Lead Nurturing; Part 4 in a Series

Well if this is your first visit to the site and your interested in more than lead nurturing which, in and of itself, cannot stand alone or be defined without speaking of the larger lead lifecycle management universe I would suggest starting at the series beginning. If your short on time, don't care about the entire ecosystem have at it and keep reading.......


Part 4 based on a Dick Lee series; Sales lead nurturing: Lots of folks believe that sales lead nurturing (a.k.a. “nurture marketing” or “permission marketing”)—is a relatively recent innovation, a child of the Internet. Wrong. A consultant named Jim Cecil introduced a concept called “drip marketing” back in the 1980s, and that started the movement that’s been gaining traction ever since. Even in the most effective implementations, the concept remains simple. Marketing offers B2B sales prospects—typically not-yet-ready-to-buy prospects—the opportunity to periodically receive information that will help recipients perform their jobs. The “sell aspect” to these materials should be subliminal and focused on establishing prospect preference by demonstrating goodwill. Prospects “opt-in” by agreeing to receive these informational materials. Then marketing develops or selects information of interest and sends it along, hopefully via prospects’ preferred channels. These “drops” or “sends” typically run on a set schedule, but certain market events like introduction of new products or issuance of difficult to interpret government regulations create opportunities for unscheduled communications. Periodically (and gently), marketing checks prospect readiness to purchase—most effectively via telephone, but via e-mail as well. And when prospects approach their actual purchase cycles—or want detailed information that only a rep can provide—marketing issues qualified sales leads to field sales, which does the heavy lifting going forward.
Simple. But, oh, how we screw it up.
It’s hard to practice drip marketing with a fire hose
First we have the yo-yos that trade in the faucet drip for a fire hose—blasting prospects with promotional drivel instead of usable information, until prospects either opt-out or drown. Then we have the advertising agency types that insist on “building the brand” rather than giving prospects usable stuff—all the while pretending that brand reinforcement adds value to customers. Huh? Then we have the anxious sales types that weasel the prospect list out of marketing and go make sales calls on everyone on the list—even though many of these prospects are more than a year away from initiating their purchase cycles, and others will never purchase. These blokes usually pester prospects to death until the besieged targets start ducking and dodging them, then rule them out of consideration. Hey, who wants to do business with pests? Just call the exterminators. And finally, we have the forever stressed out types who can’t ever get around to communicating with prospects at all. Hey, can’t afford to miss any meetings. Boy, does that send a loud and clear message to potential customers—or more properly, ex-potential customers.
But again, some companies do it right. Including my favorite car-seller, Lexus, which does a delicate, tasteful and informative drip on customer heads to maintain the relationship—and subtly implant the notion that no other car make will do.

A successful nurturing program
Lexus (I can mention the company name in this instance because I have my customer hat on, not my consulting cap) has the perfect customer-oriented culture for nurture marketing. Employee respect for the customer, including above-board dealings, sets the stage for “light touch” communication of
various types—ranging from thank-you notes to birthday cards (which I personally dislike, but no matter) to more usable stuff such as service reminders, service discounts, spiffs for referring first-time Lexus buyers, and very plush brochures satisfying customer curiosity over each year’s new models—all the while subtly whetting appetites for a new Lexus. Best of all, dealers (at least our dealer) lets us know that repeat customers are rewarded for their loyalty. And because Lexus dealers hire salespeople cut from the right cloth and pay them above market compensation, their sales reps tend to stay put, relieving customers of having to deal with a different rep with each new car acquisition—and providing the opportunity for relationships to grow.
As a customer you never feel bombarded. But you never feel forgotten, either. And what does Lexus get for its efforts? About the best repeat purchase/lease percentage in the business, if not the best. From the time you leave the lot with a new Lexus, you’re a prospect for your next car replacement. And the dealer starts gently nurturing and further reinforcing the relationship. It works. And I’m not an easy sell.

While a great example of nurture marketing I have to say the folks at Lexus have it easier than most of us. Afer all, who doen't like to daydream about a new car from time to time. For those of us in the B2B space it is more about educating potential clients on solutions, problems, and opportunities that our respective companies can help address. We do not start with a product or service everyone, or potentially anyone, may be interested in learning about because the have a desire or self directed need for what our companies are selling.

Up next, now that we have the nurturing engine going, how do we measure prospect readiness to engage in the selling process? Part 5: Lead Qualification and Rank/Score modeling.