Wonder how much is missing from your company’s coffers? No, not money that’s been stolen, but money that hasn’t been earned. Think of it this way: multiply your company’s revenue by five. That’s the sum of what lead nurturing could produce considering that long-term leads — the ones often ignored by salespeople — represent as much as 80% of your sales.
Nurturing leads through a consistent “conversation” can help them remain in your funnel. And you can have a great part of your conversation online by engaging them with information — content like articles, newsletters, reports and videos — that they’re eager to read, share and act on.
First, learn more about your customers. Don’t just think of them in terms of “what you can do for them” but also “what they want from you.” Seek input about:
- Their most pressing issues in their homes and how they’re dealing with them. Energy bills? Repairs and improvements? Family health? Those areas seem logical, but asking will show if you’re missing a big opportunity to meet a need.
- The resources they turn to when they look for solutions. Friends? Google? You? Asking could show if you’re missing an opportunity to share your message.
- What kind of information informs their buying decision. Financing? Warranties? Comfort level with your company? Asking could help you recognize an important selling point that you’ve been missing.
Once you have insight about what’s valuable to your customers, think of all of the ways you provide that kind of content. For example, a video or report can be:
- Repurposed into an article, blog or webinar …
- … that is then shared through social media …
- … and used by sales professionals to support customer relationships.
Also, measuring what customers pay attention to – through opens, page views, clickthroughs and responses — will help you determine the information and format they’re most interested in – and you can narrow your efforts.