Lead Nurturing 101

Cassie Marini, Account Marketing Specialist

 

Ahh, the sweet, fickle world of consumer marketing! Lead generation is a topic I talk about on a daily basis. Did you know lead generation is one of the biggest challenges faced by businesses today? It doesn’t matter your business size, your location or your product or service – everybody is focused on new leads. So, we spend a significant amount of time focused on lead generation. And sometimes we forget – lead generation is only the first step.

Here’s a crazy fact for you – roughly 80% of newly generated leads…don’t purchase.^* So, is lead generation a waste of time, money and resources? NO, of course not! But the days of letting these hard won leads go without a fight…are gone.

You have got to up your game! New leads need to be nurtured along their consumer journey. This is done by actively engaging with them, multiple times…as they get ready to take the next step.

An effective lead nurturing strategy will help you grow and sustain your business over time. Along with driving new business, it also helps maintain customer relationships by building brand loyalty and trust.

How do you get started? Here are a few tips:

1. Organize Your Database: Your database if full of intel that will help with your lead nurturing strategy. Taking the time to segment your database into different groups based on characteristics, preferences and patient journey stage is the base for an effective lead nurturing strategy.
2. Utilize Email Marketing: Email marketing is one of the easiest and most effective ways to nurture leads. It allows a business to have a direct and meaningful interaction with a lead based on what they were looking for when they contacted your business. Emails can be prewritten based on where the lead is coming from – like if a lead from a paid digital campaign only provides you with an email address.
3. Personalize Whenever You Can: Personalization can be as simple as using a first name in communications, but it can be so much more. New technology allows us to personalize print and digital experiences for a single customer in a cost effective way. Personalization goes a long way in building an effective lead nurturing strategy.
4. Look into Marketing Automation Software: Marketing automation software is used to automate repetitive marketing tasks, like email marketing, to provide leads with a timely, personalized experience while saving a business time (and, in a lot of cases, money). You may already have marketing automation software built into your office management system – I know CounselEAR and Blueprint Solutions have some really cool automations ready for use! Be sure to check them out.
5. TRACK TRACK TRACK: To achieve success, you need a goal and you need to set benchmarks along the way to that goal. This helps determine if your strategy is over or under performing. Make sure you’re reviewing your campaign metrics at least once a month.

 

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