In my experience, companies employing lead nurturing programs become trusted advisors and are more likely to come away with a sale.
Providing prospects with ongoing useful information, will remind them of the benefits of working with you.
A lead nurturing program should include: a series of letters, emails, voicemails, case studies, success stories, articles, events, white papers, and web events that are meaningful to your potential customers.
By providing valuable education and information to prospects up front, you become a trusted advisor. You don’t sell, you don’t make pitches. Instead, you provide insights and solutions all within the realm of your expertise, and become the first company they turn to when there’s a need.
This way your prospects will perceive you and your company to be expert in your field and show your prospect that you understand his or her specific issues and can solve them.
Firstly, what lead nurturing is NOT, is “following-up” every few months to find out if a prospect is “ready to buy.” Lead nurturing IS meaningful communication with qualified prospects (those that are “a fit” for your solution) but that do not have a clear timeline to buy.
Everyone needs more business, and the best way to get more is to network your way through the doors…..
For many companies, marketing is one of the first victims of any cutbacks during an economic downturn and yet, paradoxically, it is the major instrument in a recession that can actually be used to gain market share.