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  • Guide overview
    • An Introduction to Marketing Management
      • What is marketing management?
      • International marketing management
      • What are the 9 types of marketing management?
      • What are the processes of marketing management?
      • How is a marketing management strategy created?
      • How is a marketing strategy implemented?
      • Activities of marketing management
      • What is the extended marketing mix? 
      • Philosophies of marketing management
      • Features of marketing management
      • What does a marketing manager do?
      • What are examples of marketing management?
      • Five examples of specialized marketing management roles: 
      • What are some examples of marketing management tasks?
      • Where can I get marketing management training?
      • What is the best marketing management software?
    • The Role of a Marketing Project Manager
      • What Is a Marketing Project Manager?
      • What does a marketing project manager do?
      • What types of projects do marketing project managers oversee?
      • What are the different types of marketing project manager?
      • Project manager in a marketing agency
      • In-house marketing project manager
      • Marketing program manager
      • International marketing project manager
      • Digital marketing project manager
      • What skills are important for a marketing project manager?
      • Do marketing project managers require specific qualifications?
      • What experience is needed to become a marketing project manager?
      • What tools do marketing project managers use?
    • Building a Marketing Team
      • Building a Marketing Team
      • What does a marketing department do?
      • Key marketing department responsibilities
      • What are typical roles in a marketing team?
      • Advanced marketing team roles
      • How to build a marketing team
      • How to structure a marketing department
      • Which skills are needed in high-functioning marketing teams?
      • What’s the best way to hire for marketing department positions?
      • What tools do marketing teams need?
    • How To Create a Marketing Strategy
      • How To Create a Marketing Strategy
      • Defining marketing strategy
      • What is a marketing strategy?
      • Why do you need a marketing strategy?
      • Different types of marketing strategies
    • How to Create a Marketing Plan: Ultimate Guide
      • What is a marketing plan?
      • Why you need a marketing plan 
      • Marketing plan frameworks
      • The 4 Ps framework
      • The 7 Ps framework
      • The 5 Cs framework
      • What are KPIs in a marketing plan?
      • What is in a marketing plan?
      • Executive summary
      • Content formats
      • Target audience
      • Goals
      • Marketing channels
      • SWOT analysis
      • Marketing resources
      • What are the benefits of a marketing plan?
      • Set clear direction
      • Maximize budget
      • Understand your target audience
      • Stay ahead of your competition  
      • What are different types of marketing plans?
      • Product launch marketing plan
      • Social media marketing plan
      • Brand marketing plan
      • SEO marketing plan
      • Traditional marketing plan
      • Digital marketing plan
      • How to create a marketing plan
      • Step 1: Define your mission statement 
      • Step 2: Conduct a marketing audit 
      • Step 3: Outline your marketing strategy 
      • Step 4: Set your marketing budget
      • Step 5: Align sales and marketing teams
      • Step 6: Implement and track performance
      • Step 7: Optimize and adjust your marketing plan
      • Real-world marketing plan examples
      • Visit Oxnard
      • Dodo Pizza
      • San Francisco Chronicle
      • Coma AG
      • Sample marketing plan
      • Business overview
      • Target audience  
      • Marketing strategy
      • Content strategy
      • Marketing budget  
      • Key performance indicators (KPIs) 
      • Implementation timeline 
      • Marketing plan mistakes to avoid
      • Latest marketing plan trends
      • Artificial intelligence
      • First-party data
      • Short-form video 
      • Sustainability marketing 
      • Make your marketing plan successful with Wrike
    • How To Build a Marketing Calendar
      • What is a marketing calendar?
      • Why is a marketing calendar important?
      • What functionality should the marketing calendar software have?
      • Different types of marketing calendars
      • How to create a marketing calendar
      • What to include in a marketing calendar
      • Marketing calendar examples
      • Using Wrike to manage marketing calendars with ease
    • An Introduction to MarTech
      • What Is Martech?
      • Martech definition
      • What is a martech stack?
      • Why is martech important?
      • What should a martech stack include?
      • Different types of marketing technology
      • Martech trends
      • How to design a martech stack
    • Choosing Marketing Tools & Software
      • What are marketing tools and software?
      • Why are marketing tools important?
      • Different types of marketing tools
      • Best marketing tools and software for teams
    • A Guide to Marketing Analytics
      • A Guide to Marketing Analytics
      • What is marketing analytics?
      • Why is marketing analytics important?
      • Who uses marketing analytics? 
      • What actions can you take based on analytics?
      • Introducing B2B marketing analytics
      • Important concepts within marketing analytics
      • How to choose marketing analytics software
    • How To Create a Marketing Dashboard
      • Marketing dashboard examples
      • What are the benefits of a marketing dashboard? 
      • What problems can a marketing dashboard alleviate? 
      • How is a marketing dashboard used?
      • Who typically uses a marketing dashboard? 
      • What should a marketing dashboard include?
      • Marketing dashboard tools
      • How to create a marketing dashboard
      • Create a marketing dashboard with Wrike
    • Marketing Resource Management Guide
      • What is marketing resource management (MRM)?
      • What are the benefits of MRM?
      • What are the challenges of MRM?
      • What is MRM software?
    • FAQs
      • Marketing Departments
      • Marketing Management Terminology
      • Marketing Metrics and Analytics
      • Marketing Techniques
      • Marketing Tools
    • Marketing Glossary
    1. Home
    2. Marketing Project Management Guide
    3. FAQ
    4. Marketing Management Terminology

    What Is a Lead in Marketing?

