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Feature Article #1

The Cluetrain Manifesto is Modern Marketing

I came across this pointer from Doc Searls blog this morning. It references a professor at Kent State using The Cluetrain Manifesto as core curriculum in his PR course(s).
(By the way, Kent State is a great place to get smart people from. One of our senior software engineers who has been with us since the [...]

Bill Rice | March 6th, 2008 | Continued

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Feature Article #2

Lead Generation Economics 101

The last couple of weeks, amid the dynamics of the mortgage market, there has been interesting commentary on recession and online ad spending. The contagion effect of the mortgage meltdown is alive and well and creating havoc in the lead generation market.
I thought, since I have had multiple inquiries into my opinion on potential investments [...]

Bill Rice | March 3rd, 2008 | Continued

About this Site

Lead Marketwatch is another lead management service of Kaleidico. Our unique insight, from servicing thousands of lead buyers and the most popular  real-time Internet lead channels, brings you data and analysis that will help you buy leads smarter and convert more of them to deals.
Lead Marketwatch brings you objective analysis on the lead market, its [...]

Other Recent Articles

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Does Your Lead Provider Do Co-Registration?

Many do and certainly is worth asking the question. The positive and negatives of co-registration has been debated and there are certainly a right way and a wrong way for publishers and advertisers to us this technique.
Here is an excellent primer in co-registration networks and some of the “hidden” things to look for when you [...]

28Feb2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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Inflection Points for Search Spending Similar to Lead Buying

Niki Scevak, former Jupiter Analyst and current marketing luminary, was strolling down search marketing memory lane when he came across the Stanford Entrepreneurs’ podcast, which contained a reference to one of his slides from his analyst days.
The interesting point that Niki makes, which struck me, is this:
…basically an S-curve that showed spending on search by [...]

28Feb2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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Lead Exchange (marketplace) Gains Solid Foundation

LeadPoint, as one of the first lead exchanges or marketplaces, has gained an undeniable foundation in the lead generation market has certainly secured its place in the lead market. Announcing more than 4 million lead trades since its inception in 2004 it continues to demonstrate dramatic growth on both the lead buyer and lead seller [...]

28Feb2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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Buy Leads, Why Buy Lead Management Too?

This is a great question! And since we sell the best lead management at Kaleidico I will refrain from answering the question.
Fortunately, one of the top lead providers out there is pitching it for us. Listen to the latest ZipSearch Radio! show or visit the ZipSearch blog.
BTW, cover your ears when you hear our competitor, [...]

26Feb2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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Domains and Domain Registrations Increasingly Valuable Assets

As I research and prepare for a deep dive series on affiliate marketing I am increasingly intrigued by the complex web of topics that are involved in this marketing discipline. One of the foundational concepts, of course, is the domain name.
There are whole companies and industries built around the management and monetization of these increasingly [...]

26Feb2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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Look for Lead Providers Who Change the Message for the Environment

There is a lot of talk about how the mortgage market has changed. It is certainly obvious that home owners and new home buyers are in a different state of mind. Is your marketing spend and advertising budget reflecting this change?
The best mortgage lead providers are changing their messages to reflect a different market. Seth [...]

26Feb2008 | Bill Rice | 1 comment | Continued
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Understanding Key to FHA Modernization and Economic Stimulus Bill Opportunities

Like any good marketing or sales puzzle understanding the problem is half of the battle in acquiring new customers. Mortgage lead providers are gearing up there marketing acumen to find these special FHA qualified home buyers and home owners, but are you knowledgeable enough to answer all of these consumers questions?
Thanks to several resources compiled [...]

25Feb2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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Investors and Advertisers Increasingly Interested in Opportunities Beyond Search

Unquestionably a consumer that searches for “can I refinance my California home under new FHA loan program” makes a great advertising buy and probably a pretty hot mortgage lead. And major buys on primary destination portals like Yahoo! and MSN bring significant lead volume.
But are there opportunities outside of this very competitive market?
Recent investments in [...]

