Getting new business is all about converting leads to customers. While the process is much easier said than done, the steps for lead nurturing can be laid out simplistically. In order to convert any generic prospect to a qualified lead, you need to be actively nurturing.
The standard definition of lead nurturing is the process of building relationships with your prospects with the goal of earning their business when they’re ready. The process helps educate inform leads consultatively, and get them more inclined to be a customer. Proper nurturing can also carry the following benefits:
- Odds of an inbound lead become qualified are 21x greater contact within 5 minutes when nurtured
- Sort out dormant leads
- Address overly long sales cycles
A lead scoring system can be very beneficial for handling unique leads by fit, interest, behaviour, etc. If you’re looking to get started, we have a free lead scoring template to get you on the right track
The Purpose
Sure, you can bring in record leads every month, but if they aren’t converted into customers then there really isn’t much value to gain. Lead nurturing is essential for getting sales closed, and if it’s done well, the return can be exponential. If you want to see steady growth greater than your competition, nurturing is where you can set yourself apart.
- 80% of new leads never translate into sales and companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales ready leads at a 33% lower cost
How you treat leads and the relationships you build with them can set you apart from others and give more reason to do business with you.
Lead Nurturing Strategies
There’s a number of ways to do lead nurturing, each with its own best-case scenario. We’ll cover some top of the funnel approaches that will set up the rest of your nurturing efforts.
Identify Your Audience
The first thing you should lock in is the audience you wish to attract. Not all leads are qualified, so you shouldn’t go to the extreme for every single lead. Identify what your ideal audience and leads look like and some prerequisites before you invest in them. A good place to start is using a customer persona, which you can download for free here. In many cases, putting down details on your target audience will give you a sense on how to best nurture them.
Route the Journey
Part of the nurturing process is figuring out how far along a prospect is on the buying journey. Different leads require unique nurturing steps and identifying a prospects current position can expose what should be done next to move them further down the funnel.
Targeted Content
Also part of the buying journey is content implementation. Publishing content can give prospects more grounds on how your product is right for them. In accordance with the buying journey, different pieces of content can be made for specific parts of the journey. Doing so can serve as a form of reassurance or additional support for prospects that hit a roadblock.
Personalize
Wherever you can, you should try to make your lead nurturing feel unique and personalized. Establishing a relationship involves getting to know the process your audience goes through when deciding if you’re the right fit. Highlighting these specific steps can make it clear how to appeal to prospects to make the process personalized. It’s always good to start with a customer persona to help lead the way, we’ve put together a free kit that will guide the persona journey and bring key points to the light
Inbound Methodology
The inbound methodology is a three step process of Attracting, Engagement and Delighting leads. In a way, it is a summation of the previously mentioned approaches, organized into a flow. Attracting starts by drawing in prospects using valuable content, giving incentive to engage. Engaging provides more on solutions to their pain points to pose as the ideal option. Delighting works to heighten the customer experience and round off a successful purchase and post-purchase engagement.
Review & Revise
As always, be sure to revisit your strategy based on performance results to see if things are working in your favor. What works now may not work in the future and what works for one lead will likely be independent from the next. A good place to start is evaluating current customers and seeking feedback. Afterall, your customers were once leads, so they likely have key indicators that made you the right fit. Standard KPI and metric tracking will also provide some quantitative insight that can guide your direction. It is recommended that you take into consideration the quality of those leads when analyzing KPIs. A high conversion ratio doesn’t guarantee quality customers with a well rounded lifetime value.