Words: Jeff Schaffer, COO of Phonexa
Lead acquisition is the foundation for driving growth for brands with affiliate programs, yet many overlook the complexity that underlies this process.
From defining a target audience to selecting the right channels and crafting enticing offers, the journey to lead acquisition is multifaceted and demands attention to detail at every step.
But despite the intricacies involved in lead acquisition, many lead buyers still depend on CRMs to manage their leads, often alongside other sales and marketing tasks.
I see the disconnects industrywide every day from my seat at performance marketing software company Phonexa.
Research from Salesforce’s State of the Connected Customer Report reveals that 31% of marketers struggle to share a unified view of customer data across different departments.
This reliance on CRM systems presents its own set of pain points when managing newly acquired leads, like:
- Limited visibility into lead sources
- Difficulty bidding on or rejecting leads
- Vulnerability to fraudulent leads
- Data fragmentation and inconsistencies
To overcome these challenges, it’s important to uncover why CRMs are ineffective for managing leads.
Once the limitations of traditional CRM systems are understood, you can explore how integrating specialised tools can streamline lead acquisition and management processes, ultimately enhancing your affiliate program’s performance and maximising ROI.
The Pitfalls of CRM Dependence
Relying solely on a CRM system for lead management can pose significant challenges, particularly when it comes to tracking, attribution, and managing top-of-the-funnel leads generated through affiliate partnerships.
Without proper verification, validation, and qualification processes, pushing leads into a CRM can result in inefficiencies, decreased lead quality, misused resources, and missed growth opportunities.
Consider the following scenarios…
Verification & Validation
Skipping lead verification and validation can lead to inaccurate or invalid data, hampering conversion rates and wasting resources.
Qualification
Inadequate lead qualification floods your CRM with low-quality leads, making it harder to prioritise and convert high-potential prospects.
Incomplete Visibility
Limited visibility into inbound traffic and lead sources impedes optimisation efforts and effective resource allocation.
Competitive Bidding
The inability to bid competitively on leads results in accepting low-quality leads at higher costs, which impacts profitability.
Lead Rejection Capability
Lack of lead rejection capability risks buyers wasting money on unqualified leads.
Fraud Mitigation
The absence of robust fraud detection makes you vulnerable to fraudulent leads that skew metrics and drain resources.
Data Consolidation
Fragmented data silos hinder effective performance tracking and lead management.
Advanced Features Missing From Your CRM
The following are just some of the essential features traditional CRM systems lack:
- Real-Time Lead Distribution: Traditional CRM systems often lag in distributing leads promptly, which is especially crucial for high-volume channels like affiliate traffic or purchased leads.
- Dynamic Call Routing: Conventional CRMs don’t feature dynamic call routing capabilities to route incoming calls based on caller location, time of day, IVR selections, or agent availability.
- Lead Validation & Filtering: Traditional CRMs may lack advanced tools for lead validation and filtering, leaving you vulnerable to low-quality or invalid leads.
- Multi-Channel Integration: Basic integrations offered by many CRMs might not suffice for comprehensive multi-channel integrations.
- Performance Analytics & Reporting: While traditional CRMs provide basic reporting and analytics, they often lack specialised tools for tracking lead generation and call routing performance.
- Compliance & Security: Traditional CRMs may not provide the level of compliance and security needed for lead generation and call routing activities.
Enhancing Your Lead Management Arsenal & The Path Forward
Implementing a dedicated lead tracking and distribution system is paramount to address these shortcomings, and to streamline the lead acquisition process.
Solutions like Phonexa offer comprehensive products and tools to overcome the limitations of traditional CRM systems, empowering you to efficiently manage affiliate traffic, buy leads, and handle calls.
Understanding the hurdles lead buyers face is pivotal in navigating the complexities of lead acquisition. By complementing your CRM with specialised lead tracking and distribution tools, you can effectively tackle common challenges and seize lead generation opportunities.
Phonexa recently produced a comprehensive guide that further expands on what I covered and explains how you can fortify your CRM to streamline lead management.
If you’re considering maximising your affiliate program’s performance and ROI, I highly recommend you download the free e-book:
Lead Management Masterclass: Reinventing Your CRM for Success
To unlock the power of Phonexa’s automated performance marketing solutions, schedule a personalised demo, email [email protected], call (818) 800-0000, or click here to take a self-guided interactive tour.
Jeff Schaffer Professional Bio
Jeff Schaffer is the Chief Operating Officer of Phonexa. Schaffer drives new initiatives and expands brand awareness for the all-in-one marketing automation solution for calls, leads, clicks, email, SMS, accounting, and more. Schaffer is a seasoned business professional and executive with over 22 years of experience in business management, sales development, and digital marketing transformation. His diverse experience has landed him in leadership roles across top firms in financial services, insurance, e-commerce, and performance marketing. Connect with Jeff on LinkedIn.
Phonexa is an enterprise-grade tracking software for performance and partner marketing. The Phonexa Suite is the underlying tech that carries through the consumer lead and call lifecycle, helping performance marketing teams drive ROI for brands across affiliate, partner, and paid channels. Phonexa prioritises outcomes-based marketing across customer interactions like clicks, calls, form submissions, website behaviour, and more. Through its single operating solution, the Phonexa Suite gives D2C publishers, networks, agencies, and brands unprecedented access and control to campaigns, eliminates lack of transparency across lead generation, and automates processes. The Phonexa Suite allows clients to optimise frictionless customer acquisition efforts and analyse the sources that drive qualified pipeline. Phonexa’s global headquarters are based in Los Angeles with additional offices in the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and Canada. The company employs a staff of over 200. For more information, visit www.Phonexa.com.
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