Many of us in sales are engaging in personalized e-mail marketing with our prospects to stay in touch and remain top of mind. This is sometimes referred to as lead nurturing, and our e-mail marketing efforts rely on a wealth of nurturing content to share.
Consider how you nurture a friendship. You may set dates for regular phone conversations or monthly dinner gatherings. You likely communicate back and forth, whether it is through e-mails or text messages, or even sending cards or letters in the mail. While you may not be talking regularly, you’re always in communication.
Nurturing a lead is not the same as nurturing a friend, but the basic idea is similar. The purpose of nurturing content is to develop and sustain a relationship with your prospect through the length of his or her buyer’s journey. Depending on the action you want your prospect to take, the length of the nurturing journey may vary. For example, if you sell cars, the journey may last months, even years. If you sell seasonal auto repair maintenance services, the journey may be shorter, spanning several weeks.
In most cases, if you are nurturing a prospect, you have already had some communication with this individual, whether it was through email, a phone call, or meeting at a networking event, and this person hasn’t yet taken any action–and they also haven’t told you flat out that they aren’t interested.
Good nurturing content might include:
Case studies or testimonials. If a prospect is still weighing their options as they do their buying research, you can send a compelling case study or testimonial from a past client who is similar to the prospect. This may resonate at a time when they are deciding whether to work with you or a competitor.
Helpful resource articles. If you are selling a new car or an expensive product or service, your prospect may be investigating financing options. Perhaps you have written an article about budgeting for a new car purchase or you have additional information about costs and pricing that you haven’t shared on your website. You can anticipate your prospect’s potential questions and serve as a resource before they ask.
Links to curated content. Sometimes industry trends may influence buying decisions, such as putting a home on the market or investing in data protection software for an organization. If you find an article from a relevant, trusted source that may nudge a prospect forward in the buyer’s journey, share it with them with a message such as, “This just came across my desk and I thought it might be of interest to you. Let me know if I can answer any questions.”
No matter what content you are creating, make sure it is relevant, helpful, and informative to your prospects.
