Small Business Marketing Blog

Inbound Marketing Tactics For Lead Nurturing Success

Following  on from my last blog: 3 Steps To Planning Your Inbound Marketing Conversion Tactics Im going to share some inbound marketing tactics that work for lead nurturing success.

Lead nurturing is about communication and connection between you and your prospects. It’s not only an opportunity to move people along the sales process but an opportunity to build rapport and trust with your prospects.  This is done by offering information that is of value for nothing in return. The key is to speak in the value system of your prospects and to ‘not’ over sell.

When developing a lead nurturing email campaign make sure you leave enough time between emails, possibly between 3-5 days, it really depends on what you have to offer and the nature of your business.  The last thing you want is to have them ‘opt-out’ because they’re sick of receiving your emails, and not getting any value or benefit out of them.

Think about your industry in a broad sense. Think about the solution or need your product or service fulfills and think about the generic terms prospects would be searching for. Can you create a free whitepaper or ebook or tool that provides some answers to their questions?

For example: if someone is searching for ‘landscape maintenance’ the offer needs to be about landscape maintenance generally, not Bob’s Landscape Maintenance Service.  Industry research and reports are a good conversion tool at this point. An idea might be some industry research that elaborates on the benefits of hiring a landscape maintenance company. Or an ebook called "The Things No one Tells You About Landscapers and How to Find the Right One for You."

However, for people further down the funnel, they want to learn about Bob’s Landscape Maintenance  Service. They want to know what makes Bob so different from his competitors. They are looking for reasons for why they should choose Bob? Is it price, convenience, service or expertise? At this point you want to offer information that is going to increase their confidence in your company. Case studies, demonstration videos, presentations and How-to guides are good conversion tactics at this point. What would work well here are some informational videos showing Bob's Landscape team at work, prospects can see the presentation of the team, quality of work and expertise of the crew.

At the bottom of the funnel are the hot leads, they are ready to talk to a sales person. They want to know what the process is and what the cost is. Information on ROI, testimonial videos from past clients and presentations work well at this point.

It’s important at each stage of the funnel to make it clear to your prospects what they need to do. Do they know how to reach your sales department? Do they know who is your sales team and do they understand what the process is? For example, complete this form and our sales manager will call you within 24 hours to set up a free consultation. Call this number if you would like to receive a quote. Or what about a personal email that says:
Thank you for downloading our pricing guide. If you would like to speak with our trained staff regarding your specific requirements. Our representatives are available to meet you, on site at a time that meets you. All you need to do is...

Please let me know if you found this helpful. And if you liked this article please remember to hit the 'like' button above. Thank you for reading.

 

3 Steps To Planning Your Inbound Marketing Conversion Tactics

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail and old adage but an important one that is being lost with today’s technology.

With the introduction of the internet and social media people seem to be jumping onto both of these marketing channels with very little thought and planning.

I have a 3 step approach to developing inbound marketing strategies and tactics using the sales funnel as my map:

1. The top of the funnel: these are prospects that are researching your industry for generic information. They are searching for answers to a problem or a need without any focus on a particular brand or company.
2. The middle of the funnel: these are warm prospects, maybe leads, that are aware of your company or brand and want to learn more about you, your brand or your service.
3. The bottom of the funnel: these are prospects, or leads that are hot! They are ready to talk to a sales person.

Now with this in mind, we can start to develop inbound marketing tactics that are designed to convert prospects, at each stage of the funnel, into leads. And with a well thought out lead nurturing campaign, move your leads down the sales funnel so they are sales ready.

Inbound marketing tactics that work are; How To Guides, Tools to try or test your product, Case Studies, Reports, ebooks  that provide the extra information that prospects are looking for. They should provide answers to their questions and offer enough value to the prospect, that they are prepared to share their email address.

Example: Local Gym

Top of the funnel: An ebook:  The Daily 15 Minute – ‘At Home’ Exercise Guide: No equipment Necessary

Mid funnel: Tool or test:  Try out the XX Fitness tool to discover a healthy daily meal planner that fits in with your lifestyle or Learn the best exercise and workout routine for you, to achieve your goals, that fits in with your lifestyle.

Bottom funnel: Personal email to a FREE open day, Coupon , Free consult with a personal trainer.

 
The importance to the marketer here is that you now have the contact information of someone who was on your site and is interested in what you do. Because they gave you their information they have indicated their interest in your company. It is okay to offer them additional information that may be of value to them.

 
In my next blog, which I'll publish next week, I’ll explain in more detail about: Inbound Marketing Tactics For Lead Nurturing Success

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