You don't want confuse lead nurturing with sending out brochures or marketing copy focused on your product information or your company announcements. This is not the same thing as nurturing a lead.
To nurture means: foster, help develop or help grow; the act of nourishing or nursing; tender care; education; training; that which nourishes; food; diet; sustenance; the environmental influences the contribute to the development of an individual.
Sending out information about you or your company is not the same thing as feeding your leads. When you talk about yourself, you are not focused on what the leads need or your relationship with them.
So what is and what is not lead nurturing:
- Lead nurturing IS NOT sending the same old company case study repeatedly to your list of leads.
- Lead nurturing IS sending focused email that includes content that about the leads role in the company. Send content based on timing or interest. Send content based on a previous conversation. Answer a question or offer more information. Send information that relates to their problem.
- Lead nurturing IS NOT calling leads in an early stage of the buying process once a month to touch bases or calling to ask if they are ready to buy yet.
- Lead nurturing IS making calls based on touch-point data that adds value to the interaction. It means having a valid business reason and goal in mind for each call.
- Lead nurturing IS NOT offering brochures and white papers that just pitch your product or service.
- Lead nurturing IS sharing information that is relevant and valuable even if a lead never buys from you. It means giving information that helps that lead grow as an individual or company.
Leads are becoming more sophisticated through social media. They are looking for real information and sustenance. Content that IS lead nurturing will create more qualified leads and more sales opportunities. Content that IS lead nurturing will create sales in a more predictable and profitable manner.
Think about your own recent experiences with a marketing email that you benefited from. How did that make you feel? Why would you do any less for your own clients?
Jaco Grobbelaar, owner of BroadVision Marketing, helps business owners and business professionals put marketing strategies in place that consistently secure new clients. He can be reached at jaco@broadvisionmarketing.com or 707.799.1238. You can Like him at www.facebook.com/broadvisionmarketing or connect with him on www.linkedin.com/in/JacoGrobbelaar.
Related articles
- How to Use Email to Transform Leads Into Sales (hubspot.com)
- 5 Ways to Totally Suck at Lead Nurturing (hubspot.com)
