Simply having a long list of leads does not guarantee that you will have new business flooding in…first you have to convert. Through the various stages of the sales cycle, it is now more important than ever that companies nurture their leads in an effective way. There is lots of competition out there and you have to make your business stand out and really work to develop meaningful, personal connections with your prospects. Why are some companies successful in their lead nurturing efforts and why do others fail? Keep reading to find out the difference between the two groups.
Effective Lead Nurturing Is…
- Targeted- Nurturing leads can be compared to the process of nurturing a child in some senses. A child’s needs change as it grows and therefore the means of caring for that child also change. The same is true for lead nurturing. The way you treat a lead depends on how ready they are to buy from you. By segmenting your list of leads into various groups based upon their readiness, you can then target each one more effectively and bring them closer to a readiness to purchase.
- Focused- Not everyone is ready for all the possible information you can throw at them. An ad campaign aimed at dedicated clients is either going to confuse or turn away newer leads, so be careful what you send to who. Focus your messages to address specific audiences and you’ll find that your lead nurturing will become much more relevant and effective.
- Strategic- Timing is everything when it comes to contacting leads. You need to ensure that you contact them before your competitors do, so don’t wait too long for that first touch. Over time, you’ll need to regularly keep yourself in their minds, but at the same time you do not want to pester them. Remind them you are there and available to answer any questions or provide information, but be respectful. That means NO 5-emails-per-week kind of campaigns!
Ineffective Lead Nurturing Is…
- Insistent- Sending emails to your leads every single day is going to drive them away. Not only is the practice simply annoying to your leads, the content of each of those messages is only going to go down in quality and relevancy as time goes on. You only have so much you can say to your leads and eventually you would just be filling space, which is never a good idea. Effective lead nurturing is about keeping your value proposition clear and be strategic about when you send messages.
- Undiscerning- As mentioned early, your leads are all in various stages throughout the sales cycle. If you just send the same email to every lead in your database, what are you communicating to your prospects?… Simply that they are a name on a list or just a number on a spreadsheet. You destroy any connection you might have had with them and any hope of developing a meaningful relationship with them when you choose to treat everyone the same.
You need to show your leads that they are more than just a name on a list.
Show them that they matter to you on a personal level. This is truly to overarching key to how effective lead nurturing is achieved. For details on setting up segmented list, developing workflows, automating campaigns and an integrating an email marketing strategy, call Farotech today and talk with us about how our advanced software can make these processes simple and seamless for your business!
