With such importance placed on nurturing leads, it’s quite surprising that 65% of marketers are not taking the time to do so.
That means that over half of marketing teams miss out on the benefits of creating long-lasting, trusting relationships with their audience. They are also decreasing the chances of a sale and reducing the overall size of sales. That’s because companies that prioritize nurturing leads tend to generate 50% more sales-ready leads. Also, nurtured leads tend to make 47% larger purchases than unnurtured leads.
So how can you make sure that you’re not missing out on the potential of your lead nurturing campaign? It starts by knowing how to create effective B2B lead nurturing strategies.
5 Steps to Building Successful B2B Lead Nurturing Strategies
It doesn’t matter what your end goals are. If you aren’t prioritizing your customer’s journey and making it the most seamless experience possible, you’re going to miss out on some valuable opportunities.
The good news? Building a successful B2B lead nurturing strategy isn’t nearly as challenging as you may think. The most difficult part is finding that sweet spot between providing value and building a community of genuinely interested individuals.
Here’s what you need to know to get started:
1. Know Your Audience
You simply can’t expect to build a relationship with someone you don’t know. That goes double for trying to get someone to do business with you.
Before you can create an effective nurturing strategy, you need to know whom you’re targeting.
- Who is your ideal customer?
- Where are they in their purchase cycle?
- What kinds of questions and problems do they have?
- What information are they seeking to help them make a decision?
- What kind of content are they sharing with their peers?
By taking the time to get to know these answers, you can create a nurturing strategy that will truly resonate with your ideal audience, get them actively engaging with your brand, and, in the end, making a confident purchase.
2. Prioritize UX Web Design
Your website is likely the first touchpoint for your audience.
A lead nurturing strategy that doesn’t consider the user experience is a waste of time and money. Studies show that 91% of B2B buyers want a seamless user experience on websites. That means you need to prioritize the user experience of your website to make it accessible, simple, and easy for leads to find and consume the content that will help them make a decision.
It’s easy to forget that the purpose of your website is to help your audience make a decision. If you haven’t designed your website with this in mind, you’re leaving leads vulnerable to the competition.
Strategies for updating your website for the user include:
- Ensure your website is mobile-friendly and responsive.
- Make your content scannable and easy to read.
- Remove unnecessary features.
- Make it easy for leads to subscribe to your email list and stay informed on the latest information.
3. Create Empowering Content
If you want your lead nurturing strategies to be successful, you need to actively engage your audience.
You can achieve this by creating information-packed content that is both valuable and entertaining. Content that empowers your audience will help you build trust, an emotional connection, and a sense of community.
Consider the following types of content that you can use to create an empowering experience for your audience:
- Educational Blogs/Articles
- Case Studies
- Tips & Tricks
- Webinars
- Infographics
Empowering content is designed to help your audience accomplish a goal or learn something new. This type of content provides value to the reader, making them more likely to engage with your brand.
B2B consumers want to be educated – not sold to. That means your content marketing needs to revolve around data. It needs to be researched, and it needs to prove that you are a thought leader in your industry. Show your audience that you have the knowledge to guide them in the right direction.
4. Personalize Content Distribution
Personalized content distribution has the power to transform the way a lead feels about your brand. By targeting your audience with content that is relevant to them, you’re building trust and helping them feel valued.
When you tailor your content to your audience, you’re not only providing them with what they need, you’re also sending a message that you understand their needs and that you’re here to help them.
Now, there is a lot of back and forth about the effectiveness of personalized content distribution and how much time is spent on collecting data to personalize communications. The good news? 80% of B2B businesses state that content personalization effectively draws in and nurtures new leads.
5. Ungate Valuable Content
This may sound counterintuitive – after all, you want to encourage your audience to sign up for the perks of being a part of your community, right?
Here’s the thing: nobody wants to fill out a form when they are simply looking for information.
If you are asking your audience to fill out a form before they can access valuable content, you’re wasting their time and making it less likely that they will engage with your brand.
Leads want to see the value of joining your community before sharing their personal information.
If you want to be successful in your lead nurturing strategy, you need to make sure that the content you are offering is valuable enough for your audience to want to sign up for more.
Make the Most of Your Lead’s with Hushly’s Lead Management System
Establishing B2B lead nurturing strategies that work doesn’t have to be a complicated process. The key is having the proper lead nurturing tools at your disposal.
Hushly’s lead management system not only helps you get to know who your audience is, but also provides you with analytics-backed practical business insights to help you stay organized and make important content and marketing decisions.
Get your customized lead management experience today.
