Definition
Fit and engagement are the two things a lead score can measure. Fit is how well an inquiry matches what a business sells, such as budget, location, or timeline. Engagement is how much a person has done on the business's site or emails, such as pages viewed or emails opened.
What do fit and engagement each measure?
A fit score measures whether an inquiry matches the work a business wants. It reads what the person tells you: what they need, where the job is, what they can spend, and when they want to start.
An engagement score measures activity. It counts things like visits, pages read, emails opened, and links clicked.
Neither one is the same as lead qualification. Lead qualification is deciding what to do with an inquiry. Fit and engagement are facts that help you decide.
What does this look like for a service business?
Take a plumbing business that covers three towns. Two inquiries arrive on the same morning. This is a made-up example, not a real customer.
| Inquiry A | Inquiry B | |
|---|---|---|
| What they said | A leaking water heater, in a covered town, needed this week | A bathroom remodel, two hours outside the service area, sometime next year |
| Activity on the site | One page, then the form | Many pages over several weeks |
| Fit | High | Low |
| Engagement | Low | High |
A score that counts mostly activity would put B first. A fit score puts A first. A is the job the business can take this week. B still deserves a quick, polite reply, perhaps with the name of a plumber closer to them. It just does not need the first call.
Which one should a small business score?
An engagement score needs a lot of activity to count. It also needs a tool that tracks visits, emails, and clicks. A business that gets a few inquiries a week may have little activity to count. That activity can show someone is curious without showing the job is a fit. Fit can be read from a single inquiry. This is a judgment, not a measured result.
In Qualiform, each scored question reads one answer the visitor gave. You pick how much it counts, from Critical down to Minimal. The results make a score out of 100 that shows how well a lead fits the work you want, from your own questions.
The guide to qualifying leads from your contact form shows how to turn what you look for in a good job into questions and scores.
Common questions
Can one lead score combine fit and engagement?
Yes. Some scoring tools add points for both and show one number. Keeping the two apart makes it easier to see why an inquiry ranked where it did.
Is engagement the same as intent?
Not quite. Engagement counts activity, such as visits and clicks. Intent is what the person is trying to get done. The clearest sign of it is often what they say, such as a job that needs doing this week.