DemandGen Report

The standard value-add for BtoB marketers has been to offer a white paper or analyst report in exchange for a prospect attending a webinar or completing a registration form.

More recently, some marketers have added a unique twist to the engagement process by sweetening the pot by offering a $50 gift card or an iPod shuffle as an incentive for prospects to take a free trial or schedule a meeting with a sales representative.

TriNet, a leading provider of HR outsourcing and consulting services, recently saw a 20% increase in its conversion rates by adding a “gift with meeting” as part of a lead nurturing campaign. Once a prospect had been qualified by a website visit or another action, TriNet followed up with an offer of a $50 gift card or iPod Shuffle as an incentive to schedule a meeting with a member of their sales team.

Utilizing Eloqua’s Conversion Suite, TriNet was able to send personalized and targeted gift offers to prospects by using Eloqua’s PrintMail application as well its email campaign templates. “We are able to easily change the offer by tweaking the forms and the content in the emails,” Brown said.

Since the prospects had already raised their hand, he added that the incentive served more as an additional call-to-action and the company has seen significant sales opportunities develop from the meetings generated by the incentive offers. “We have criteria involved, where they have to with a company with 10-400 employees and they have to be a senior executive. Beyond that, our industry and our solution are so specific that we are really only communicating to qualified prospects.”

Another company that has added incentives as part of their lead generation activities is Vocus, Inc., a leading provider of on-demand software for public relations management. After testing other gift card offers, the company recently launched an email campaign that offered a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card as an incentive for prospects to sign up for a free demo.

According to Vocus spokesperson Robin Lane, Barnes & Noble card has been generating stronger response than other cards the company has tested and the campaign which promises prospects solutions to “increase PR's impact on marketing and sales,” has been a success. In the Vocus campaign, the card is positioned as a reward for prospects taking time out of their schedules to complete a demo. “Once you have completed the demo, we'll send you a $50 Barnes & Noble Gift Card as our way of saying thank you for your valuable time!”

While some BtoB marketers are reporting success with gift cards and other incentives, most experienced lead generation experts are still suspicious that the programs will not deliver qualified prospects. “Real decision-makers are far too busy to be enticed by $50 so what you get are non-decision makers who think they are decision makers,” said Dan McDade, President of PointClear, an Atlanta-based business development company.

McDade pointed out that he has tested out programs which offered $1,000 to the charity of choice for prospects as well as sending Ping drivers, but the results were “non-existent” from those campaigns. “Content, education and information are valued. If you have a book by a well known author dealing with the problem plaguing a decision-maker that is probably priceless vs. a $50 gift card,” McDade added.

Jeff Pedowitz, President and CEO of the Pedowitz Group, leading marketing automation consultancy, suggested BtoB marketers should “always be open to experiment” with new offers. He agreed, however, that offers that are more relevant to the solution and business challenges, such as free assessments deliver better results. “If the goal is just to get a response incentives can work, but you need to be certain you are reaching the right person and offering something of value to their business,” Pedowitz said.

McDade pointed out that he has tested out programs which offered $1,000 to the charity of choice for prospects as well as sending Ping drivers, but the results were “non-existent” from those campaigns. “Content, education and information are valued. If you have a book by a well known author dealing with the problem plaguing a decision-maker that is probably priceless vs. a $50 gift card,” McDade added.

Jeff Pedowitz, President and CEO of the Pedowitz Group, leading marketing automation consultancy, suggested BtoB marketers should “always be open to experiment” with new offers. He agreed, however, that offers that are more relevant to the solution and business challenges, such as free assessments deliver better results. “If the goal is just to get a response incentives can work, but you need to be certain you are reaching the right person and offering something of value to their business,” Pedowitz said.