In my last post, I spoke about how email parsing is usually not the best way to go for lead capture simply because of the variables involved in it. This post is an effort to talk about some of the alternatives to importing leads into your lead management system.
There are three main efficient ways to get leads into your system. One is through an direct http post, one is through an xml push, and the other is through an API integration. Each of these has a different place and purpose in data transferring.
If you are using any kind of web form. The easiest way to get it into you system is by posting it directly via an http post. A web form can generate code that posts directly into your system. Using this kind of lead import, is especially useful if for those who do not know very much about xml which is similar but involves more programming knowledge. Http post issues are also easier to troubleshoot in my opinion.
An XML push is just as instantaneous of a system for acquiring leads. It also can be used in web forms and is just about as advantageous as http posting. The only draw back that I see involves the complexity of XML. Other people may agree, but I personally don’t understand anything about XML and know just enough HTTP posting to be useful (at times).
The final option for data import has to do with integrations and it is what makes software integrations possible and it is the most complex. Dialer integrations for Salesforce, for example often use API to grab data and drop it into their systems for dialing. Importing via API is most commonly used for integrating two database systems. An example of this is a company that has a homegrown CRM database and wants to integrate it with a lead response management suite so that lead can be loaded into the LRM for it’s response features. The most sophisticated of these integrations will send data back and forth between the two applications thus maximizing your experience and seamlessness between the systems.
As far as how time saving these can be, if you no longer have to worry about getting leads to and from your system, the time saved can really add up over an extended period. So to make a long story short, the import method that saves you the most time is the one you should use.
Tags: demand generation, Dialer, Insidesales, Lead, Lead Management, Lead Nurturing, Lead response Management, Management, Marketing, Marketing Software, Sales, Salesforce
