subject: A Layered Approach To Lead Nurturing In B2b Demand Generation [print this page] Marketing does the job of running campaigns, acquires leads and passes on to the sales team. The Sales team gets in touch with the prospect but gets the feeling that the customer is not prepared to buy and eventually loses interest. Marketing shoves the responsibility to the sales and thus does not look again at the lead.
What is of utmost importance in the above case is having a robust lead nurturing program. Lead nurturing establishes a long-term relationship between the marketing personnel and the prospective client all the way till the end of the sales cycle. Whether the client wants to buy or not, he has to be nurtured.
The lead nurturing program
Content segmentation - Write content in a way that it resonates with the client's needs. The best way to go about it would be through segmentation: industry, company size, job title, timeline, age, and college education background, style of communication, offline, and online activities. The above gives a clear idea for lead scoring and lead segmentation purposes
Lead Scoring - Once you get the lead scoring method correct, it can produce an amazingly high quality of leads. This can be done by studying offline and online behavior
Type of content - It is worth reiterating that content is the king and it should match the client requirements. Decide whether you want to generate whitepapers or brochures or eBooks. Good content goes a long way in creating trust, Drives action and builds loyalty
SEO tools Landing pages of any website are like 'First impression is the last impression'. These make or break leads. The moment the customer lands on your page he must get the message. Yes, images are attractive but don't overdo them. Your offer must stand out and grab the customer's attention. In short make use of optimization technique
Automation Marketing automation helps lead nurturing in a big way. It sets a specific process of channeling the leads and moving the quality ones at the top of the sales funnel. CRM software makes it easy to streamline and collaborate. Here are the four main areas of marketing automation:
Data acquired from lead scoring and lead segmentation
Content development and management
Campaigning
Result tracking
Lead nurturing campaign - Lead nurturing campaign is a critical tool used to boost lead conversions. It is the middleman who connects leads from one stage in the buying process to the next. Campaigns send a series of automated emails to the lead that are educative. These go further up in the sales funnel. In case the lead ends up converting on the next stage content offer, it gets automatically taken off and goes on to converting on the next offer.
Conclusion
A B2B marketer's toolbox must be equipped with lead nurturing tactic. Sharing relevant content with prospective buyers, regardless of their timing to buy, helps score leads. The goal of lead nurturing is to earn your client's trust and make him feel that he is getting a good deal out of this, especially in terms of solutions.
