“There is plenty of fish in the sea” is a very common saying that you may hear when someone wants to highlight that the world is full of opportunities. In today’s business world, this is true as there’s a seller for every buyer and vice versa but let’s not forget that when we narrow this down to the business world, the competition is cutthroat. 

As a buyer, there is a chance that you may search the whole ocean to find the right product but as a seller, you wouldn’t have the time and effort to look through the entire ocean and find all the customers that are interested in your product. You want to first pick out the golden, silver, and diamond-studded fishes so you can smooth-talk your way to their pocket. 

But what if you throw a huge net into the ocean, catch all the fish you can, and then check which fish suits your product? Maybe in the process, you catch a few gold and silver ones too. Or what if you put a big bait on your hook and then wait for the right fish to come to you? Both sound interesting but how would you know which one should you go with? Which way would save you more money and also guarantee that you have enough customers converted? 

The process of generating leads is not as easy as fishing. It’s a little complicated as everyone has a different theory on where should a business focus. Some say that the quantity of the leads you acquire is important, others say that the quality matters, and there is also a subset of people that believe everything needs a perfect balance. The lead generation process is extremely important for any organization because it helps derive prospective customers towards your product/service. The question remains, which path should you choose? Let’s dive into understanding the type of leads so you can take the right decision.

What are Quality Leads?

Leads that save time and are highly targeted

A quality lead is a lead that is interested in your product and service and also can opt-in for it. In easy terms, these leads have a higher chance of conversion because they are looking for a solution that you are offering and also can pay for it. 

From a digital marketing perspective, you may have to pay more to acquire quality leads but this also means that you are targeting only the people that are interested in your product and eliminating everything else. There is also a chance that after nurturing these leads, they may not immediately turn into your customers but may circle once they can opt-in. 

Targeting only quality leads will save a lot of time because you don’t have to sift through lengthy data sheets of numbers or allocate people to cold call their way to customers. So, since the probability of these leads turning into customers is higher a little pinch to the wallet generally doesn’t hurt anyone. 

What If I Miss Out… Should I Focus on Quantity?

Targeting quantity leads seems logical (on paper)

What if you have the number 1000 leads written on one piece of paper and 350 leads on the other? The prior seems more desirable since it feels like the chances of conversion may be higher. That’s fair logic but these are low-quality leads and would require maybe double the time and effort to turn them into a customer.

Acquiring these leads may or may not cost you lesser but the huge number in the beginning is bound to attract anyone as compared to the “350.” There is a good chance that these leads also contain one or more opportunities that would tip the scale away from “quality leads” but then it could also be a stroke of luck. Generally, people tend to give more value to money compared to time, and hence aiming for quantity doesn’t feel so bad. 

Quantity or quality, the lead scoring process is at the core, and strategizing based on it is the next crucial step. Also, with so many ifs and buts in the decision-making process, the decision should be altered or personalized based on the company. 

Uncomplicating the Equation 

Finding a balance between quantity and quality leads

As suggested by many, striking the quality-quantity balance in leads is another way to go about managing leads. You can also call it the safe bet or the smart bet because you are trying to leverage the best techniques out of the two ways.

But some also say that without lead quantity finding quality leads can be difficult. Others believe that if you don’t have enough leads to look at and decide whom to approach and whom to not, then the process is incomplete. 

There’s certainly no standard right answer for all of us or maybe there is, but there are some check marks that are required to be checked to reach the customer (No, manifestation doesn’t help). 

The answer lies in looking at the data. If you carefully and meticulously evaluate the data that you acquire and also have the support of an efficient marketing automation system, you can spot commonalities and refine your overall approach. So, the only way you can achieve better conversion rates is by leaving certain things to technology and data and creating insights through proper analysis. 

You have the complete picture of quality vs. quantity in front of your eyes. Now, all you have to do is evaluate and choose which way to go. 

Interested to know what role can data play in the process of lead qualification? Book a call with team Data Sutram!