Client:
Autodesk first came to us in 2005 to help them strategize lead generation solutions for their indirect channel partners. Autodesk is probably best known for their near industry-standard computer-aided design software called AutoCAD, although they also boast a broad range of design and product management tools.

Situation:
Autodesk was facing a typical challenge for companies selling through channel partners. Most partners don't have the ability, desire or resources in regard to lead generation as the manufacturing company would like. The goal of this program was to create a Lead Machine that would work for a few select indirect partners, as well as Autodesk's direct sales team.

Objectives:
Farstar's main objective was to generate qualified sales leads for both Autodesk's direct sales team and their indirect sales partners. The campaign sought to educate prospects about Autodesk's software product benefits and included impressive case studies selected according to the industry the prospect's company was in.

Strategies & Tactics:
The campaign launched with an email blast of 25,611 invitations to prospects at 12,036 companies. (E-mail is not our preferred method of invitation to a Lead Machine, but budgetary constraints mandated this approach.) Depending on which topics the marketers explored and how long they spent reading each part of the online presentation, appropriate targets were identified as "hot" or "warm" leads. Each partner's real-time dashboard immediately alerted the appropriate sales representative and allowed the rep to follow up with a prospect just after they interacted with The Lead Machine -- the idea being that real-time follow-up would lead to more receptive and engaged prospects.

Farstar created simple, text-only, variable-driven e-mail messages that included a URL with the recipient's name (www.WorkFromTheSamePage.com/[NAME]) that were sent to pique the recipients' interest and curiosity.

Visitors then logged on to an interactive website (The Lead Machine) where they were split into one of seven categories (based on their company type): Retail and Restaurant, Government, Residential Construction, Hospitality and Casino, Commercial Construction and Real Estate, Architecture and Engineering, and Other.

After visitors went down their category's path, they were presented with an overview of relevant product benefits -- relevancy being a key to conversion.

From there, each prospect was able to see case studies specific to their types of projects, as well as testimonials from similar companies.

For the first six months this Lead Machine ran, Autodesk offered a $50 gift certificate to Home Depot (except for those in the Government segment, which received $19.99 gift certificates) in exchange for completing a short survey.

This survey was extremely important for us to be able to provide highly detailed data on each prospect to the sales representatives. As always, the personalized URL allowed us to track a individual user's interaction with the site by identifying the prospect without requiring them to complete a form.

Results:
During the year-long campaign, an impressive 25 percent of 12,036 targeted companies visited the website (from an e-mail invitation, no less). Of those companies that visited the site, 52 percent clicked through the entire site and 29 percent requested a follow-up call from either Autodesk or one of their partners. As is always the case with The Lead Machine, the specificity of the behavioral data gathered was invaluable in helping each sales team pinpoint the most relevant message to each individual.

The most obvious measure of success for us is when we retain our clients from year to year. We're happy to say that we're working on Autodesk's 2009 Lead Machine right now. We assume that means they like what we deliver.