If you’ve been following our lead nurturing blog series, you may have already grasped the value of lead nurturing. You may also have an understanding of the types of content that improves conversion throughout the buyer’s journey. But if you want to effectively engage B2B prospects using email, it’s beneficial to operate in line with current lead nurturing best practices. Here are some tips to get you started:
1. Analyze & Optimize Your Data.
Data is your most powerful asset and can effectively dictate what email content should be sent, to whom, and when. For instance, if you analyze your previous results and experiences, you can set up your email marketing campaigns to match typical customer behavior.
Also, remember that people change, and so do their needs and expectations. So, test your email campaigns regularly, analyzing the data, and optimizing them according to the insights you gather.
2. Set Up Appropriate Goals.
Each buying journey can have a different goal relative to the problem that your potential customer needs to solve. For each action, make sure you have a process in place that matches your customer’s desired outcome.
Additionally, having a great understanding of your audience will assist you in creating valuable content that they appreciate.
3. Always Keep it Personal.
Personalization is key to ensuring that your audience views you as a trusted resource. From personalized emails and segmentation to staying relevant to your client’s specific requirements. Tailor your communications and triggers to customer activity rather than generalized outcomes.
Personalization becomes especially important for prospects near the end of the buyer’s journey. That individualized conversation, where they can ask questions and just chat, may be the biggest factor in determining if they convert to a customer or not.
4. Produce Relevant Content.
Pay attention to the phases of the buying cycle and the content that’s most suited to each phase. This will help you to create content that brings clients back for more. Review each phase alongside the typical questions that are asked at that stage and make sure your content provides solutions to these needs.
5. Cater for All Devices.
Your emails must be mobile-friendly and able to render easily on any device. If customers can’t read your mail content from the device they open it on, they’re more likely to delete the communication or unsubscribe. Also keep “dark mode” in mind when designing your emails.
6. Perfect Your Email Schedule.
Sending emails too frequently can be viewed as spam. Consider setting up a schedule that matches your sales cycle and leads. Space your content so customers have time to digest what’s on offer. With cold leads, spacing your content out even further to once or twice a month may be effective, so you don’t bombard them or come across as aggressive.
7. Use Predictive Lead Scoring.
Predictive scoring can help you understand the value of a lead using historical data and customer activity. Most predictive scoring systems get smarter over time, so your lead follow-up strategy will optimize itself. Manual lead scoring, on the other hand, can introduce mistakes through human error.
8. Create Multiple Touchpoints.
Generally, successful companies connect with their prospect 10 times as they move through the sales funnel. This can include everything from all stages of the content funnel to a series of personalized emails.
As an example, say a lead fills out a form to access gated content. You can nurture the lead further by sending them a series of personalized educational emails on that same topic or links to similar subjects on your website.
Conclusion
According to Techjury, companies with strong lead nurturing processes produce about 50% more sales-ready leads at a third of the usual cost. It’s safe to say that a robust B2B lead nurturing strategy can help improve engagement with your prospects, which in turn boosts the quality of your leads.
The best practices we’ve shared will make it simpler for you to engage and build rapport with your prospects.
A version of this article originally appeared on the Everlytic blog.
