If you're not nurturing your leads, then you need to start. Right now.

Companies that invest more time, resources, and effort toward nurturing leads generate 50% more sales-ready leads. (Marketo)

Nurtured leads make larger purchases. On average, they spend 47% more than non-nurtured leads. (The Annuitas Group)

Lead nurturing emails have a 10X higher open rate than standard emails. (CampaignMonitor)

That's the why covered. Now let's show you the how. Here are the seven steps you need to take while planning and managing your first B2B lead nurturing campaign

Step 1: Planning a B2B lead nurturing campaign

There are several things you need to consider during the planning stage, including:

Your goals 

Start by setting clear targets for your lead nurturing campaign, i.e., increasing your overall conversion rates, driving more leads through an underperforming part of your sales funnel, or building up your email lists to bring in more fresh targets to nurture.

Or you can focus on qualitative goals, like aligning your sales and marketing processes to ensure leads are passed on at the right time and with the very best chance of a conversion.

Your audience

Build up buyer personas that represent your ideal customers. This is an essential first step in making sure you create the right messages for the right type of buyer.

Focus on drawing up a list of their needs, wants, and biggest pain points based on data gathered from keyword research, online behavioral insight analysis, social media trends, and relevant personal information.

A complete B2B buyer persona should include data on the following:

• Demographics - who they are
• Firmographics - who they work for and job title
• Psychographics - personal values and goals
• Information sources - what content do they consume when making purchasing decisions
• Pain points - what problems are they trying to solve

Step 2: Collecting data

Every successful lead nurturing strategy is built upon accurate, reliable, and relevant data.

Focus on collecting data that provides insight into your target's interests, challenges, and decision-making processes. 

This valuable data is available through keyword and high-intent search analysis via tools like Google Analytics, social media, and online forums. The comments section of popular industry blogs will also provide insight into your audience's online habits and business needs.

Go straight to the source and ask your targets relevant questions with online data collection forms, like surveys, questions, and quizzes. Send them out as part of a targeted email campaign, link surveys to your promoted social media posts, or add links on your most popular web pages, with small incentives to boost engagement.

Surveys and quizzes are easy and cost-effective to produce and gather a large set of highly specific lead nurturing data points. Use a combination of quantitative and qualitative data to get greater insights for your messaging campaign.

Step 3: Segmenting

Lead segmentation breaks leads into smaller lists (segments) based on their actions, characteristics, and sales readiness, allowing you to craft and send more convincing marketing messages.

Use your CRM platform to create and manage the segmented lists most related to your lead nurturing campaign. Build a segment of senior decision-makers with specific job titles, then create sub-segments of those displaying high-intent buying signals. Now you have a list of in-market buyers to pass on to sales.

Create profiles for individual leads, then update their info as they move forward and backward along the buying process, creating a dynamic lead nurturing approach that gives you the best chance of always delivering the most appropriate message.

Send targeted messages to each of your lists, then move contacts between segments when they complete a specific action or flash a high-intent buying signal, like booking a discovery call or signing up for a free trial.

Step 4: Personalization 

Make personalization a cornerstone for all your lead-nurturing content. It's what customers expect and demand. Personalizing messages and campaigns will significantly increase your lead conversion rate.

Collect data from CRM or marketing automation software on the last actions and behaviors of your audience, giving you real-time data to send personalized welcome messages to new subscribers, reschedule emails to leads who missed demos, or shopping cart nudge messages to leads that abandoned purchases at the point of sale.

CRM and automation software can also implement smart CTAs. Smart CTAs automatically update depending on each lead's personal buying journey or previous intent signals. First-time website visitors will see a CTA to sign up for a newsletter, while repeat visitors or leads interested in more product-specific content, will see a CTA offering a free demo.

Birthday messages, customer anniversary messages, and product update emails written specifically for disengaged or cold leads are other ways to deliver highly relevant messages that match each lead's situation or expectations.

Step 5: Communication and delivery

Social media is the ideal channel to reach and engage leads. It's a simple and effective way to share relevant content and offers that speak to your leads directly.

Inbound lead generation is another productive marketing strategy to amplify your brand and content. Write valuable and compelling content like blogs, guides, whitepapers, and case studies to bring high-quality leads to your website and landing pages.

Optimize your technical SEO to ensure your site and content rank on related keyword and intent searches performed by your specific B2B targets.

Leverage marketing and email automation to deliver all communications in a timely fashion.

Engage leads through different communication channels. Use text, email, and voicemails to create a multi-touch approach before switching to the leads' preferred method of communication, as you build a more meaningful relationship.

Step 6: Automating a lead nurturing strategy

Supercharge your lead nurturing results by automating strategies and workflows, including high-converting drip campaigns that send follow-up emails and forward relevant content matching a user's buyer journey.

Invest in a CRM or email marketing software with automated features to systematically track lead engagements with your content and site, accurately pinpointing where each lead is in the purchasing cycle and what messages will move them forward.

Use automated reports to identify where in the funnel leads are getting stuck, then divert resources to amending and developing the messages that will positively impact your overall conversion rates.

Automate segmented marketing campaigns that send personalized messages to leads and prospects at every single buying touchpoint, maintaining ongoing conversations that nurture to conversion. CRMs and software tools can automate:

• Welcome emails
• Thank you mails
• Onboarding emails
• Newsletters and updates
• Exclusive offers and discounts
• Re-engagement emails
• Cart abandonment emails for eCommerce
• Notification emails

Step 7: Testing and optimizing a lead nurturing strategy 

The final stage of a successful B2B lead nurturing campaign is optimization. This involves implementing processes that constantly evaluate performance and results, maximizing conversions and ROI.

Experiment with split testing, also known as A/B testing, to test different variations of elements within your lead nurturing messages. For example, create two versions of a piece of content, perhaps with different CTAs or offers, then send each to a separate control group or segment. Use reporting data on open and click rates to see which is more effective, using the results to shape the content of future campaigns and messaging.

You can also experiment with different subject lines, tones, or delivery times.

How we can help

At Qualifi, we specialize in leads. Our Qualifi Precision platform comes with a content-centric lead generation program that delivers high-quality leads directly into your CRM. 

We also provide best practice, guidance, and support. Our team of in-house digital marketing experts not only deliver leads, but work with you to nurture them. 

If you'd like to learn more about how we can help with optimizing your pipeline, get in touch.