In Search of the B2B Holy Grail

Surefire lead nurturing may well be the Holy Grail of B2B marketing. Marketers remain in constant pursuit of the golden tactics that will consistently convert prospects into paying customers.

Well, sound the trumpets! A recent whitepaper from DemandGen Report and Marketo, "Calculating the Real ROI from Lead Nurturing," may help you find that treasure. In it, Jon Miller suggests you follow these Four Phases of Lead Nurturing to boost results:

1. Conduct triage. Make sure your "raw leads" are assigned to the appropriate nurturing track.
   
2. Keep in touch. While nurturing your hot prospects, also keep your brand visible to "non-responders or those inquiries [whose] interest level has cooled off," he says. "[P]resent different topics and content options to draw the prospect back into a dialog." How frequently? "Depending on the industry and the solution being marketed … [reach] out with a nurturing offer anywhere from 1x per week to 1x per month."
   
3. Employ lead accelerators. Once prospects have demonstrated repeated interest, employ "rules engines [found in automated nurturing systems] that help determine the next best offer to move the prospect down the funnel."
   
4. Apply deep nurturing. Extend "demos, free trials … and peer case studies" to interested prospects who need that final nudge. "[M]arketers who are proficient in lead nurturing are often playing a vital role in helping to push deals over the finish line," Miller notes.

The Po!nt: Begin that conversion crusade. Consider tips like these to help raise your lead-nurturing tactics to sure-fire status.

Source: Marketo. Download the whitepaper here (reg. req'd).

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