Editor's Note - Lead Generation
Media challenges for lead-gen practitioners

The emphasis on lead generation we saw last year has continued and, in fact, accelerated. Given the sour economy and mandates to find “sales-ready” prospects, that's not surprising.

“In the down economy, many companies, if not all companies, have changed the way they're doing their marketing. ... We're focused on generating not only leads but qualified leads,” said Katie Pariseau, marketing manager-integrated marketing solutions at chipmaker AMD, one of several senior marketers who replied to our Big Question (page 10) about the effect the economy has had on their lead-gen tactics.

Successfully differentiating “leads” from “qualified leads” requires, of course, upfront agreement between sales and marketing, not to mention processes and systems to keep the two departments aligned over time. Many of the guest columns in this year's guide touch on this fundamental point.

Our page 15 interview with Laura Ramos, a VP and principal analyst at Forrester Research, provides another take on the impact of the economy. “Marketing has gotten better at lead generation, yes, but their demand-management skills—the nurturing of leads and closing the loop with sales—need more improvement, particularly in this economy,” she says.

Ramos sees an opportunity for properly engaging those leads that have potential but aren't quite ready. “Our studies show that today's marketing channels ... work best when marketing uses these channels to foster dialogue, not just to set up a sales appointment,” Ramos says. ...

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COLUMNS - LEAD GENERATION
5 tips for optimizing your Facebook marketing
Paul Dunay, global managing director of services marketing, Avaya
One of the great things about the Facebook platform is that it provides you access to a large audience of more than 200 million people worldwide at a low cost. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't have a strategy in place for what you are trying to achieve.

A practical guide to the four types of lead nurturing
Jon Miller, VP-marketing, Marketo
Lead nurturing is the process of building relationships with qualified prospects, regardless of their timing to buy, with the goal of earning their business when they are ready.

Diagnosing the demand waterfall
Tony Jaros, VP-research, SiriusDecisions
Trickle-down theory. In economics circles, the mention of the term stirs impassioned, heated debate around its viability and validity.

Soft offers with relevance and value will generate leads
Russell Kern, founder and CEO, Kern Organization
Rare are the consumers who actually want to speak to a sales representative. As soon as they know who's on the line, they drop into a defensive crouch—the better to protect themselves from being talked into buying something they may want but don't really need.

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