As many marketers know, it’s almost impossible for just one marketing tactic to result in a sale. Nurture marketing has become critical to having informed, personal conversations once an interested prospect has passed to the sales team. Marketo defines nurture marketing as the “process of developing relationships with buyers at every stage of the sales funnel, and through every step of the buyer’s journey.” Here are a few reasons your business needs to nurture leads.
Besides giving your audience members ample time and information to move down the funnel and qualify as MQLs, nurturing leads also gives your marketing team the insights they need to verify whether or not a lead is likely to convert to a sale. Fifty-six percent of B2B companies verify business leads before passing them to the sales team. This verification ensures that leads are ready to be sold to, while allowing both your sales and marketing teams to best manage their time.
Once a prospect’s lead score has hit the threshold necessary to pass to sales, it is likely an early indicator that a prospect is interested and ready to make an informed purchase. Regularly monitor prospect lead scoring and get a sense of the actions a prospect has taken. Are they most interested in sales materials? Or are they mostly responding to content like demo videos that would allow them to further their own goals internally? By reviewing the content prospects have engaged with, your sales team will be best prepared to have an informed conversation with prospective buyers.
Companies that choose to forgo the lead nurture process entirely are at risk of never converting prospective buyers to sales. In fact, the failure to nurture leads is responsible for 79 percent of marketing leads that don’t convert to sales. This means that the bulk of sales depend on nurture marketing.
While the majority of your leads will not be ready to immediately invest in your product or service, education during the buyer’s journey is key for a prospect to ultimately decide to make a purchase. Eighty percent of bad B2B leads go on to make purchases within two years. Many of these leads continued to receive resources regularly, even when they weren’t initially ready to make a purchase. If you are considering a lead nurture campaign, remember that although every action you take may not immediately result in a sale, it still can pay off dividends when prospects are ready to convert.
Are you looking to master your lead nurture efforts? Read our case study on Sparton Corporation for more insights.
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