04 INTRODUCTION 50 PART IV: MULTI-CHANNEL LEAD NURTURING
05 Why Should I Read the Definitive Guide to Lead Nurturing? 51 Nurturing in a Multi-Channel World 06 PART I: WHAT IS LEAD NURTURING? 61 PART V: CONTENT 07 Defining Lead Nurturing 62 Story Arcs 08 Why Does My Business Need Lead Nurturing? 66 The Types of Nurture Content 13 Four Elements of Engaging Lead Nurturing 68 The Anatomy of a Lead Nurture Email 15 Thought Leader Round Table 72 Email Creation Best Practices 17 PART II: LEAD NURTURING STRATEGY 79 Thought Leader Round Table 18 Goal Setting 82 PART VI. BASIC LEAD NURTURE SEGMENTATION 23 Lead Nurture Team 83 Why Do You Need Segmentation? 26 Technology Selection 84 The Two Dimensions of Segmentation 30 Nurture as Part of Your Overall Marketing Strategy 93 Thought Leader Point-of-View 33 Marketo Customer Case Study: Comvita 95 PART VII: ADVANCED LEAD NURTURE SEGMENTATION 34 PART III: WHO TO NURTURE 96 Behavioral Segmentation 35 Defining a Lead 103 Specialized Campaigns 36 Lead Scoring 105 Late Stage Lead Nurture Campaigns 41 List Building 109 Worksheet: Create Your Lead Nurture Matrix 45 Database Health 112 Thought Leader Snapshot 49 Marketo Customer Case Study: Ocktopost TABLE OF CONTENTS 117 PART VIII: TESTING AND OPTIMIZATION 118 Why You Must Test 125 Marketo Customer Cast Study: Fireclay Tile 126 PART IX: CALCULATING THE ROI OF LEAD NURTURING 127 Basic Lead Nurturing Email Measurements 131 Advanced Measurements 136 Thought Leader Round Table 138 CONCLUSION 139 ABOUT THIS GUIDE INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION WHY SHOULD I READ THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO LEAD NURTURING Today’s buyers are more empowered than ever before. They engage with brands and companies through their own research across multiple channels, long before marketing or sales has the opportunity to engage with them directly. Today’s potential buyers don’t At Marketo, we have gathered the Use this guide as a workbook— become customers overnight— best practices from across the It will outline: take notes, highlight what you they require marketing over time Marketing Nation—thought find inspirational, share what you as they self-educate and build leaders, customers, research, 1. How to create a lead nurture learn with your colleagues—and trust with a company. With and our own experiences—to strategy start using lead nurturing to drive lead nurturing, marketers can bring you our brand new second revenue growth. communicate consistently with edition of The Definitive Guide 2. How to nurture leads across buyers cross-channel and to Lead Nurturing. channels throughout the sales cycle— addressing the gap in time between This Definitive Guide is 3. How to segment a lead when a lead first interacts with you designed to be useful, practical database and when she is ready to purchase. and informative. It offers a comprehensive description 4. How to choose appropriate Lead nurturing is an integral of lead nurturing best practices, content for each lead nurture part of a successful marketing from getting started, to track and audience strategy—specifically when advanced techniques. building relationships with 5. How to get the most value potential buyers on multiple from lead nurturing with channels, even if they testing and optimization are not currently looking to purchase a product or service. 6. How to measure and explain lead nurturing’s return on investment 5 PART I: WHAT IS LEAD NURTURING? WHAT IS LEAD NURTURING? DEFINING LEAD NURTURING Lead nurturing is the process of building effective relationships with potential customers throughout The Difference Between Drip Marketing the buying journey. & Lead Nurturing Before we dive into lead nurturing, let’s take a According to Marketo’s are constantly engaging in a moment to set the record straight about the benchmark study, on average, relationship throughout their differences between lead nurturing and drip 50% of leads are not yet ready buying journey. marketing, a one-size-fits-all predecessor to to buy. Lead nurturing lead nurturing. creates automated, ongoing Due to sophisticated technology communication with your like marketing automation, A drip marketing program sends (drips) potential buyer throughout modern day lead nurturing is communications (email, direct mail, etc.) at a the sales cycle and beyond— personalized, adaptive, and can specific cadence set by the marketer. But, it does maximizing results and listen and react to buyer behavior not take into account their activity and behavior revenue for your organization. in real-time. because it is static and non-adaptive. While it still has a place in the marketing mix, it has mostly In fact, at Marketo, since we have Modern lead nurturing enables