Exploding Myths: Part 2. Web Leads – Quality Vs. Quantity

As with the Part 1 of the “Exploding Myths” series, the issue of what defines a lead, particularly a lead from a blog, is an issue heating up big time in the RE.Net. This post at the Bloodhound Blog by Jeff Brown already has 70 comments regarding the issue.

Asking some technology vendors, (particularly those with little experience in providing web based tools to the real estate industry), how to define a lead is kind of like asking a fox to design the layout of a hen house. As we saw in the previous post regarding the definition of web traffic, the same manipulation can be applied to web leads.

Real estate practioners probably have a hard time themselves deciding on the exact definition. It’s too subjective to come up with a consensus. You can rest assured that the end result probably doesn’t vary too much when they discuss it. My guess? It probably sounds something like “customer contact that has an opportunity to result in a transaction at some point in the foreseeable future.”

For a few years now a debate has been brewing over the wisdom, or lack thereof , in blocking access to certain key pieces of data in exchange for contact information from potential consumers. I call it “Daffy Duck Lead Generation“. Technology vendors that provide web site tools that place barriers to information in exchange for listing data often refer to this contact information as a “lead”.

I’d hate to be the sales manager that had to convince a sales force that a form response that looks like this is a “Lead”

Name: Daffy Duck
E-Mail: daffy@duck.com
Phone: 713-Pri-Vate

Now you know why I call them Daffy Duck leads. Every time I am faced with a gate-keeping form to access data, I either bail from the site, or enter what you see above. A good deal of traffic to just about any web site is nothing more than casual traffic. I think it’s a bit short sighted to not recognize the opportunity in providing a good experience to that category of consumer.

The amount of time it takes to weed out worthless data entry is the first problem with this approach. The second problem is determining the quality of what sifts to the bottom. Adding these leads to a drip campaign without qualifying them first is something that happens time and again with some technology platforms. You could be ticking off a long term prospect once a month and not even know it!

I am not discounting the fact that this approach may be working in some fashion for some people, but it seems to me that it’s a lot of unnecessary work. Work that puts you on a hamster wheel to continually generate results. I’m a firm believer that if you take the time to craft your message and brand up front, the longer term results will be more beneficial.

The horse has already left the gate when it comes to widespread access to data. Consumers rarely will see the value in giving up contact information for data that is readily available in other venues. I personally think a better approach is to provide as much as possible to all comers and concentrate on keeping your brand, your listings and your unique community knowledge in front of as many faces as possible. Touch prospects as many times as possible no matter where they are in the buying or selling cycle. Blogging is a great way to achieve success in this type of marketing endeavor. The number of leads or contacts you make may be considerably lower, but the quality of the prospects will be golden in comparison. Over time, as has been proven by some early adopting bloggers, the number of prospects will grow. The whole concept of “subscribing” to a blog offers you the ability to establish a relationship with someone who may not become a prospect for some time to come. Do your blogging job right and that pipeline will start to fill up.

If you buy into the real estate tech “carnival barker” approach that blogging is all about search engine optimization and using gooofy gimmicks to create traffic, not only will you end up busting your butt on the effort, you’ll be continually chasing it too.

Consumers visit real estate web sites for 2 primary reasons:

1. To see listed homes with as much detail as possible.
2. To find out what their own home is worth.

Consumers read and subscribe to blogs to stay abreast of the issues of home ownership and the impact it has on their lives and finances. They will engage in community and conversation when an issue that is important to them arises. I think blogging provides an opportunity for a consumer to make a decision regarding the professional they use in a transaction. I think the life cycle of most blog leads is something that is incubated over a long period of time. In some instances a prospect may just be in the right place at the right time and love the voice you blog in.

So, what do you think?
Am I all wet about the Daffy Duck lead generation concept?
How do you define a web lead?
Is a blog lead different?