What Does a Good Lead Nurturing Campaign Look Like?

Lead nurturing is one of the key goals of any marketing strategy.

In short, it refers to fostering a relationship with someone who isn’t ready to buy your products or services right now but might develop into an ideal customer in the future.

Such leads are typically early in their research process as they seek to decipher a novel business problem. They may be genuinely interested in your solutions, but they want to explore their other options – or need to align budget, authority, or other internal factors before making a purchase.

Going in for the final sale off the bat probably won’t work.

In fact, this usually cripples the relationship by giving the lead the idea you’ll be too aggressive in your sales efforts. And once they actively revoke their consent for you to contact them, that’s the whole story: you won’t be making that particular sale now or ever.

A repeatable and measurable lead nurturing campaign is the key to success.

Here’s how it goes:

Start With Content Aligned to the Buyer Journey

Content is king when it comes to capturing interest in your offerings. You’ll need to build up a base of useful, informative, helpful content that’s of pressing interest to prospective customers. The goal is not only to showcase your expertise, but to win trust.

Develop an Amazing Lead Magnet (for Each Use Case)

A lead magnet is a special piece of sophisticated content you trade to your prospects in exchange for subscribing to your email list. It often takes the form of a short e-book, video series, or other how-to guide to a particular problem your leads are grappling with.

Use Personalization and Creativity in Email

Email marketing gets boring without a little pizzazz. Most digital marketers know first name personalization goes a long way, but you can do better. Send messages from different people or departments in your organization and vary your content types.

Capture Greater Interest with Training

Live training material is powerful in B2B. With a mature and active email subscriber list, you can soon find yourself capturing dozens or hundreds of sign-ups for a quick webinar. This sparks greater insight into the value you offer and can lead directly to sales.

Re-Engage When You Need To

Not every lead moves forward at the same pace. Some will get lost along the way and others may even start going in the opposite direction. Use data analytics and lead scoring to keep an eye on individual leads and take action with an email or call if they fall idle.

Most importantly, stick with it! When B2B marketers play the long game, they’re that much more likely to meet and exceed their targets.