Company insight
have been woefully inadequate in confronting the way that lead generation, as a sector, has grown.”
Lead calls, it should be emphasised, are not cold calls. Rather, they are the result of an individual enquiring about something – a financial product or service is one element. A provider of these products or services might enlist the help of a lead generation company who, in theory, introduces them to potential customers interested in their offerings. Done correctly it can be an extremely powerful tool, says Desmier. However, the rogue element which has crept into this market is not just creeping – its bounding at full pelt and only getting faster.
Unwelcome consequences The consequences of these developments are serious – not just for consumers but also financial services providers. While the consumer is a straightforward victim, with the most to lose, Desmier says companies who pay for the service are also being hit. “They’ve been told by the lead generator all of this is real time – and an exclusive lead where the consumer will speak to them. But actually, what the lead provider is doing is selling that five or six times over. So the fraud can happen anywhere.” Desmier’s criticisms of the mechanics of this growing issue aren’t only for regulators. Rather, they’re also aimed at big tech companies like Google and Facebook who, he says, aren’t playing their part. “Google isn’t doing enough, in fact anything, to stop those scam adverts from appearing in the first place. Google, Facebook and all the big providers of online advertising technology will take money from wherever it might be because they look legitimate. They don’t even bother to do any checks.” Perhaps the most crucial change Desmier believes is needed is in our mindset. “Each time you submit a form online, I think we need to think about it as an actual transaction, because for the most part it is,” he says. “Someone is being paid a fee to introduce you, the insurer or mortgage company, whatever it might be, to a potential client. Because it is a fee, we should be treating it like that and there should be a receipt and a certificate.” This certificate, he suggests, would track the consumer journey – anonymously staying with that data for as long as it exists.
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It would then be passed onto the buyer of the lead. “It should say ‘this is what happened,” Desmier says, adding that “if you’re a buyer of leads often you just get given a load of data and then you’re calling it. You don’t know what the consumer has seen, you don’t know whether what’s been done is compliant because more often than not those customer journeys haven’t been shared with you.”
Desmier says all too frequently what happens after a consumer enters their details online is a mystery, to both them and the lead buyer. The consumer doesn’t know what happens to that data after their initial enquiry – usually the first thing they know is when they receive unsolicited calls – and the buyer can sometimes approach the consumer only to find they’re not the only one doing so.
The state of play
This is where Contact State can help. Its technology allows lead buyers to distinguish the reputable from the rogue, seamlessly integrating and sitting on the landing pages of lead generators. The technology tracks the customer journey, shows in detail where they came from, what they saw and what terms and conditions they agreed to were. “Put very simply we’re a certification platform,” Desmier says.
for – and perhaps are still not really managing to reach.
“Good lead generation is connecting two otherwise unknown parties to each other in a way which gives each the chance to find out, quote or brief the other on what their services are,” Desmier continues. “Good lead generation is speed, trust and transparency.”
Although the fraudsters are out there, reputable companies can cut through the noise with good due diligence, the likes of which Contact State can support. For those that do, Desmier emphasises that there are real benefits. “There are some brilliant intermediaries of financial services who have grown spectacularly because they’re able to use online lead generation to target customers that are in the market to buy what they want.” For Desmier, recognising the risk of not following good practice among financial services providers has never been more important. That’s not only true to protect against the damage that fraudsters can do to the reputation of individual businesses and the wider financial services sector – but also because change is coming. Regulators are now stepping up their game and calling for greater accountability – not just from the lead generators but
“Good lead generation is connecting two otherwise unknown parties to each other in a way that gives each the chance to find out, quote or brief the other on what their services are.”
Such transparency has long been needed, Desmier adds. “For the past ten to 15 years or so, there’s been a reluctance to ask difficult questions, a reluctance to say to lead generators ‘hang on a second, show me the adverts, show me the landing pages, show me the customer journey.” Despite the potential pitfalls of lead generation, Desmier actually believes targeted online advertising has huge benefits too – both for the customer and buyer. The growing use of the internet and third parties has, he notes, democratised the industry. It has also helped financial products and services providers scale-up, reaching audiences they would have previously had to fight
for those that buy from them. As Curry put it recently: “Business owners operating in this field have a duty to both familiarise themselves with and comply with the law. Attempting to rely on ignorance or naivety or trying to pass the buck to suppliers will never be a valid defence.” To be clear, this is not entirely the fault of the financial services providers – ultimately the fraudulent lead generators are to blame. Even so, this is an issue that’s unlikely to go away until all parties take their responsibilities seriously – and stakeholders work with reliable partners they can trust. ●
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