Lead

Also known as: prospect

A lead is a company or person interested in purchasing a product or service. Often, a lead refers to a specific request, such as a request for more information or a quote. It can also refer to a prospect who, because of certain actions or contacts indicating interest, is considered a potential customer by the provider.

For example, leads can come in through an information form on one's own website. As long as there is no customer yet, this is referred to as soft conversion. The warmth of a lead is often expressed in a score, based on behavior and actions by the prospect, which in turn is used to choose an appropriate approach. Many organizations classify leads according to customer journeys.

The value of a lead to a business can be calculated based on the probability of conversion and expected revenue. This virtual value is also used as a basis for billing ads. Paying for online advertising based on a fee for each new lead(CPA) is done in affiliate marketing, among other things. There are companies that specialize in selling leads they collect through their own websites, this is called lead generation.