Lead nurturing or lead nurturing is a concept that is often linked to Inbound Marketing. This technique evolves regularly and helps companies to nurture potential customers right up to the decision making stage. The strategy is mainly based on personalized emailing. The main objective is to intelligently accompany prospects through various stages of the buying cycle.

A short definition of lead nurturing

Marketing glossaries give a fairly concrete definition of lead nurturing. It is primarily a procedure that consists of maintaining or improving the marketing relationship with prospects who have not yet taken the initiative to buy. The approach used in lead nurturing only concerns the BtoB segment and therefore makes it possible to take care of prospects upstream of the various purchasing cycles. With the arrival of broadband internet, it has become easy for brand owners to use newsletters and several white papers to gradually interest future customers. Basically, this concept is a discipline exclusively focused on prospects who are not yet ready to buy. The trick will be to provide them with the necessary information before the purchase process to encourage them to buy.

Lead nurturing to optimize its effectiveness

A recent study by Gleanster Research shows that nearly half of all leads or potential customers may be ready to make a purchase at any time on a website or in a store. In order not to lose them, it would be wise not to entrust them immediately to a sales team. The best option is lead nurturing, i.e. cocooning customers. Indeed, by maintaining the link with them, it will be possible to learn more about their interests and thus see their buying behaviour. This is an effective way to prepare the ground before the sales teams intervene. With such an approach, BtoB companies will be able to increase their efficiency.

Tool mainly used in the approach

Software such as Marketo or Hubspot allow you to quickly see the evolution of the contact as the marketing manager sends emails. They allow, among other things, to visualize the clicks of the customers as well as the registrations they make. The advantage is that it will be simpler for the marker to sort the contacts who are reactive and therefore ready to make a purchase and those who are not at all interested in the offers. Over time, it is possible to stop sending emails to prospects who do not respond favourably to all solicitations. To have a better chance of attracting prospects, it is important to have relevant and concise content.