In business, relationships are everything. That is why effective lead nurturing campaigns focus on building relationships with valuable contacts.
But how can you tell whether a vendor really understands how to make business connections? Maybe you’ve worked with a company whose lead nurturing “campaign” consisted of emailing generic collateral, or maybe your own efforts at lead nurturing didn’t yield the results you wanted. This time, you’re ready to select a vendor who helps you build relationships with your leads. Here’s how to do it:
Ask about customer journeys
Effective lead nurturing requires you to ask the following questions about your buyers:
- Who are they, and what do they care about?
- What critical business issues do they struggle to solve?
- How do those issues differ from industry to industry?
- What compels them to make a purchase decision?
This understanding can have a major impact on your success, so you need to ensure that a potential lead nurturing partner understands your audience and the different journeys your leads take toward becoming customers. Tactically, this could mean building campaigns from buyer personas you’ve developed internally, segmenting targets according to their stage in the sales pipeline, or customizing collateral to improve lead engagement.
Ask about channels
Lead nurturing isn’t a “one channel serves all” solution. To reach enough potential buyers, brands must be able to communicate their value proposition across multiple channels – preferably ones where their audience is most active and likely to encounter their message.
You want a vendor who knows how to identify and connect with your buyers on the channels that matter most. For many brands, a combination of phone and email works best. Others might need a vendor with experience building relationships across other channels or have access to other the resources that can do so.
Ask about lead qualification
Finally, don’t forget about lead qualification. There will come a point during the lead nurturing cycle when an organization transitions from “maybe, someday” status to “I’m ready to meet with a salesperson,” and experienced vendors will recognize the moment when it happens.
That’s why you need to establish how your vendor will qualify your leads. What questions should they ask? What conditions must be met before a prospect “exits” the nurturing cycle and becomes an active lead? Part of the relationship building process is recognizing when it makes sense to place the lead in the sales pipeline.
If you’re ready to discover just how effective a methodical lead nurturing campaign can be for your business, contact Intelemark today! Our experienced team knows how to generate, engage, and qualify your leads – so you can spend less time on the phone and more time generating revenue.