Running a technology company, I’m both enthusiastic and skeptical when it comes to what technology can do. There are many who over-promise, yet there are many who deliver beyond what people initially expect. So, when a product like SiteLeads™ launches, I watch that transition from theory to practice carefully. Does it work as planned? Is it generating truly useful leads for publishers? Would I use it if I were the customer? Could I rely upon the underlying approach and technology?
Happily, SiteLeads™ continues to exceed expectations in every test we throw at it, which means with every customer utilizing it. That’s where the rubber meets the road, where proof meets pudding. Because the SiteLeads™ technology derives its recommendations from what I call “ground truth” — a comprehensive view of demand, without the limitations of a particular customer base or slice of possibilities — surprises are frequent and often delightful. In one particularly memorable example, a customer reviewing an unlocked lead simply said, “Wow.”
One of the benefits of SiteLeads™ is that it can eliminate blind spots and overturn mistaken assumptions. Over time, people naturally accumulate mental maps of their markets, assumptions about what’s possible, and so forth. By returning to data, which has no opinion, new facts often emerge, resetting assumptions and exposing new opportunities.
Our recent 2017 RedLink Index also supports the notion that there is a great deal of untapped demand remaining in the core markets. In our analysis of usage data emanating from more than 7,000 institutions, 40% of denials were to new content (less than 5 years old), and abstract views of content more than 5 years old represented 60% of abstract views. These data and their counterparts strongly suggest unmet demand around both new and older content. In addition, most denials emanated from the three core markets — North America, Europe, and Asia.
The issue is often seeing and demonstrating demand. This is where SiteLeads™ really delivers, as now both publishers and libraries can have a conversation about the data showing demand. After all, ideally they both serve the end-users — teachers, students, researchers, and scholars.
If you’d like to learn more about SiteLeads,™ please contact us.