Background
When Microsoft Canada unveiled Windows 2000 in April 1999, the beta version was ready to ship immediately but the final release was still months away. Using market research figures, Microsoft estimated that companies take an average of nine months to make a final decision about a software upgrade.
In order to shorten that time frame and prepare companies for ordering as soon as the final release was available, Microsoft ran a campaign to get end user customers to use the beta version for testing and evaluation purposes. In this way, Microsoft Canada would be able to process orders and generate sales of Windows 2000 immediately — as soon as the final release was ready to ship.
Challenge
Microsoft decided to run a major lead generation campaign with a select group of fifty reseller partners. The campaign consisted of two parts: lead collection via the web and telemarketing. The challenge was finding a tool that would efficiently distribute more than 1000 leads to these partners and also provide the tools needed for effective lead tracking.
LeadMaster Solution
For its campaign, Microsoft Canada chose LeadMaster over the competition for a variety of reasons, including:
- Powerful lead tracking and lead distribution to partners. LeadMaster offers Microsoft the ability to track leads and distribute leads to partners. Given the long sales cycle in which a closed sale may be 9 to 12 months away or longer, effective lead tracking is critical.
- Affordability. Powerful, yet affordable, LeadMaster is one of the most cost-effective applications of its kind. In fact, Microsoft was able to fund LeadMaster out of its promotion budget.
- Simplicity. Microsoft found LeadMaster extremely easy to use. LeadMaster offers hands-on training via web teleconference — in less than an hour!
- Flexibility. LeadMaster was easily customized to the Windows 2000 campaign, offering Microsoft the necessary flexibility to tailor both the lead collection web interface and the user application to the unique needs of the campaign.
LeadMaster Results
Just two months into the campaign, feedback from the Microsoft team on the benefits of LeadMaster for the Windows 2000 campaign was outstanding:
- Partners love it. The reseller partners working with Microsoft on the Windows 2000 campaign say that LeadMaster is an effective and efficient way to get leads. Many log in to the customized Microsoft/LeadMaster web page on a daily basis to update their leads and find out what’s new with the campaign.
- Managers love it. With LeadMaster, managers are able to generate detailed weekly reports to monitor progress. At any moment, they can access the overall number of leads as well as the real-time status of each one. Microsoft managers are also looking forward to using LeadMaster’s advanced features to forecast revenue and close dates in the later stages of the campaign.
[Photo courtesy of wrike.]