eMarket2 Blogs

Why nurturing must form a major part of your lead generation strategy

“Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.”

Michael Moore.

I’ve regularly written of the importance of nurturing as a lead generation tool. Today I want to talk about what it means in practice.  So how does one go about ‘nurturing’ a lead?

1/ The Telephone

As most of my readers will be aware, when I’m not writing this blog I’m busy in my role as managing director of eMarket2, an outsourced B2B lead generation and sales and marketing agency. As you might expect, telemarketing services form an important part of our offering. In fact I’d argue that as a marketing communications tool the telephone has yet to be bettered, despite all the technological breakthroughs of e-marketing. But it has one big downside: typically a telemarketer will only reach a genuine decision maker just 10% -20% of the time.  Now I’m not suggesting this is the fault of the individual telemarketer. It’s simply down to the fact that getting through to key decision makers (KDMs) has never been more challenging. Why should this be? Well think about it:   

If you’re anything like me, you’ll be too busy running your business and pursuing new clients to find time for speculative conversations on the telephone with people who are trying to sell you something. Most days I avoid unsolicited calls like the plague.  This isn’t because I’m not interested in what solutions businesses have to offer to my problems, (quite the opposite in fact) it’s just that I’m too busy with other, more important, things. 

And on the rare occasions that a telemarketer does catch me on the hop, they’ll need a cast-iron proposition to hold my interest for more than 10 seconds.  But getting through to me on the phone is the exception and not the norm, and I know for a fact that my situation is typical of decision makers.

For this reason it remains critical that the telephone forms a part of your overall lead nurturing strategy, but it can no longer be relied on as a stand-alone marketing tool.  And even when you have identified a prospect via the phone, you’ll notice they’ll frequently dodge future calls. So how do you connect with the remaining 80+% targets that your telemarketing efforts will inevitably miss?

To maintain consistent contact other methods of communication are more effective. 

2/ Message Delivery

Parallel with your use of the phone – which is generally best for short-term campaigns, where time is of the essence – you should deliver useful information over a sustained period of time. 

To improve the chances of your messages getting through, they must stand out from the routine clutter – so pay great attention to the quality of your message, including the copywriting and design. And remember that a nurturing communication should never take the form of a sales pitch. Instead it must comprise useful news or information which is of potential benefit to your prospect. Remember the mantra: ‘DON’T SELL; PRE-SELL’. It’s also important to deliver your message in a combination of formats, including email, web video and direct mail.

And unless you’re pretty confident that your prospect has entered a buying cycle, it’s important not to waste your time and resources putting together proposals and presentations prematurely.  Until they’re actively looking for a solution to a problem, KDMs are thinking about two things only: their bottom line and new ideas for increasing profitability. If you pitch them with your wares too soon you can do more harm than good.

But when your prospect is genuinely ready to buy, the company that remains top of their mind will stand the best chance of being at the top of your KDM’s shortlist.   To achieve this level of awareness you must contact a prospect between 8 and 12 times over a 12-month period. 

However, this doesn’t mean that you send the same message 8 to 12 times a year! To maintain a prospect’s interest it’s vital that you vary your message and combine different approaches and formats.  And if you speak with a prospect on the phone and it doesn’t result in an appointment, your future messages should reflect the information gathered during that conversation.  Always do your utmost to understand where your prospect is in the buying cycle, and tailor your messages accordingly. This will keep your company at the forefront of their mind when they are ready to buy.

An effective nurturing programme consists of a continuous and structured flow of communications. It can be likened to holding a prospect’s hand and guiding them through the minefield of the buying process, at the same time offering constant reassurance that you’re there to help them – regardless of whether they choose to buy from you. 

3/ Social Media

Research shows that KDMs visit social websites more than corporate websites to find information about a product or company.  This is especially the case when they’re in the early stages of the buying cycle and are searching for information about their specific needs.  By blogging on social sites, or using a web video, you can successfully position your company as a vital informational resource, as well as paving the way for future prospects by driving additional targeted traffic to your website.

And finally…

An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less until he knows absolutely everything about nothing.

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading and, as ever, your comments and ideas are very welcome. 

And always to a higher response!

Norman

Drop us an email now to see how quickly we can generate sales leads for your business