Lead Nurturing Advice from Industry Pros

Even as advancements in technology and digital marketing transform the way retail companies track and follow up on leads, the basic elements of lead nurturing stay the same.

The fundamentals of good lead nurturing advice stand the test of time and apply across a number of consumer industries. Whether you’re selling cars, sofas, or leasing apartments and condos, it’s best to use a personal approach to deliver a timely message that’s helpful and guides the prospect down the sales funnel.

While those sales tactics remain the foundation of good lead management, businesses are tapping into technology solutions such as AI and marketing automation to enhance their lead nurturing strategy and increase profits.

Marketing research data from the past several years prove it pays to establish a well-planned internal process for following up with leads. Businesses that excel in nurturing leads generate 50% more sales at a 33% lower cost, according to multiple marketing studies.

We talked to several high-level professionals to gather lead nurturing advice, focusing on the technologies and marketing techniques they employ to make a sales strategy more efficient and effective.

Keep them Connected with Multiple Touchpoints

A: “It’s critical to have quick, thoughtful and concise follow-up with all prospects to keep them connected to our brand during the sales process,” says Katrina Greene, senior regional manager at Sheehan Properties. “Having multiple touchpoints between the lead origination and the phone call or tour shows the prospect that we bring our ‘A’ game in every way.”

Don’t Bug the Consumer

A: “For years, all of the responses in our industry were fairly blunt-forced. They’d contact one lead five times, which might be OK if they’re moving next week but otherwise it’s far too aggressive,” says Todd Katler, CEO of Anyone Home, which develops CRM (customer relationship management) software for multifamily property companies so they can track inbound leads, establish a workflow for nurturing those leads, and assign follow-up tasks to specific sales team members.

Problems arose because the communication wasn’t contextual, Katler says. “It’s about understanding how [the buying] stage and timing should influence communication, allowing you to deliver the right message at the right time,” he says. “Just be friendly and helpful until they need you. Put a system in place to manage those communications so you’re not constantly bugging that customer.”

Offer an Engaging Website to Build Consumer Trust First

A: “Start the conversation online, and utilize your website as your best, first salesperson and relationship-builder,” says Kelly Olsen, a senior account executive at PERQ. “Offer engaging experiences and thoughtful educational points, those are the types of things consumers ultimately want and have come to expect when shopping online.”

Use Automation to Make Follow-Up Easy

A: We’ve created an automated but personalized system, where leads get nurtured automatically,” says Courtney Guggenberger, a PERQ product marketing manager who helped implement a 90-Day Lead Nurture Program for home furnishing retail clients. The automated email drip campaign delivers personalized messages with targeted, helpful content and incentives to website leads. The leads are segmented by when the consumer said they’ll be ready to buy and the messaging workflow reflects where they’re at in the sales funnel.