A Step-by-Step Guide to Nurturing Leads Without Boring Them

What are the odds that even the quality leads you’ve generated are going to convert? This is precisely why you must have lead nurturing tips in place. This would ensure you don’t become complacent and keep putting in efforts to build a healthy relationship with your seemingly ‘interested’ leads. A Forrester research shows that companies who excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales at a 33% lower cost. Moreover, these marketers see a 20% increase in sales opportunities versus non-nurtured leads.

Unfortunately, despite knowing that nurtured leads make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads, marketers still overlook the need to set up a proper lead nurturing process. Perhaps, the search trend will make you believe that what we are saying is not fluff.

Bizarre, right? Wondering why you didn’t think about this earlier? Well, you can still make it right.

Introspect. Are you nurturing leads in your funnel or are they on their own? If you aren’t then here’s a little something to startle you: 30-50% of your leads are not ready to buy. This means, you may have your funnel full of leads (yay for this achievement!) but unless you nurture them, your funnel will be empty even before you realize it.

How is that for all your hard work?

To ensure that you give your leads the attention they silently demand of you, we have compiled this small guide on the most effective lead nurturing tips to keep the novelty of your interaction alive and kicking.

Brought-to-life, Interactive Emails

Yes, we are asking you to rethink your “take-them-to-a-landing-page” approach because it is plain boring. Spark curiosity with your emails and do more than just write a click-worthy subject line or add a smiley. Although, we must quickly add that both improve your email’s open rate but email content determines whether or not your leads get nurtured.

And when we say content, we mean interactivity, Einsteins! It’s about simplifying the user experience by eliminating barriers to engagement and allowing recipients to take action within the email. Apparently, MailChimp developed an interactive element within an email for one of their clients. Having done that they saw that the conversions for product reviews doubled!

These interactive elements can be GIFs, interactive quizzes and calculators, infographics, polls, surveys, product ratings and reviews, videos, navigation menu, hovering mouse, etc. Just to give you a perspective, in 2014 Dell created a GIF-centered email campaign and saw an impressive 103% increase in conversion rate and a 109% increase in revenue! Quite ready to adopt their approach?

Sample the clever use of GIF in an email sent by Feel Unique. We think they are really effective because they also resonate with today’s internet user.

Here’s another one by Netflix. If you see, GIFs are more than just a still image and so have a unique interactive quotient.

Another subtle way to make your email interactive, especially if you are hosting an event, is by including the option of “add it to calendar”. This will ensure a better turnout for your event and work as a reminder too!

By the way, e-courses are interactive too. When you create these courses, each email you send is a mini-lesson. It is something that people who’ve signed up for a course look forward to and want to learn from. It gives you a chance to gain your prospects’ trust and build a relationship with them. In this sense, it is pure engagement as you deliver to them an immersive experience, thus contributing to a perfect lead nurturing recipe. If you are ready to create your first e-course, we recommend that you read this blog.

Go Full Throttle on Videos

You can’t contest the fact that viewers tend to retain 95% of a message when they watch a video as compared to 10% when they read a text. Besides, 51% of marketing professionals worldwide name video as the content type with the best ROI! This makes one thing very clear: you ought to use videos to nurture your leads and pique their interest in your brand.

Where do you start?

#1 A product explainer video: HubSpot says 90% of users find product videos helpful when making a purchase decision. We couldn’t agree more. You need these videos even more if your product is complex. HubSpot also states that after watching a video, 64% of users are more likely to buy a product online. The #1 reason they convert is that you created content that matters to them and makes their decision-making easier. If you can make one then there’s nothing like it. Take a cue from an excellent explainer video below.

#2 Customer testimonials videos: Nearly every website has case studies and testimonials. While they do add value, you can go a step ahead and publish them as videos. It works magically on product-aware leads who are ‘considering’ you. Without them coming to know, you will have nurtured them and got them one step closer to finally becoming your customers.

If you are anxious about how to get started with video testimonials then this blog is a good starting point for you. It has practical advice and answers to almost any question you may have. Additionally, take a look at how Piktochart combines excellent video making and user stories to nurture their leads.

#3 Geolocation video advertisements: Last year, TechSmith used geolocation targeting in order to make more people aware about their presentation and attend their session at the Content Marketing World event in Cleveland, Ohio. Those who were anyway attending the conference saw the video, which also increased the chances of them attending the session. Below is the video they created.

#4 Host webinars: If you want your leads to trust you even more then host webinars and showcase yourself as an industry thought leader. Choose your webinar topic carefully. For example, if it’s for someone at the bottom of the funnel then you can invite them for a webinar where you can demonstrate your product. This will give them more clarity because you’re right in front of them explaining what you can do that your competitors can’t. It also gives them a chance to evaluate you, which is where this otherwise boring tactic gets interesting for an interested lead.

Besides, do give people access to past webinars for their ease and convenience. As it is, 84% of B2B customers opt for replays over live webinars. So it makes sense you also promote these on-demand webinars by hosting them on a separate landing page. Instapage has a whole library of past webinars that people can watch.

Cast the Spell of Interactive Content

This is one of our most favorite lead nurturing tips. The effectiveness of interactive content is unquestionable because it generates phenomenal engagement. Marketers believe that it is educational and attention-grabbing, both of which help nurture leads and eventually clinch a sale.

