How a one-sided focus on online leads is stifling marketing

Lead generation and nothing else?

Marketing used to be about skillfully implementing the AIDA rule. Those who activated their potential customers using marketing tools based on the four criteria of attention, interest, desire, and action could achieve a successful sale. However, in times of absolute focus on generating leads, the much broader marketing tools and goals are in danger of being neglected.

SEO, CPC & Co. create uniformity.

There are several reasons why goals such as increasing brand awareness or strengthening customer loyalty have fallen by the wayside. Among the main culprits are the internet giants, whose marketing interests prioritize paid SEO and lead generation. Google and other search engines earn a great deal of money from the click-through rates generated in this way. Through tools like Google AdWords, they provide their users with an ideal way to easily and accurately measure the effectiveness of these campaigns.

The simplicity of the model tempts businesses to invest too much capital and effort in targeted advertising formats. Because every action can be precisely measured, campaigns are often launched rashly or prematurely, coupled with the knowledge that they can be quickly abandoned if they prove insufficient. However, a long-term marketing strategy and the perseverance needed to allow the measures to have an effect over an extended period look very different.

Agencies accelerate development

Digital agencies have played a significant role in this development. The precise measurability of results leads many to focus almost exclusively on presenting their clients with SEO-related campaigns aimed at increasing click-through rates or generating leads – at the expense of other traditional marketing goals such as customer retention or brand strengthening. Out of fear and due to insufficient expertise, many decision-makers within companies no longer question these strategies. The result: everyone is betting on the same horse, which makes the competition for good SEO rankings more difficult and renders companies' marketing efforts interchangeable.

Of course, the precise measurability of costs and benefits has many advantages. While TV commercials and newspaper ads suffer from immense wastage, and success can only be determined through expensive consumer panels and customer surveys, Google and other search engines only require a few clicks to calculate the cost per contact. However, by overemphasizing the importance of CPC and PPC, it's completely overlooked that crucial marketing KPIs such as brand awareness, popularity, and customer loyalty remain difficult to measure precisely, even with these digital methods. For a controlling-driven approach, it's naturally simpler to focus entirely on lead generation and thus make success immediately measurable.

Social media reinforces this trend

Companies like Facebook and Instagram are exacerbating this trend, as they are constantly reducing the organic reach of social media posts. What merely annoys private users quickly escalates into a serious crisis for businesses when their status updates get lost in the ever-growing flood of news and are barely noticed even by their own followers. This effectively forces them to pay for advertising to reach their target audience. Those who fail to generate additional leads with their sponsored posts quickly find themselves having to explain themselves – even if the original purpose of the post was something entirely different than generating new leads.

Ways out of the lead dead end

This one-sided focus means that the potential of modern marketing is no longer even remotely utilized. However, the path many have taken offers opportunities, because those who use online channels with other marketing tools alongside a rigid focus on leads, CPC, etc., stand out from their competitors. All it takes is a coherent strategy and the courage to forge their own path.

The right intermediary is crucial, guiding companies toward sustainably successful marketing in the digital age. This is where the experts at Trends in, working closely with their clients to develop future-oriented strategies that ensure long-term business success. The methods used don't necessarily have to be new. For example, social conversation and personalized social media make a valuable contribution to achieving marketing goals such as brand awareness and brand strengthening. The leads generated by these campaigns are a welcome bonus.

Naturally, new tools are emerging in tandem with rapid technological advancements. Presentation formats using augmented and virtual reality give companies the opportunity to showcase their services to potential customers in a far more engaging way and convince them of the product's value than a landing page optimized solely for lead generation ever could. AI will also offer innovative companies extensive opportunities to use their marketing resources smartly and efficiently. Factors such as brand awareness and customer satisfaction serve as long-term metrics for measuring success. Unlike mere click-through rates, these lead to significantly stronger customer engagement and thus contribute sustainably to the company's success.