    2 min read
    Christine Royston
    Christine Royston Chief Marketing Officer, Wrike
    See Wrike for marketing

    What Is a Lead in Marketing?

    From generating to converting, you’re probably well aware that leads are an important part of marketing and the overall customer life cycle. But you could be wondering what are leads in marketing? Simply defined, leads in marketing refer to any individual or organization within your marketing reach who has interacted with your brand way or has the potential to become a future customer. A lead can be someone that sees or downloads your content, signs up for a trial, or visits your store. 

    Marketing qualified leads

    Marketing departments are often more interested in marketing qualified leads, or MQLs, where a potential customer has shown a basic level of interest in your company or product. Here are a few examples of a marketing qualified lead: 

    • Filling in a website form with phone number and email address
    • Signing up for a newsletter
    • Interacting on social media
    • Calling your company to ask for more information
    • Engaging the chatbot on your website
    • Filling in a contact form at an event 
    • Downloading an eBook
    • Signing up for a webinar
    • Clicking on an internet ad for your product

    These activities are all considered MQLs because the potential customer voluntarily engaged with the company in some way in response to a marketing activity. 

    blog post
    How To Create A Marketing Persona
    blog post
    What Is a Marketing Environment?

    Difference between a marketing qualified lead and a sales qualified lead

    It’s important to differentiate between marketing qualified leads and sales qualified leads (SQLs). MQLs are people who have shown a curiosity about your brand and products, whereas SQLs are people who have indicated that they are ready to make a purchase of your product or service. It is important for marketers to understand the difference between MQLs and SQLs so that they create communications for the former specifically that won’t risk overwhelming the contact and scaring them off before they make a purchase. 

    Depending on how a company’s marketing and sales departments are structured, when MQLs are identified, they might be passed along to the sales department for further communication directly from them. In other companies, other qualifications might be needed in order to pass an MQL onto an SQL, like fitting a customer persona or taking a specific journey through the website. 

    Marketing departments typically create a lead scoring system to help them determine the quality of a lead. Knowing the quality of a lead can help a marketing team know how likely a lead is to convert into a sales qualified lead and can help the marketer offer the right kind of communication to continue to nurture the lead down the funnel. 

    Marketing Management Terminology 5 questions

    The seven functions of marketing include marketing information management, promotion, selling, pricing, product management, financing, and distribution. These marketing functions are important because they each play a role in your organization’s ability to create and implement a successful marketing strategy.

    Read the full article

    A marketing channel is used by marketers to publicize and disseminate information about the company and its products and services for the target audience. The 11 most effective marketing channels are content marketing, SEO marketing, pay-per-click (PPC) marketing, external signage marketing, word of mouth marketing, event marketing, social media marketing, website marketing, print marketing, email marketing, and video marketing.

    Read the full article

    A marketing lead is a person or organization who has taken action to interact with your company or has the potential to be a future customer. A marketing qualified lead (MQL) involves a potential customer showing curiosity about your products and services, while a sales qualified lead (SQL) demonstrates a concrete intent to purchase your products and services.

    Read the full article

    A marketing funnel is the process of converting an individual who visits your website or store into a paying customer, through lead generation, lead nurturing, and sales. Marketers will plan and execute campaigns to garner interest in the product, and when the customer shows said interest, they will be given more personalized product information that could lead to a purchase.

    Read the full article

    A marketing system is a strategy to complete repeatable marketing tasks and projects in a manner that saves time and boosts efficiency. Marketers tend to use marketing systems when engaging in actions such as speaking to customers, setting up social media campaigns, collaborating with influencers, and sending out mail to current customers.

    Read the full article
    Marketing Concepts
    • Marketing Funnel
    • Targeting In Marketing
    • Lead In Marketing
    • Marketing Asset Management
    • What is A/B Testing in Marketing
    • Marketing Reach
    • Marketing Channel
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    • Marketing System
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    • Marketing vs Marketing Management
    • CMO Role
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    Marketing Performance Management
    • KPIs in Marketing
    • Marketing ROI
    • Marketing Performance
    • LTV in Marketing
    • Marketing Metrics vs Marketing Analytics
    • Marketing CPA
    • Marketing Efficiency
    • Measuring Marketing Performance
    • Marketing Performance Assessment
    • Most Important Marketing Metrics
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