Expert article

The marketing prospect

What is a marketing prospect?

A marketing prospect is a potential customer of a company. Prospecting therefore consists in contacting people who are not customers of the company, but who are likely to become so.

What's the difference between a marketing prospect and a lead?

A “lead” is defined as an individual or organisation that is not yet sufficiently qualified to be seen as a prospect. A sales strategy always starts with the search for marketing leads, which become prospects, then customers. Qualification is therefore needed to turn a lead into a qualified prospect. This involves collecting information on their civil status, contact details and studying their behaviour and expectations through surveys, questionnaires or forms, during market research, for example.

Cold prospect and hot prospect

“Cold prospect” and “hot prospect” are marketing terms used to refer to qualified prospects that require further work to be converted into customers.

A cold prospect is a potential customer who has been contacted but has not yet expressed any particular or immediate interest in the services offered by the company.

By contrast, a hot prospect is a potential customer who has recently shown an interest in the services offered by the company or expressed an intention to purchase in the company’s area of activity. The sales department must therefore focus on this contact.

There is another type of marketing prospect, the “lukewarm prospect”. Logically situated between cold and hot, this prospect shows an interest in the services offered by the company without urgently needing to purchase. For example, someone who subscribes to a newsletter to obtain additional information. To convert a lukewarm prospect into a customer, you must be as responsive as possible by answering their questions, sharing customer feedback or offering them a demonstration of the company’s products or services, while creating a sense of urgency.

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