites with relevant content, micro-sites, polls, media partners, and search to give your offer a broad reach. A mix of online channels exposes your offer to more consumers, ultimately leading to a greater quantity and quality of consumers who are interested in your brand and product.

4. Provides transparency on where your offer is running and tracks immediate performance based on the different channels. Remember, consumers will associate your brand with its placement. Comprehensive, real-time analysis capability is a must here.

5. Provides individual opt-in forms and an excellent consumer experience. Make sure your lead generation provider acquires your leads through clear, consumer consent -- clear creative on a separate, individual survey form for your offer is a must, followed up by an immediate confirmation of the sign-up. Make sure your offers are presented in a way that your customer understands exactly what they are signing up for -- and that you own 100% of the data.

6. Analyzes campaign results to measure performance, provide in-depth consumer intelligence, and optimize future campaigns and brand communications -- including continuous creative and offer testing, as well as measuring key data such as response rate, cost per lead, conversion rate, revenue by source, etc.