Macroscape, a marketing consulting firm clocked a conversion rate of 36% through an interactive quiz built on the Outgrow app. The reason it clicked with their client’s leads is that they educated them on the things they should factor-in while buying a cycle (through the questions they asked). Besides, after completing the quiz, they are recommended a cycle that best fits their requirement.

For the quiz takers, this sort of content is of great value. From being someone who probably didn’t know what cycle they should actually buy, they get a ready-made solution through a quiz that barely took them any time to complete. Once they know what suits them, they can easily talk to sales.

Here’s another example of how Get Paid for Your Pad (GPYP) bounced back with higher conversions with the help of an assessment. Initially, they were unable to inspire users to fill the “contact us” form. Even when someone did leave their email address, they were unable to follow-up efficiently because they didn’t have complete information about them. Result? They ended up sending ‘generic’ follow-up emails which didn’t convert.

This is when they embraced interactive content, asked nine questions that helped them build profiles, and then give customized results within a matter of seconds. This immediate gratification, detailed results were the reasons this assessment stood out. For GPYP it was a massive win because their conversions skyrocketed to over 40%. So, on one hand, they nurtured the leads and on the other hand nudged them to the bottom of the funnel.

Moving on.

Since lead nurturing requires you to show you care for your prospects you can think about publishing a calculator on your pricing page. According to a Demand Gen Report, nearly 25% of survey participants said they used ROI calculators to research a B2B decision. Moreover, 40% of them gave calculators 4 out of 5 because they helped them in making purchase decisions. Since your prospects are already using calculators wouldn’t it be a good idea that you make their experience with your brand interesting?

Here’s an example of a calculator used on the pricing page of the ReferralCandy website.

If you’re curious to know where else you can place interactive content to nurture leads, do give this blog a good read. Ace interactive content placement and you can thank us later!

Speak the Language your Social Media Audience Understands

Boring and irrelevant messaging on Facebook makes 90% of consumers unsubscribe, “unlike” or stop following brands. Alarming? Not really. Just put yourself in their shoes. Wouldn’t you do the same? Step-up your game and speak the language your prospects are likely to respond to.

#1 Go LIVE, fellas!: People go LIVE all the time! What’s your excuse? On Facebook, users spend about 3X more time watching live videos than when they are no longer live. The message is clear. If you nurture your fans with content they prefer then you will certainly hit jackpot. For instance, if you are a real estate marketer, you can easily do an open house LIVE!

#2 Instagram Stories: From creating tutorials, behind-the-scenes, hosting someone to take over your account to product launches, polls, AMA, interviews, and creating listicles, there’s a lot that you can do through Instagram stories. If it helps convince you, a third of the most-viewed stories on Instagram are created by businesses. Clearly, these businesses are engaging and nurturing their leads better than their peers who are barely exploring the format. Besides, 80% of Instagrammers follow at least one business. So what are you really waiting for?

#3 Use the Events App: Keep your prospects interested and invested in your brand by giving them events update. Use events app for Facebook and promote webinars and conferences which can be useful for them. Answer questions that people ask on the discussion board. Don’t leave any opportunity to interact with them, especially when they initiate it.

Ready the Influencer Marketing Plug

We quite root for influencer marketing as a lead nurture strategy. But first, decide on who will bring you more engagement – a celeb or a micro-influencer. After that think about the scope of work. From asking them to review your products, covering an event and writing a blog about it to making a YouTube video, mentioning your product on a post, there’s a lot you can do together.

Obviously, not every brand can afford to work with mega or celeb influencers but even when you can, you have to be wary of a few things. First, these celebs have a massive fan-following and not everyone may be interested in your brand. Second, these celebs are super busy people and can mess up like Naomi Campbell once did. Thankfully, someone spotted the super lazy move and got it fixed! Last, they could cost you a bomb. So think before you even approach them.

Next, we talk about micro-influencers. They are niche experts and quite trusted by their fans. However, you need to be careful who do you eventually work with. Ask a few questions. Are they storytellers? Are they creative enough to brainstorm ideas with you? Do they engage with their audiences or post and forget? The best way to answer these questions is to follow these influencers and study their online activity. You will know who you will eventually want to work with. Besides, use tools such as BuzzSumo, Klear, NeoReach, NinjaOutreach, etc. to shortlist them. Obviously, you can fine-tune your search with hashtags or look for ‘similar’ or ‘suggested’ accounts on Twitter and Instagram (example below).

Excited to revamp your lead nurturing strategy? Awesome! But, wait. There is one more important thing we need to tell you. Post-purchase nurturing is as important as pre-purchase. Apparently, only 29% of brands nurture their existing customers beyond the initial purchase. If you ask us, it’s pure blasphemy. Top marketers Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose say value your customers even when they have ‘checked out’. They are the ones who will actually talk about you. They elaborate on this in their book and say:

“The old lines of hierarchical relationships between business and consumer blur substantially. As consumers publish and share their opinions (both good and bad) with increasing ease, they become more persuasive than even the company’s voice itself.”

It’s quite the truth, no? Your customers are important not only because they can become repeat customers but also because they can nurture your prospects with their opinion of you. It’s a vicious cycle. This is why it is important for you to create your own army of brand subscribers and ambassadors.

Enjoyed these lead nurturing tips? Get started then!