become a subset of a lead nurture strategy. such an active and wide top of you to listen and respond to funnel, 98% of leads that enter buyers on multiple channels— According to Justin Grey, CEO of Lead MD, “Perhaps our database are not ready for not just email. And now, a short drip sequence would be effective for sales sales. So we have to nurture with breakthroughs like contracts that have been outstanding for more than those buyers over time until personalization software, two days. Drip sequences work in areas that need they are ready to make a the marketer can nurture more frequent, limited, messaging windows”. purchase. Lead nurturing anonymous leads; touching automates your communication the entire lifecycle and creating Since drip marketing tends to have the same with those leads so that you a more personalized and response for everyone, not taking into account engaging experience than specific actions, it doesn’t deliver the same value as ever before. lead nurturing, which is personalized and adaptive. 7 WHAT IS LEAD NURTURING? WHY DOES MY BUSINESS NEED LEAD NURTURING? Businesses today exist in an increasingly connected market. Buyers expect an extremely personalized, cross channel experience. They do not want to be spoken to; instead, they want to be listened to. Companies want to create relationships with potential buyers, helping to build trust and eventual advocacy. Lead nurturing facilitates your buyer getting to know your business—it’s essentially courtship before marriage. With lead nurturing you spend time establishing a relationship with your buyer and building trust. As a result, when you communicate with your buyer, you are welcomed instead of being regarded as intrusive. Without effective lead nurturing, communicating with your buyers can feel like an awkward first date, full of mistrust and hesitation. 8 WHAT IS LEAD NURTURING? WHY DOES MY BUSINESS NEED LEAD NURTURING? Here are a few stats to support why an organization should implement lead nurturing: 9 WHAT IS LEAD NURTURING? WHY DOES MY BUSINESS NEED LEAD NURTURING? Lead Nurturing Increases Relationship Building the Propensity to Buy Lead nurturing enables you to Relationships are critical in today’s communicate with your buyers sales cycles, and lead nurturing on a more sophisticated level. enables you to create and Instead of using outdated drip maintain that relationship over nurture tactics or only email, time. Lead nurturing also helps modern lead nurturing helps you be present on the channels you build relationships through your buyer uses to engage with multiple mediums and with others, increasing the chance relevant, connected campaigns. they will take the plunge, and purchase your product. Through the listening capabilities of marketing automation, you can now have a continuous conversation through website, social, email, advertising, and beyond. Your communication now becomes consistent, and relevant—and you can begin to build trust and a relationship with your buyer over time. 10 WHAT IS LEAD NURTURING? WHY DOES MY BUSINESS NEED LEAD NURTURING? Branding and Thought may not be rewarded for making unless you are a well-known Leadership a good purchase, but a bad company like Google, the best When done well, lead nurturing purchase can damage the buyer’s way to build credibility and trust is plays a critical role in building your reputation and job security. by sharing useful information. brand. Buyers are people too, and If you can help frame the people are subject to emotional As a result, fear and risk play large discussion, your company will influence in their decision-making. roles in business buying be seen as a trusted advisor and Specifically, the more complex a decisions. Organizational risk can thought leader. If buyers believe decision, the more likely people be dealt with rationally, but that your company understands are to use heuristics—experience- personal risk is usually unstated their problems and knows how to based techniques that help in and hidden from the rational solve them, this helps reduce the problem solving, learning and process. Yet personal risk remains feelings of fear and can make a discovery. Heuristics guide which a huge factor in buying. For big difference in being selected options and information gets example, if a board member for consideration and purchase. considered, and they help us mentions something negative Lead nurturing helps you build simplify complex decisions to about a potential vendor, the that perception as a brand. their relevant core. That can be personal risk of choosing a good thing when the that vendor goes way up, complexity of a purchase is and alternately, if he mentions otherwise overwhelming. something positive about a vendor, that