Missing Some Sales Leads Lately? Blame the World Cup

Has your supply of Web-generated leads been trickling down a bit lately?

Don’t worry, it may not have anything to do with your marketing strategy, SEO content, or pay-per-click ads. It may be something entirely benign:

World Cup Soccer.

Jed Smith, Vice-President of Operations at Internet marketing firm Orange Soda, says the World Cup may be acting as a “work productivity depressant,” similar to the NCAA Basketball Tournament’s “March Madness.”

The difference, he says, is that the World Cup isn’t just capturing American audiences, it’s world-wide. Nearly every citizen, regardless of nationality, has a vested interest in the proceedings. And when workers’ attention is drawn by something like the World Cup, they’re not sitting at their desks working. They’re not looking for ways to improve their productivity, or the company’s. They’re not searching Google for sales and marketing tips, a new network router, new pairs of shoes, a better insurance agent, a better auto mechanic, a better doctor or dentist.

The end result is fewer clicks, fewer page views, fewer Web conversions and phone calls, fewer leads generated.

So if your lead generation efforts feel like they’ve taken a dip the last couple of weeks, keep an eye on your lead management strategy and your Ad Words account—but don’t forget to keep an eye on the scoreboard as well.