A Guide on Lead Management and Lead Nurturing, How modern marketing is using it. Generating leads through marketing campaigns is isn’t an easy task. Marketers need to pull up different strategies at different levels that inspire prospects to fill out a lead capture form.
However, is lead generation – the end of the job for the marketers?
A leading report from HubSpot gives us an insight into what actually the marketers need to do once they have a list of leads in hand.
It states:
“Generating leads is only half the battle won —making them sales-ready is the rest of the impending task.”
This you can definitely say is the hardest reality that marketers need to come to terms with.
In spite of much conflict with sales on this matter, the fact is: Once a prospect has become a lead, it’s a large part of the marketers’ job to find a way to make them sales-ready so that they can be easily pulled down through the sales funnel.
Marketing Expert at CIO Insight explains –
“Purchase decisions take time. In fact, more than 50% of leads aren’t ready to buy on the day of first conversion.”
And this is precisely where two dynamic concepts come into the picture:
‘Lead Management’ and ‘Lead Nurturing’
Together in action, they behave as the linchpin in the process of converting leads into customers. According to these two concepts, marketers need to invest in different tactics, to make the leads move from interest to action (purchase).
But is doing lead management and nurturing so easy?
Yes. Unlike the earlier times when marketers did not had the right guidance, today there are several written and verbal resources on lead management and nurturing. Going through any of these gives marketers the right insight into understanding workflows, segmentation and marketing automation to strengthen lead nurturing campaigns.
In what holds further is a detailed outlook on one of the best lead management and nurturing practices. Take a look –
Email Marketing is one of the core elements of a successful lead management and nurturing program. Statistics suggest that Lead nurturing emails get 4 -10 times more response rate compared to other marketing campaigns. This piece of data rightly demonstrates the power of email marketing.
However, unlike the traditional email marketing blasts – today companies need to opt for Targeted Email Marketing.
Statistics suggest – Targeted emails get 50% more clicks than untargeted email blasts!
And the reason for this is pretty obvious. Targeted email campaigns are sent considering the needs and preferences of the leads. So they are likely to be more receptive towards the mails. And that’s exactly what helps in carrying out lead nurturing too.
Not to forget that Lead nurturing biggest objective is to influence the leads to make the final action. Hence, targeted emails can be sequentially set in guiding the lead toward purchase.
For example, once the lead already knows about your brand, the emails can be targeted towards making the leads read about your company blog articles and eBooks.
How to Map Content for Lead Management & Nurturing Campaigns?
To make your Lead Management and Nurturing Campaigns successful, you’ll require a planned content structure. Continue reading as we discuss the 5 stages of lead nurturing and the associated content for each:
1. AWARENESS
Build the interest within your leads. Start off with introductory content – blogs & eBooks. Remember, this is the stage during which leads will determine if they have a need for your product or service. So make sure your top-of-the-funnel content is standard enough to entice your leads move to the second stage.
2. CURIOSITY
In the second stage, the leads look forward to knowing more information about your brand. Focus here on showcasing the USPs of your product. Talk about why your product or service is valuable to them. Emphasize upon offering demos and free trials of your product/service.
3. EVALUATION
Coming to this stage, leads start evaluating the pros and cons of dealing with your company. In all probability, they surf for other alternate options to decide which product/service is best for them.
Here, shift the focus from your product to your company. Make it clear to the prospective customer that your company is the right choice. Convince them of the value of your company. Throw light on the several awards and recognitions that your company has received.
4. PURCAHSE
Yippee!!! By this stage, your leads are almost prepared to take the plunge. But wait…that doesn’t mean it’s the end of your job. Leads might demand another reassurance of your product/service quality. So give them that. Make them believe that they are making the right choice by selecting you. Share past customer testimonials to give them that confidence.
5. POST PURCHASE
Unlike the 90% of marketers…DO NOT STOP at purchase. There’s something called post purchase lead management and nurturing too.
So share guides about best ways to use your product/service. Introduce other product/service offerings. Consistently share these informational materials through tools like web CRM to pave the way for up-sell opportunities.