vendor may be Emotions are heavily involved in “pre-wired” for success. the creation of heuristics. In marketing, there is an asymmetry That’s why most the important between the upside and downside brand attributes for a vendor are of purchases: the buyer may or often credibility and trust—and 11 WHAT IS LEAD NURTURING? WHY DOES MY BUSINESS NEED LEAD NURTURING? Lead Nurturing Shortens Today’s longer sales cycle is the Sales Cycle expensive for your company. With access to more information You need more sales reps to than ever before, buyers often take close deals over a longer period more time to explore their options of time. And during that time, and educate themselves before your competitors have the making a purchase decision. opportunity to enter the sales Modern sales cycles can simply be process or for customers to longer, and nurturing your leads become disinterested. shortens the sales cycle because you can be relevant, trustworthy, It’s vital to shorten the sales and engaging throughout that cycle as much as possible and critical period of time. nurture can help you do just that through consistent and What causes longer sales cycles? conversational communication. • Tighter budgets • More time spent on decision making • More people involved in decision making • Increased options 12 WHAT IS LEAD NURTURING? FOUR ELEMENTS OF ENGAGING LEAD NURTURING Effective lead nurturing is engaging. You want buyers to see value in the nurture communications and content that you create. To get to that place, there are four elements of engaging lead nurturing that your communication should posses. 1. Trustworthy 2. Relevant Being relevant means sending the In order to build relevance into Only with trust will buyers let Relevance means knowing who right content to the right person your nurture program, you’ll your communications pass their your audience is and what they at the right time. This includes: need to segment and target filters and enter their lives. Set want from your communication. your buyers. Buyers increasingly expectations during an opt-in Impersonal and poorly timed 1. Talking to the right people expect that when they share process, and then fulfill those messages make your subscribers information with marketers, expectations with every think, “you don’t know who I am. 2. Saying the right things at the their data will be used wisely. communication you share. You don’t know what I want. You right time just don’t get me”. And, worst of Trusted communication has a all, “you don’t care about me”. 3. Constantly improving lower bounce and unsubscribe If you aren’t relevant, your rate across channels. Alternatively, subscribers will opt-out— if trust isn’t there, you’ll see lower or perhaps more likely, engagement and conversion, emotionally opt-out. and you’ll be more likely viewed as spam. 13 WHAT IS LEAD NURTURING? FOUR ELEMENTS OF ENGAGING LEAD NURTURING 3. Multi-Channel 4. Strategic and Impactful Today’s buyers move seamlessly— A strategic and impactful lead and quickly—across channels. nurturing program will be “Omni-channel. Yes, we talk about it. And the reality is coming. A typical buyer moves quickly measurable, so you will know from email, to social media, to the value of your marketing The future of lead nurturing is about integrating the channels your website and then back to tactics and their impact on your where your prospects skim and your customers engage. social media, in the blink of an organizations’ ROI. Defining the eye. Marketers not only need right sets of metrics is vital to Lead nurture is still primarily centered on email marketing to prepare their lead nurturing achieve executive buy-in, adjust efforts, but the customer experience needs to span all strategy for multi-channel your nurture tracks, and report engagement, but also consider your success. We will go into channels to foster engagement and point-of-sale—from the device a buyer uses to more depth and define and in-store, to mobile, sales, referral, social, and support.” access these channels for the identify the right sets of metrics Corrine Sklar, best optimized and personal later in this guide. Global CMO, Bluewolf experience. Your buyer needs to see an integrated experience across every single channel. Your marketing automation platform and lead nurturing needs to account for all the ways a buyer will look to interact and engage with your brand. We will cover more about structuring your multi-channel lead nurturing strategy later in this guide. 14 THOUGHT LEADER ROUND TABLE What is the One Mistake that Marketers Make with their Lead Nurture Programs? Marketers often treat lead In contrast, it IS lead nurturing to: nurturing like just another marketing campaign. 