Lead Nurturing Online

Keeping the Sales Funnel Active and Profitable

Greetings!

Welcome to the latest edition of the Inside Edge--your monthly report on Internet trends and advancements that can turn your business into a more profitable e-Business. Your online presence is your 24/7 marketing vehicle and a very powerful customer interface tool. By following leading best practices in Internet marketing, you can convert online inquiries into qualified leads and motivate these leads to turn into profit bearing sales. It’s all about maintaining a healthy and interactive relationship with prospects, wherever they may be in their decision making or buying process. What systems can you put in place to inculcate a strong lead nurturing discipline in your organization? Read on to find out...

The Internet marketing space is no longer a playground for amateurs. It is a fast-changing, advanced and high profit arena for specialists and experts that practice it is a scientific discipline. That shouldn't scare anyone away. On the contrary, it opens up several doors for the uninitiated and those standing on the sidelines wondering where to start. There are experts available at hand to help channel your limited budget and hard-earned revenue into successful lead generation and lead nurturing techniques online. Focus on keeping your sales funnel active and profitable. That really is the foundation for any business to grow and remain profitable.

Lead nurturing is the ongoing discipline of fostering consistent and meaningful interaction with potential customers, regardless of their timing to buy. From simple auto responders to click-to-call (Internet to phone), email marketing to RSS feeds and blogs, customer loyalty programs to free trials, there are innovative, cost-effective and most importantly, customer relationship friendly methods that you can utilize to ensure that you are continuously on your prospect's radar.

Besides the expense, can you really afford the ire of potential buyers who just can’t handle one more sales caller and decide not to buy even though they may have been thinking about it? Wouldn't you rather send a periodic e-Newsletter to the folks who asked to be on your mailing list? It's a click of a button to reach a multitude and you will be giving them information that is useful, something they asked for. So what if they don’t buy from you today? You’ll have their mindshare because they have grown to trust you. They are more than likely to recommend you to someone who is closer to buying than they are.

That’s the kind of relationship you want to nurture. The dictionary defines "nurture" as "to encourage somebody or something to grow, develop, thrive, and be successful". Having your lead nurturing mechanism in place allows you to capture and cultivate early-stage leads so that your marketing and sales funnel never miss out on valuable opportunities.

Your prospects will evaluate your product or service and move at their own pace through the buying process. You have the challenging task of keeping the balance between staying in touch with relevant information and throwing them off with overbearing follow-up.

The new B-to-B Lead Generation Handbook from MarketingSherpa highlights 5 Nurture Campaign Time Factors:

1. Immediate welcomes

Reply with a simple "greetings and thank you" email when a prospect responds to your lead generation campaign. It's the nod of acknowledgement people remember and value.

2. Lead Qualification Telemarketing

Rather than expensive telemarketing as a form of lead generation, use it sparingly and more effectively as one of the fastest ways to follow-up and qualify a lead. Nothing gains your appreciation more than an instant phone call from the company you just submitted an online "Request a Quote" form to.

3. Interest-level Timing

A typical customer moves through various levels of interest in your brand at her own pace. Don’t overwhelm a prospect with "Buy Now or Pay 50% more next month" type of offers. Instead remain in their mind space with "Please fill out this 3 point survey today. You will get 15% off on your first purchase from us".

4. Industry Timing

Consider whether your lead nurturing campaign needs to adjust itself according to seasonal cycles. If you are a garden supplies company marketing spring bulbs for planting in the fall or frost prevention soil mix in early winter you would do better than shooting email blasts about your "fantastic Mediterranean herbs for your kitchen garden".

5. Job Function Timing

Understand how your customers buy rather than show them how you sell. Segment your messaging in the right manner by knowing who at your prospect's end gets involved at which stage of the buying process. Catching a child’s attention online about the latest Wii game would be great. But you can go the extra mile by educating parents about the “health” benefits of exercise the game can provide their kids. Remember, the influence shifts from child to parent in the sales cycle.

Call your WSI Internet Marketing Consultant to find out the best lead nurturing techniques that your business can benefit from. Your marketing funnel can gain much and generate greater profits in an expert’s hands!

This edition of the Inside Edge has been brought to you by Jennifer Green, Certified Internet Consultant. For more information about WSI Internet Solutions for your business conact us today! WSI Conversion Matters London Office: Jennifer Green 1-519-642-3222 611 Wonderland Road North, Suite 102 London, Ontario N6H 5N7 Toronto Office: Jeff Green 1-416-628-8411 2365 Queen St., E, Suite 404 Toronto, Ontario M4E 1H2