Internet Leads: Over Validation
Posted by admin | Filed under Lead Generation
Lead over validation is the automated process of scoring leads too tightly without any human checking or intervention. This process causes valid leads to be post rejected or declined at the ping resulting in fewer “valid” leads to those who need them and overall reduced customer service to our online clientele.
This is where Lead Dispatch feels the lead generation community has got it all wrong along with the end user, or retail customer buying leads such as auto dealers or realtors. We do not want to say there is not a need for strict data scoring in some cases, but let’s stay focussed on what a real lead is. (See - What is a lead?) - Enough information to contact a ready and willing prospect for your product or service.
Let’s explore some examples below of Internet lead over validation and typical outcomes:
- Email Validation - This is a poor data field to post reject a lead on as there are numerous reasons an email address may not validate (network outage, fat finger, email filtering, dns issue, black list, etc.) If phone numbers and address are all valid, call the prospect and ask for a valid email address. This is still a good lead.
- Word Validation - Some lead systems validate data fields to check for vulgar words or common fake names such as Mickey Mouse. Over validating can cause false scoring resulting in names like Virginia being post rejected as a vulgar word for containing “virgin”. Word validation should be filtered to a function where human intervention can confirm manually that the lead name is truly false or just allow the retail customer to receive a credit on a bad lead. (Let’s keep it simple)
- Social Security Number - Many lead wholesalers and retail customers will reject a lead missing a social security number. This is foolish in our opinion. Many folks still feel uncomfortable giving out their socials over the Internet and many wage earners with higher than average incomes don’t want to provide their socials until they meet with the salesperson. Consider this, do you really want to miss out on a potential customer just because they don’t want to provide a social security number over the Internet? is the relevant lead information enough to contact the prospect and set an appointment?
- Phone Numbers - As with email validation, automated phone validation can have its own issues as well. Someone can move, change numbers, phone can be in the name of a spouse, outdated phone directory information or a temporary phone outage as we have seen in numerous cases.
- Zip Codes - We like to call this “lead discrimination” and will be posting some more information on this soon. This occurs when a possible prospect or customer is rejected at the ping or post rejected because they have the wrong zip code. Think about it… if a zip code is off by one digit and being adjacent to an acceptable zip code, that individual or entity is left in the dark wondering why no one will call them. This can be solved with better communication between lead generators, wholesalers, and the retail buyer by asking the prospect completing an online form how far they might be willing to travel or allowing some flexibility in zip code validating to ensure adjacent zip codes don’t go unserviced needlessly.
- Others include - Income, Length of employment, Job Title all of which are subject to being validated incorrectly.
The consequence of leads being over validated on one or multiple fields is that the end user (auto dealer, Realtor, etc.) will miss out on potential business and the online customer becomes frustrated because of little or no communication on the status of their request. Additionally, that online customer is out of play for 30 days as their information cannot be resubmitted over the trading network as it is now deemed as a duplicate lead.
Lead over validation primarily affects the lead generator from a business perspective as lead brokers and retail lead buyers routinely expect the lead generator to absorb the loss of potential revenue on good leads that are falsely rejected. Lead Dispatch is calling the industry out to resolve this issue collectively.
Tags: Lead Over Validation, lead validation
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