Cost of a Bad Lead

The Revenue Marketer’s Guide

Over the past few years, revenue marketers have been inundated with advice on the quality over quantity debate, particularly when it comes to lead generation. By now, you know that 100 good leads are better than 300 dead leads.

So why do expensive and time-intensive demand programs and campaigns still deliver bad leads that miss the mark? First, because revenue marketers are under pressure to hit KPIs and targets, often within tight time frames, so accepting marginal leads is a reality. Secondly, because a large majority of the leads are generated via a third-party at events, through paid media programs such as content syndication and social media. These inherently can be captured with out-of-date information, inaccurate contact data and/or non-compliant opt-in.

Unfortunately, many marketers and senior leaders are still unaware of the hidden costs and negative impact bad leads have on their business and revenue-generation efforts.

That’s why we pulled together this guide and the tools and insights to help you squash the marketing bad data problem. In this guide, we’ll explore:

• What is a good lead
• What makes a lead bad
• How to calculate the costs of a bad lead
• What are the hidden costs of bad leads