Qualified leads are the basis for the lasting business success. Because the way from the first contacts between company and interested visitor and the actual Business deal is connected with many branches. At each of these junctions, the potential customer can find the Lose interest and lost to the company. Sich properly take care of the interested parties and from these qualified Generate leads, is the main task in online marketing.
Lead Nurturing and its importance for companies
First, let's take a closer look at the term. The English term "to nurture" literally means "to bring up, rear, or nourish." It thus means in the direct sense that leads, much like children, need to be properly educated and cared for, so that the desired results are achieved.
Leads, like children, have minds and wills of their own and are always demanding attention from others.
As disrespectful as this comparison sounds at first glance, its strength is nevertheless strong. Because in online marketing it is always the Finding the right balance between how much attention and how much rest a lead needs, to develop perfectly.
Individual customer categories for optimal lead nurturing
Probably the most important step is the creation of categories into which the classify different customers and target groups let. Especially for companies with a very wide range of products this is of crucial importance. This is because leads in a higher-priced segment and with expensive products require a different form of attention than, for example, leads for products with a lower purchase threshold.
In this way, leads interested in products with low prices and with less need for explanation can be very well and without difficulty from the Marketing Automation be looked after. Leads for the very high-priced segment or for products that require a great deal of explanation need much more personal attention. The better the customers are classified, the more effectively you can reach them.
The right timing at the right time is crucial
A good and comprehensive Lead Nurturing must give a follow own rhythm. It doesn't mean that you always have to keep clients in mind with new marketing emails at set times. It all comes down to timing, when which activity makes sense.
Here, too, you can use the Marketing Automation enormous amount of work to be taken on. For example, if a potential lead is a Form filled or has signed up for the newsletter, you should react quickly. Customers expect a response from the company to their action.
However, if a potential customer has a Purchase request places, you should react even faster can. Here, waiting too long can jeopardize the sale. Have you given a customer Send information, you can follow this Give timeto process the data contained therein and let it sink in. Making contact too quickly can even be counterproductive here.
See all actions from the lead's point of view
The previously mentioned points and all other actions in the area of online marketing you can very easy to check.
Put yourself in the customer's shoes and try to evaluate your company's timing and actions.
Everyone is a customer and can draw on their own experience. This distance often helps to evaluate one's own actions better and more accurately.
Use more contact channels
When it comes to lead nurturing and online marketing, many people only think of the important Emailings. But about Social media channels, about dynamic websites and also about the Phone you can act directly and indirectly on your customers and the leads and take care of them comprehensively.
The more contact channels and contact opportunities you can use, the more you can use the Customers Journey of your leads and the more effective you can make lead nurturing.
Marketing and sales in perfect harmony
Marketing and Sales Department are very close to each other in almost all companies. This is important because, in the optimal case, both departments Working hand in hand should. This applies in particular to the question at what point a lead is no longer taken over by the marketing department, but by sales.
So, together with both departments, define the concept of the Ready for sale and align lead nurturing with it.
Once a lead has been taken to sales maturity, it should, including all relevant information, to the sales department. are available. If all the relevant information is also available there, the sales staff can take over the lead without difficulty. This creates a direct transition from marketing to sales and then to customer relationship management.
Test and evaluate: split tests for more success
Especially the Automation in the field of online marketing is always tempting to simply let the processes run their course. But this can have fatal consequences and jeopardize the successes in lead nurturing. So you should always keep a close eye on the various Analysis tools and capabilities use the Verify the efficiency of your measures and to improve them if necessary.
Which stages of the customer journey, for example, are considered to be particularly successful viewed, which less? At what points can you see the direct communication improve with the leads? Which Opening rates can you achieve with your newsletters and mailings? These are all points that you can address in lead nurturing in order to significantly improve your own performance.
Don't neglect the human factor in lead nurturing
In the midst of all this lead nurturing, however, don't forget that you're dealing with People of flesh and blood who also want a human partner when making purchases. Especially the human factor can make a significant difference in how a customer perceives your company and also your marketing.
So do not try to optimize all the points over but remain human and perceivable by the leads even as a company. Always open up opportunities for the direct contact along the customer journey to target precisely these feelings and benefit from your own strengths. You will be thrilled to see how strongly many customers respond to these opportunities and how easily qualified leads can thus be achieved.