Got some lead nurturing to do yet nothing new to say?
Let’s assume your marketing and sales teams are in alignment. (Big assumption!) This will make our discussion easier. Because having the sales and marketing folks speaking with each other makes lead nurturing not merely effective but feasible. Why?
In a word: Content.
Yeah, I know that you know that everyone knows that content is king. It’s the mantra that keeps on giving…ulcers. The more you hear it, the more antacids you pop in.
You know why.
As usual, you ain’t got enough content to go by…or so the argument goes from Marketing and Sales.
“How can we possibly mature anyone without regular nudges toward Purchase Decision Nirvana?”
“Repurpose the old content,” you reply.
Well, sleight of hand is pretty cool from magicians in Vegas. But some adults don’t miss a beat. If they’ve read a white paper from you, more than likely they understood your basic point. Do they need to hear it again rehashed as a podcast, a video, a tweet?
Nope. You want them to take the next step. Does that take new info?
Well, only if you have something new to say that matter. And that’s the existential question in lead nurturing.
Do You Ever Have Anything to Say That Matters?
This is a tough question to answer. It sounds so personal, so provocative. “Why should I have something to say that matters?”
Well, that’s not what I asked. Don’t personalize…to yourself.
But while on topic of personalization… Have you any idea where each person who your teams have been apparently befriending for a while believes you may rank on the scale of Consummate Relevance vs. Total Irrelevance and why?
And by you, of course, I don’t mean you personally. I mean the specific team members in Sales and Marketing that these targeted readers, listeners and viewers have managed to interact directly with and gotten content from with a logo on it branding your corporation?
Do you know how significant all those copious and rehashed words, sounds and images are TODAY to them?
Have mercy on your team. More than likely they don’t have a clue and can’t tell you any differently.
So, point them elsewhere. Tell them to get fresh content from the best source.
Where?
Try the people that you’re targeting. What are they saying they want?
What are they willing to share with those like them who are at the same place in their critical journey (what you internally call the “buying cycle”) that they alone can best describe?
Are you asking them, I mean, seriously asking them to open up? Do they trust you enough to do that for you?
Have you empowered them to tell you too? What’s in it for them if they do?
Far more critical than aligning your lead generation processes between your sales and marketing teams to expedite the production of new content is to know what you’d do if this misalignment wasn’t an excuse for not knowing what the heck your clients think of your significance in their lives.
So Lead Nurturing That Works Originates With The Nurtured
Don’t put the tool before the data. And don’t get more data without comprehending the information it already carries, and its implications for your team and corporate brand. Get the scoop of what would move the needle for your most valuable customer candidate and address those very points.
How you deliver that message and in what format is less significant than having the right ideas to deliver to the appropriate individual to begin with – ideas they gave to you to prove back to them you understand them and truly care.
Getting your team organized to secure for you this type of information and continuously work at not getting lost in so-called lead nurturing work that gets all technical and chaotic is no easy task. So, nurture your own team first into understanding the message that they must echo back to your clients, with the added distinction that makes you significant in those clients’ lives. And this will make lead nurturing finally work for you once and for all.