If you’re not nurturing leads, you’re throwing away money.
You worked so hard to get those leads in the door. Defined ICPs. Made the content. Did the outreach. Created connection. But they were not quite ready to buy. Would you say,
“Let’s trash the leads and start over.”
Of course not! So what’s next? Lead nurturing. It’s not new, but it’s the intimate work that turns leads into first-time customers.
There’s a popular stat that I’ve seen posted all over the internet cited in posts as recent as earlier this month in June 2024. 65% of B2B marketers have not established lead nurturing. That sounded wild, and then I realized why—because I actually did the research. The source of that data is this article from MarketingSherpa. It was written in 2012 based on a survey from 2011. That’s irrelevantly ancient! Why are we still citing this stat?
Lead nurture has been around for years, and it is common in most mature marketing organizations. You’re probably already doing it.
Business isn’t always flashy. Sometimes business is doing what we know works consistently. And nurture campaigns work.
But lead nurture is not a “set and forget” kind of thing. It is part artistry and part data-informed science. You need to keep adapting to changes in the market and in prospect behavior and expectations.
Here’s how to make lead nurture work even better.
Quality: Your Starting Point
Yes, content quality matters, but we’re talking about lead quality this time.
In lead generation, “quality” refers to the relevance, engagement potential, and likelihood of conversion of the leads you acquire. High-quality leads are the ones most likely to become paying customers because they closely match your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).
What Do Quality Leads Look Like?
- Relevant: These leads need to have the authority to buy and the budget for your product or service. They fit within your target industry, company size, and geographic location.
- Engaged: They have shown a genuine interest in what you offer, whether through interacting with your content, attending your webinars, or requesting demos. Their actions indicate a deeper level of engagement, suggesting a stronger potential for conversion.
- Ready: These leads are at the right stage in the buying journey, often in the consideration or decision phase, and they exhibit positive intent signals like requesting pricing information or a product demo.
- Accurate: The contact information is up-to-date, and profiles are complete. This ensures that your communications reach them effectively.
- Qualified: They meet specific criteria, such as BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing) or CHAMP (Challenges, Authority, Money, Prioritization), that qualifies them as ready for a sales follow-up.
Understanding and identifying high-quality leads is just the beginning. The real challenge—and opportunity—lies in effectively nurturing these leads until they are ready to make a change.
And it starts with one simple fact: leads are people.
Essential #1: Know Thy Leads
Know your people—not just their name and email address. You have to empathize with them—know where they are, where they want to go, and what’s keeping them from getting there. And you need to know why. You’ve already identified leads that align with your ICP. Taking the time to understand your leads thoroughly lets you engage them on a more personal level.
- Understand Their Roles: Recognize that, in B2B, your leads are part of a decision-making group, which includes roles like CEOs, VPs of Marketing, and IT Managers. Use tools like stakeholder maps to visualize their influence and interest levels, allowing you to prioritize and tailor your engagement efforts effectively.
- Deep Dive into Profiles: Use surveys, interviews, and CRM data to gather insights about these leads. The more you know about their industry, role, and challenges, the better equipped you'll be to meet their needs.
- Build Detailed Personas: Develop robust customer profiles from your best leads. Use these personas to tailor your nurturing strategies.
- Lead Feedback Loop: Regularly seek and incorporate feedback from leads (both closed-won and closed-lost). This helps refine communication tactics and personalize interactions to increase engagement and conversion rates.
Essential #2: Timing is Everything
You’ve identified the quality leads and produced engaging content, but timing matters. Ever offer advice when the timing isn’t right? It doesn’t work.
You can have the most compelling content in the world, but if you send it at the wrong time, it will fall flat.
The key to timing in lead nurture is to pay attention to where your leads are in the buying journey.
- Implement Lead Scoring: Continuously score and reassess your leads to determine their readiness and align your content delivery accordingly.
- Map Content to Stages: Create content that speaks directly to each stage of the buyer’s journey. For instance, use informational content in the awareness stage and more detailed technical content in the decision phase.
- Partner with AI: Use AI to adjust the timing of your messages based on lead behavior and engagement data. This helps ensure that your message lands at just the right time.
Essential #3: Personalization Reigns Supreme
So you understand who your leads are and the perfect time to reach them. Now, it’s time to use that work to personalize your interactions. Personalization will turn quality leads into loyal customers
- Use Dynamic Content: Employ technology to dynamically personalize emails and content. This ensures that every piece of communication resonates with each lead's individual interests and needs.
- Segment Your Audience: Organize leads into groups with similar characteristics and challenges to tailor messages that address their specific concerns.
- Human Touch in Automation: Organize leads into groups with similar characteristics and challenges to tailor messages that address their specific concerns.
Addressing Over-Personalization Concerns
No one likes to feel like they’re being watched, and excessive personalization may make your potential customers uncomfortable. Effective personalization is critical but never at the cost of privacy intrusion. Here’s the bottom line:
- Transparency is Non-negotiable: Clearly communicate how and why you are using data. Ensure all data collection is consensual and understood by your leads.
- Focus on Value: Deliver personalization focused on relevancy to the customer’s needs and interests rather than overly detailed customization that can feel invasive.
Tackling Automation Anxieties
Yes, automation is necessary, but it should not compromise the human connection essential in B2B marketing. Here's our take:
- Strategic Integration: Automation is a tool, not a replacement for human interaction. Use it for efficiency but maintain real, meaningful contact with periodic personal touches.
- Humanize Your Messages: Automate with a human touch. Customize automated communications to mirror a conversational, engaging style, including personalized references that add warmth.
Essential #5: Don’t Set It and Forget It
Lead nurturing is not a one-off—it’s an ongoing discipline. It requires constant monitoring, tweaking, and optimization. Agility is your best friend. Here’s what you need to do so you don’t stagnate:
- Monitor Relentlessly: Keep a vigilant eye on your metrics. Track everything from open rates to conversion rates, and periodically dig deep to understand the subtleties.
- A/B Test Religiously: Commit to constant experimentation. It's not just useful; it's essential. Regularly test different approaches to see what tweaks can drive better results.
- Use Advanced Analytics: Employ cutting-edge analytics and AI to anticipate lead behaviors and refine your strategies. Predictive analytics isn’t just flashy tech—it’s your foresight into future trends.
Confronting Metric Skepticism
Metrics are crucial but not infallible. Misinterpretation can lead to misguided strategies. Here’s the effective approach:
- Blend and Balance: Use both quantitative metrics and qualitative feedback for a rounded view of your strategies' effectiveness. Metrics tell part of the story; your customers and teams fill in the rest.
- Validate Regularly: Treat metrics as evolving indicators, not absolute truths. Regularly check them against real-world outcomes to ensure they remain relevant and accurate.
Mastering Lead Nurturing in B2B Marketing
We’ve covered the essentials: identifying quality leads, understanding their needs, timing your engagement effectively, personalizing your interactions, and continuously refining your strategies. Effective lead nurturing isn’t just deploying a shiny new system; it demands a profound understanding of and response to your prospects’ evolving needs.
Lead nurturing is a dynamic, ongoing process that requires attention and willingness to adapt. It’s not about setting things up and walking away. It’s about actively pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in service of your customers, testing new strategies, and refining your approach based on real-world feedback and data.
So, dust off the old playbook and mine it for diamonds. Challenge the status quo. Employ these principles rigorously and watch as your prospects transform into loyal customers. Remember, the art of lead nurturing is in its precision and persistence. Roll up your sleeves and get ready to nurture those leads like the incredible business leader you are. Your future customers are counting on you!
