A Lead Conversion Is Not A Dead End, It’s Just The Beginning
HubSpot defines lead nurturing as: “the purposeful process of engaging a defined target group by providing relevant information at each stage of the buyer’s journey”. Emphasis on “each stage”.
Think about something as simple as turning on a lamp…
First stage: you have to plug it in. Next stage: you flick the switch to turn it on.
If you turn it on before you plug it in, it simply doesn’t work.
(Someone, please teach this guy how to connect his lamp to a light switch.)
We should take the same approach as we guide prospects through the sales process. The buyer’s journey happens in stages, and it’s important that we don’t try to jump ahead to different stages.
The Buyer’s Journey
The Buyer’s Journey consists of three stages:
- Awareness
- Consideration
- Decision
It is our job to give the prospect what they need at each stage of this journey.
During the awareness stage, it is important to help the prospect understand their problem. Ask questions and gather information so you can guide them to the next stage of the buyer’s journey.
Once a prospect has a clear understanding of what is causing their problem, they will need help researching and understanding how to resolve it.
This stage is extremely important. It’s our job to provide resources and knowledge, so the potential customer has a full understanding of what we can provide for them.
The prospect has a mental pros and cons list about the methods they’ve researched. They are getting ready to make a decision. At this point, the prospect will start reaching out to vendors (if they haven’t already) and finding their best fit.
Nurturing your leads through this journey is an absolute MUST. So, let’s break down five great ways to nurture your leads.
5 Ways to Nurture Your Leads:
1. Lead Scoring
How can you really tell if a lead is genuinely interested? Are they the right fit? How likely are they to convert? Luckily, Lead Scoring can help with that.
Hubspot explains: lead scoring, “lets you assign a value (a certain number of points) to each lead based on the professional information they’ve given you and how they’ve engaged with your website and brand across the internet.
This method helps by vetting your leads and allowing sales and marketing teams to prioritize properly, while increasing efficiency.
2. Targeted Content
It is pretty much always a good idea to get a gift receipt when purchasing clothing as a gift for someone. Why? Because – who knows if that sweater will fit them correctly, or if it’s their style? Maybe they don’t like argyle sweaters as much as you do.
When it comes to lead nurturing, we need to have the same mentality. One size doesn’t fit all. Using targeted content is a way to massively improve engagement and boost your results.
So what is required for a successful targeted campaign? It is crucial to understand your business’s buyer personas.
In case you’re unfamiliar, Hubspot defines buyer personas as “fictional, generalized characters that encompass the various needs, goals, and observed behavior patterns among your real and potential customers. They help you understand your customers better. Creating personas allows you to segment contacts, assign them to workflows, and import contacts with a persona.”
Once you have created your personas, you will be able to create content that aligns with their interests and goals.
3. Multi-Channel Marketing
According to SAS, “Multichannel marketing refers to the practice of interacting with customers using a combination of indirect and direct communication channels – websites, retail stores, mail order catalogs, direct mail, email, mobile, etc. – and enabling customers to take action in response.”
Multi-channel marketing is about serving prospects across multiple mediums and giving them multiple opportunities to choose you.
4. Multiple touches/Follow-ups
According to SalesForce, it takes 6 to 8 touches to generate a viable sales lead. However, a study from Demand Gen said that 49% of sales professionals and marketers include less than five touches in their lead nurturing processes. That statistic does not set that 49 % up for success.
It is important to be there for your leads as they make their way through the buyer’s journey. This goes hand in hand with multi-channel marketing; make your business available across the platforms your prospects use. Be there to answer their questions, and guide them. Bringing them this value will make your prospects trust you and your brand, and put them on the path to conversion.
5. Personalization
Personalization is a great way to build rapport and trust while nurturing your leads.
The worst feeling is interacting with a business and getting a cold, corporate response. It is important to make prospects feel like they have a genuine, human connection with you.
From a marketing standpoint, how does this translate? Create copy that feels real and conversational. Make sure your message is engaging and evokes an emotional response, whether it tugs at the heartstrings or gives them a laugh!
And there you have it! To go hand-in-hand with this Lead Nurturing Guide, we would like to offer you our Marketing 101 Checklist – for FREE – so you can make sure you are set up for success on your inbound campaigns.
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