Lead nurturing can be an extremely time and resource-intensive activity. This is why it can be so frustrating when you invest budget and man-hours into it, only to see little in the way of tangible returns.
But you mustn’t give up, as lead nurturing is hugely important. When done well, it can generate an impressive 50% more in sales for your business while costing 33% less than bringing in brand new customers.
If you’ve decided that 2020 is the year you transform your lead nurturing program, we have some crucial tips that could help. Take a look…
-
Free up time with outsourced lead generation services
You don’t have to tackle lead generation and nurturing alone. There’s no rule that says you have to do it in-house. In fact, it can make a lot of sense to harness the skill and expertise of specialist lead generation services. You’ll free up time for your sales team and once you take into account the potential boost in revenue, it could be a really cost-effective move too.
-
Use a CRM system
Trying to keep track of lead nurturing activities can become very complicated, very quickly. A CRM or similar system can help you keep track of where every customer is in your sales funnel, and give you automatic prompts when its time to get back in touch.
-
Use targeted content
Failing to personalise content can be like shooting in the dark. Effective nurturing is all about hitting the right buttons to appeal to your target audience. Segment your lists, make good use of marketing automation tools and test out different campaigns on different audiences, to see which delivers the best results.
-
Think beyond email
To effectively nurture leads, you need to reach customers on the platforms and channels that they use. If your email open rates are woeful, you need to do two things. The first is to improve the quality and personalisation of your email campaigns, while the second is to branch out to other channels. Develop strategies for social media, your website and direct sales outreach. If it starts to become too complex, it could be time to look again at outsourcing some activities to lead generation services.
-
Carefully time your follow-ups
Successful lead nurturing is all about following up. But when you do it is just as crucial, as you need to act quickly and strike at just the right moment. Research has found that the average response time for B2B companies following up with leads was 42 hours, which just isn’t quick enough. Your chances of qualifying a lead or even making a sale are believed to be around 21 times greater when you get in touch within 5 minutes rather than 30 minutes.
-
Align sales and marketing
If your sales and marketing teams are working in isolation, your lead nurturing program is bound to be lacklustre. You need to align the goals and working practices of both, so that everyone is pulling in the same direction.
To find out more about our specialist lead generation services or simply for advice on successful lead nurturing, get in touch with the experts at IT Focus – call us on 0330 058 0100 or email info@itfocus-tm.com.
