Bad Internet Leads? Good Info!

What percentage of bad leads do you get from your website’s home search IDX? Bad phone number, bad email address or creative (and sometimes vulgar) name? The idea of how much money is wasted anytime someone registers with bad information is enough to make your hair gray prematurely… or just fall out. Let not your heart be troubled, good can still come from bad!

As stressful as a bad lead can be, some valuable information can come from the bad information. Did you know you can use a bad phone number to improve your email communication? There are times when you will receive a new home buyer lead where the name looks real, the email doesn’t bounce but the number is a fake (per the irritated person on the other end of the line when you try to call). Thanks to human nature, most people lack creativity. When they input a fake phone number, the first three digits are usually accurate. For example, if your phone number is 972-867-5309 (sorry for the 80′s reference), then most people will enter 972-555-1212 or something similar. The beautiful thing is that now you know if they are local or a possible relocation. This will help you determine which email marketing campaign to place them on. If you do not have different email campaigns for local or relo buyers then take a moment to read my article, “Drip Campaigns: Something For Everyone“. A campaign that speaks directly to the recipient’s needs will greatly increase your conversion rate.

What if the email address and phone number is bad? Well, unfortunately it’s a lead destined for the trash but if you are doing a good job in tracking the micro-conversions of your visitors, then this lead can still bring value. Insane I know! I grew up in Alaska and if I learned anything, it was to waste nothing… not even that nasty whale blubber. Who knew whale blubber could be worth so much?

So how does this relate to bad home buyer leads? To answer that, I first need to explain what I mean by micro-conversions. A micro-conversion is a single step a visitor takes on the way to becoming a client. To track “on site” micro-conversion you must have website analytic tracking set up (e.g., Google Analytics). Here are some examples of micro-conversions:

• Click-thru rate from your pay-per-click ad
• Visitor bounce rate
• Desired actions by visitor
• Visitor registration or form filled – Lead

So now that we are on the same page, let’s take a step back and think about the four micro-conversions listed above. What does this bad lead tell us? First, it tells us which source and ad successfully brought that lead to the site. Second, it gives us trackable website data to help identify which landing pages are working and which ones visitors fail to connect with. Third, depending on the phone number given and whether their IP address was recorded, it helps us identify what part of the country our ads are connecting with. This lead may have been compelled to give bogus info but that doesn’t mean the next visitor will. The fact is, your ad worked in getting a visitor through the pipeline and into your inbox. Count that as a partial success.

TIP: If you notice that you have a lot of leads originating from one part of the country, consider creating an ad geo-targeted specifically for that area with language speaking directly to them. You will notice your click-thru rate skyrocket for that ad. As a result, what you were paying $1.47 per click to be in the 5th position, you may find yourself spending $1.21 to be in the 1st position.

Do you have any ideas on how to turn a bad lead into useful information? Please share your thoughts.