Do You Make These Huge Lead Nurturing Mistakes?
Lead nurturing is the process of building a relationship with a prospect through frequent interactions which eventually lead to a sale. This is an art that ensures just the right level of interaction is done to stay on the lead’s radar and keep them engaged with your brand. According to findings by Gleanster Research, “up to 50% of qualified leads are not ready to buy.” You must first nurture them through the sales cycle to becoming a customer. But there are common lead nurturing mistakes that usually cause these qualified leads fail to convert.
Here are the top 3 lead nurturing mistakes and how to avoid them:
1. Not Following Up
The first of many lead nurturing mistakes made by marketing and sales teams is not following up. After the initial contact with a prospect, it is important to cement the newly formed relationship by following up. Your leads are often looking at other companies as well as yours during the early stages and will simply forget you if you don’t follow up. Research shows that you need to engage with the lead at least 6 times before they are ready to make the decision to buy from you.
How can you avoid making this lead nurturing mistake?
NEVER forget to follow up with a single prospect. Following up should not be too `salesy.` After the first contact a simple call or email asking if the lead would like more information should be sufficient. The lead should be made to understand that you are there to answer any questions and provide any other relevant information. Setting yourself regular reminders in your CRM to follow up and recording details of the interactions you’ve had with the prospect helps keep track of the conversations and avoid repeating yourself.
2. Failing to Provide Informative and Relevant Content
Every lead is different; they have different needs, different problems that need solving and different interests. Pushing content out to everyone on your email list without targeting specific recipients means that many of your contacts will not be interested, risking your content being labelled as spam. The goal of pushing content to your leads is to enhance your position of authority and encourage them to buy from you.
How can you avoid making this lead nurturing mistake?
Within your CRM system, segment your list based on relevant categories for your business. For example, if you run a hotel chain, your marketing is likely to be location-specific so segment your data based on your prospects’ locations. If you have sell multiple products that are aimed at different age ranges, segment your list accordingly.
3. Trying to Sell to Your Lead Too Soon
Instantly trying to sell to a lead is one of the biggest mistakes marketers make. As previously mentioned, half of prospects are not ready to buy after the first interaction. They first need to build trust in your company and your product. Of course, this is dependent on your product; buying a £20 product is very different to buying a £20,000 product. Generally, the costlier your product, the longer the lead nurturing process will be. However, trying to sell to your lead too soon could put them off you and cost you a sale.
How can you avoid making this lead nurturing mistake?
Let’s just say your prospect has completed a contact form on your website, expressing interest in a particular product. Your next step should be to provide them with some more information rather than expecting them to buy from you immediately. Lead nurturing is about finding the balance between educating your prospect about your product and gently pushing them towards buying.
So there’s our top 3 lead nurturing mistakes and how to avoid them. If done properly, lead nurturing is invaluable in business, if you don’t nurture your leads then you’re sure to be leaving money on the table. If you’d like help with your lead nurturing process, contact the InTouch team here or take a free 14 day trial of InTouch and let the system do the hard work for you!
