Planning Your Lead Nurturing Campaign

The days when prospects had to rely on your sales people to educate them about your offering are gone. Today the average buyer will gather and sift through 65 to 90 percent of their decision-making information before their first contact with your sales force. Then they’ll contact your firm to either ask further questions or complete the sale.

The benefits of lead nurturing

For considered purchases, having quality content to nurture prospects through the sales cycle – and, hopefully, change or shape their perspectives – has become vital.

With lead nurturing you can educate prospects about their options, show them how to prioritize their needs, and guide them to view the market and evaluation criteria in a way that positions your solution as the best solution. Then you can give them the “ammunition” they need to “sell” your solution to others in their organization. Your goal is to ensure that when prospects are finally ready to buy, you’ll be both top-of-mind and the top choice.

Three Stages of The Buying Process

The first step in planning your lead nurturing campaign is mapping content to the stages of the buying process. Not only do people need different information at different times, each target audience and buyer persona may have unique information needs as well.

1. AWARENESS

• Information Needs: Education about the market/field/industry in general.
• Types of Content: Whitepapers, ebooks, tip sheets, checklists, how-to videos, introductory webinars, podcasts

2. EVALUATION

• Information Needs: Information about how your company in particular can solve their needs. What makes your solutions superior? What makes your company better? What do others have to say about what you’re offering?
• Types of Content: Product webinars, case studies, samples, manuals, FAQs, data sheets, demo videos, podcasts, PowerPoint presentations, testimonials, reviews, buying guides, polls/surveys, ROI calculators

3. PURCHASE

• Information Needs: Information that will answer any lingering questions, overcome any final objections, and show prospects that they are making the right decision.
• Types of Content: Free trials, live demos, consultations, advanced webinars, estimates, coupons, testimonials

 

As you work through the content mapping process, think about the logical steps that members of each buyer persona are likely to take as they move from awareness to evaluation to purchase. What information will they need to move from one stage to the next? What content assets do you already have that can be deployed at those stages, and what do you need to create?

Stay relevant to ensure one touch leads to another

To keep prospects from opting out of your lead nurturing list, you must plan your campaign in a way that makes them want to keep engaging with you. Provide valuable content that they can’t get elsewhere, that helps them evaluate their options. Deliver this content at the right point in the buying process. And use a variety of content types in order to cater to the different learning styles that people have.

Need help creating a lead nurturing campaign that works? Give us a call. We’re here for you.