25Feb2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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Lead Providers Help Identify Borrowers Eligible for Jumbo Rate Relief

As the economy continues to show signs of impending recession the Federal government is working hard to stimulate it. The steps most relevant to the mortgage industry are:

Recent Federal Reserve rate cuts, and
The White House’s economic stimulus including increases to conventional loan limits

These actions naturally create an exciting opportunity for a mortgage industry looking for [...]

21Feb2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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Is NexTag Benefiting from Competitor Mortgage Woes?

News is breaking that Mortgage Companies Reduce Online Ad Spending and Mortgage Ad Budgets are Being Cut on the heels of Nielsen Online’s latest online advertising spending survey.
However, I think there may be a more interesting and subtle mortgage lead market story evolving here. As major mortgage online advertising spenders, like Countrywide Financial, Experian Group [...]

20Feb2008 | Bill Rice | 4 comments | Continued
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LeadCritic talks Mortgage Leads with Owen Raun

If you are thinking about buying mortgage leads or are just looking to tune up your lead management strategy you need to listen to Owen Raun’s latest podcast with LeadCritic. Here are some highlights to listen for:

Did you know the Lead Critic went from the buy side (mortgage lender) to the sell side (lead provider)? [...]

19Feb2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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Why Mortgage Advertising Continues Through Market Downturn

Conventional thinking is that in a market downturn marketing and advertising are some of the first expenses to be cut. However, the current mortgage market may be defying this general wisdom.
Arguably, many of the big mortgage lead buying operations like American Home Mortgage, Ameriquest, and New Century may be gone and thereby reducing short-term aggregate [...]

19Feb2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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FTC on Better Mortgage Disclosures

The FTC, as the top federal consumer advocate, is always focused on making certain the consumer is aware of the conditions of any consumer transaction. Unquestionably, a mortgage loan is one of the largest and most complex transaction the average American will ever encounter. However, to what lengths should a mortgage company, or marketing lead [...]

18Feb2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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Experian’s PriceGrabber.com For Sale?

PriceGrabber.com and LowerMyBills.com were hot properties in 2005 when Experian picked up this pair of then strong businesses. However, markets have changed significantly and price comparison websites and mortgage lead generation are beginning to become a consistent financial statement eye sore for Experian investors.
Experian has been reporting sizable losses in there Interactive Division, particularly with [...]

18Feb2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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eBureau Singing the Lead Marketwatch Hymn

Jeff Liebl of eBureau shares his ideas and views on a “credit score” for online leads. There is certainly a rowdy client base that wants this type of evaluation of Internet leads and lead providers. The top question to anyone in this industry is, “who has the best Internet leads?”
I think modeling services are valuable [...]

14Feb2008 | Bill Rice | 1 comment | Continued
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ValueClick is FTC’s Latest Truth in Advertising Target

The use of “free” and general efficacy in consumer offers is obviously FTC’s latest enforcement focus. ValueClick is just the latest in settlements around using tantalizing incentive offers in lead generation. Some recent examples include:

Member Source Media 
Adteractive

ValueClick’s FTC settlement of $2.9 million is the largest to date, but is sure not to be the last. [...]

14Feb2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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Bankrate gobbling up bargain Internet properties?

Bankrate recently completes two acquisitions of InsureMe, Inc. (insureme.com) and Lower Fees, Inc. (feedisclosure.com). It continues a trend of paired acquisitions that included the 4th quarter 2007 purchase of  National Card Services, Inc. and Savingforcollege.com, LLC and a pair of late 2005 deals to take in FastFind and MMIS/Interest.com.
The 2007/2008 acquisitions certainly demonstrate a strategy [...]

13Feb2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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OLGA wants more from IAB’s lead generation best practices

Interactive Advertising Bureau’s (IAB) recent release of online lead generation best practices for B2C and B2B is an unprecedented step in bringing a benchmark of acceptable practices to lead generation. Those of us involved in lead generation and lead management see on a daily basis the very loose and wide view of acceptable means to [...]

11Feb2008 | Bill Rice | 0 comments | Continued
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