If this is your first attempt at Inbound Marketing you are probably not used to working with top and middle of the funnel leads. It is important to note that these leads take longer to close than bottom of the funnel leads. As a marketing professional it is your job to nurture them through the funnel.
At this point if you can afford to add premium software to your budget you should do it. Nurturing leads is difficult and time consuming. Effective nurture consists of 3 parts:
1. Create Workflows
A workflow is the path we want to send a lead down. We start with the initial piece of content that they downloaded as this is a strong indicator of their interest. We then want to create a logical progression of emails that will help move the lead through the funnel. Without software you will need to keep workflows simple ie. Download Content A, Receive emails 5-9. With software you are able to move people from one workflow to another based on how they interact with the emails they have received.
2. Email Marketing
Create emails that are aesthetically pleasing and contain content that is in line with your workflows. There are very affordable email marketing options such as Mail Chimp and Constant Contact. These programs will help you to measure the effectiveness of the campaign.
3. A/B Testing
If your email marketing platform allows for A/B testing you are ahead of the game. If not, you have a lot of work ahead of you. It is important to make subtle changes in the campaigns rather than complete overhauls. Subtle changes will allow you to determine which change impact the conversion rate. If you do not have A/B testing service available you can manually split your lists and compare the data afterwards to determine a winner.
When Should I Start Selling?
You can mix sales components into all of your emails, however for the majority of them the primary focus will be on information. Add a link to a Request a Quote page or a Free Demo page at the bottom of your emails. If a lead has shown interest in your product/service by opening all of your emails and/or clicking links, you can reach out to them with a sales offer. Constant testing of your emails will help you to determine the best sales offer and when to make it.
What Should I Do Next?
Now that you have the sale, it is tempting to pat yourself on the back and relax. With Inbound Marketing we want to maximize leads from all channels, including referrals. After a sale is complete it is time to move into the Delight phase.
