Before all of you immediately object with comments like: “but we send an automatic thank you message to all of our new leads”, or “we now enter every lead into our sales/CRM system and make sure that sales follows up” – consider this, one message or point of contact doesn’t matter if the lead is not ready to buy. When do you clip a discount code or coupon? You do it when you are ready to go shopping. The same is true for business buyers, only on a much larger scale and typically longer buying cycle.
Whether you call it demand generation or lead nurturing or marketing automation doesn’t really matter. What matters is how you stay connected with new leads, nurturing them until they are ready to buy, so that when they get to the point of “going shopping” you are the first, and only, place they think of going. It’s best to start small with a new group of leads and test relationship building, educational communications with them over a period of time. Gauge their response, and adjust the program for future lead groups. By the way, if you do have access to an automation platform, either directly or through a provider, exploit these capabilities to their fullest and you’ll soon pass your competition. Chances are, they are among the 95-97% of companies who only use marketing automation programmes as a slightly more than an email system. Learn what true nurturing systems can do, and use them to your advantage.
Find out how Mardev-DM2 can help build an effective lead nurturing programme for your business. http://www.mardevdm2.com/LeadQual.asp