Referral Generation Isn’t Dead – It’s Just Not Enough

Ten years ago, I sat in meetings where executives said "marketing was dead". The traditional tactics—branding, advertising, public relations, etc.—were no longer successful in a digital age (see Marketing Is Dead! Long Live Marketing!). Now I’m hearing the same pronouncements about referral generation (or lead generation for those outside health care). Traditional approaches for generating referrals don't deliver as much volume as in the past (see The Lead Generation Is Dead. Long Live The Lead Generation!). The conversion rate of marketing qualified leads (MQLs) to 'revenue' is dropping—now in the 1.0% realm (see Why . . .