How To Create Lead Nurturing Programs That Generate Sales
Lead nurturing programs give customers education and user experience that eases them toward a purchase. An organized, automated lead nurturing program ensures that marketing managers never miss the window of opportunity to engage and retain quality customers.
According to recent research, 86% of marketers report that email remains the top communication channel based on click ratio, open rates, and download frequency. Some best practices for setting up a lead nurturing program include email drip campaigns that feature relevant marketing responses triggered by specific user actions.
Best Practices for Setting up a Lead Nurturing Program
Email drip campaigns provide customers with practical information and exclusive deals that keep them engaged in the long term. Industry research from business consulting agency Annuitas reports that nurtured leads generate a 47% higher average order value (AOV) than those that do not undergo the process.
Thoughtfully structured emails include critical elements of an effective lead nurturing program and garner the best customer response when presented as a series. Market surveys show that companies that send a series of emails gain 13% in revenue than those that deliver a single email.
Effective Lead Nurturing Programs That Generate Sales
Lead nurturing programs through drip campaigns make it convenient for marketing teams to plan and automate content strategy that runs smoothly in chronological order based on user actions and responses. As a result, lead nurturing programs cater to various scenarios toward fulfilling business and customer engagement goals.
Build Lasting Customer Relationships
Drip campaigns can help automate the delivery of welcome notes that keep customers engaged from the start of their brand journey. Brands can create a winning impression by immediately engaging customers when they sign up for a mailing subscription.
Introductory emails in drip campaigns boost customer engagement and onboarding with meaningful information and a welcoming process while brand interest remains high. These may include email templates that thank customers for their interest, offer detailed product information, or provide exclusive first-time discounts.
Keep Valuable Customers Engaged
Marketing managers may rely on lead nurturing programs that keep customers constantly engaged based on buyer profiles. Marketers can set specific user account thresholds that trigger specialized marketing engagements. These might include strategic email triggers based on total product purchase values, membership type, and how long a customer has supported a brand.
A tailored lead nurturing program enables cost-effective marketing, guiding customers to the most relevant offers for maximum engagement.
Drive Re-engagement or Re-targeting
A lead nurturing program can also automatically assist marketing teams reconnect with inactive prospects and past customers. The approach targets users who consistently avoid opening marketing emails or making purchases for extended periods. Re-engagement drip campaigns usually feature emails with attention-grabbing headlines via a customer-first focus and enticing “return deals and offers.”
Offer Relevant Educational Material
Lead nurturing programs provide prospects with information that optimizes their brand experience. Marketing teams may present the content as webinars, whitepapers, or other gated material that earns customer trust.
For instance, welcome emails may include a URL link that enrolls prospects in a drip campaign sequence that presents them with an automated series of informative content designed to drive engagement.
Provide Content for Post-Demo Sessions
Lead nurturing campaigns can effectively follow up from a product demo to leverage ongoing interests. These may include informative emails with customer reviews and testimonials, user-friendly tutorials for specific product features, and limited-time offers or free trials.
Build Interest for an Event
Drip emails can help streamline the process of creating lead nurture programs for marketing and business events. Marketers may begin a sequence with informative emails that outline event details and learning objectives. Follow-up emails could include program invitations for the attendee list and a friendly reminder about event participation.
The automated lead nurturing process helps organize event attendance while minimizing the risk of omissions.
Getting Started on a Lead Nurturing Drip Campaign
Marketers may initiate a lead nurturing drip campaign by signing up for a sales automation tool that integrates with robust CRM platforms. The setup enables scheduled emails based on customer segmentation, along with insightful metrics that monitor the success of ongoing lead nurturing programs.
The ideal sales automation tools support audience personalization, where each email template presents content by directly addressing targets by name. Also, it’s important to moderate the number of emails in a drip campaign since too few might result in disengagement, while high frequencies could turn prospects away. An effective campaign usually includes four to eleven emails delivered four to fourteen days apart, but frequencies may vary based on audience response and needs.
Closing Thoughts — Leveraging Lead Nurturing Programs for Optimized Sales
The automated drip email elements of a lead nurturing program enable marketers to drive prospect engagement based on pragmatic marketing. Targeting a specific audience maximizes engagement with relevant content, followed by a well-positioned CTA that ties back to the subject.