1. Share content that’s relevant and valuable, It is NOT lead nurturing to: even if prospects never buy from you 1. Send out an e-newsletter on a monthly basis 2. Send a targeted email that includes content based on: 2. Blast your entire database with a new case study • Recipients’ industry and/ or role in the company Brian Carroll, Executive Director, Revenue Optimization MECLABS 3. Send all early stage leads the • Their stage in buying same series of emails process or interest 4. Randomly call leads every • Previous conversations four weeks to see if they are or content they’ve ready to buy engaged with 5. Call early-stage leads every 3. Answer a question or month just to touch base offer more information 6. Promote your products and 4. Send information that is services without considering relevant to a problem prospects’ interests or stage in the buying cycle. 15 THOUGHT LEADER ROUND TABLE What is the One Mistake that Marketers Make with their Lead Nurture Programs? Marketers often make the mistake • Remember Your Lead Nurture • Mobile-First Mindset. of falling in love with every new Programs Are Only As Good Mobile is your customer’s piece of technology. We all do as Your Data. We all know that first screen and interaction it. In today’s world of digital data is not sexy. I don’t know with your brand and marketing, it’s hard not to get many marketers that want to today’s preferred medium excited about all of the latest tools spend their days cleaning and for content consumption coming out from vendors. What managing data. However data and communication. Failing a great time to be a marketer! is the lifeblood of any good to develop lead nurture lead or customer nurture strategies and a seamless Tools and lead nurturing can program. Whether it’s a data customer experience with only be maximized if you czar or marketing operations a mobile-first mindset is no Corinne Sklar, Global CMO, prioritize these areas inside specialist, keeping a keen eye longer an option. Bluewolf your marketing organization. on data governance is what sets best-in-class marketing • Focus on Creating Awesome programs apart. Remember Content. It doesn’t matter how if you’re using a CRM solution targeted, personalized, or where sales people are enter sales-ready your content is. manual data, they also need If it doesn’t stand out, catch governance and checks notice, or challenge, it won’t and balances. create the desired impact. Thinking creatively about topic, copy, design and format is critical to having lead nurture programs work and engaging your audience. 16 PART II: LEAD NURTURING STRATEGY LEAD NURTURING STRATEGY GOAL SETTING Setting up a lead nurture program is not a goal in and of itself. Instead, lead nurturing is a vehicle for your business to get to your overall goals. In order for your lead nurture program to be a success, you have to first determine what you hope to achieve. Set the Stage Here are 5 questions to ask The number of leads you The key to designing an effective about your current lead generate has an impact on lead nurture program is taking management process: how many lead nurture stock of your current lead segments you create and the management processes. By asking 1. How many leads do you frequency of communication, the right questions, you will not generate each month since you might need to only uncover opportunities for and what is the source speak to different audiences improvement, but the information of those leads? at different times. Also, will also play a critical role in Understanding the scale determining the sources of defining issues of workflow. and source of leads helps to your leads helps to govern determine the scale of your what types of tracks you Invite sales into the room for this lead nurturing program. You need to create. initial discovery process. Giving can get this information by sales a voice in this process running a report in your ensures that you have a holistic marketing automation view of your leads. or CRM. 18 LEAD NURTURING STRATEGY GOAL SETTING 2. What is the range of 3. What are the key audience 4. Describe the life of a lead 5. What percentage of your products that you offer? groups that comprise currently. How are leads leads are considered sales Some companies market your inbound leads? responded to, distributed, ready when they enter very homogenous product How different are your leads and managed today? your database? And lines; others market a from one another in terms How often does a lead what is your average multitude of products or of functional role, industry, hear from your company day to opportunity? services. The diversity of your company size, and so on? over time? Knowing what percentage offerings plays a large role in To what extent do these Knowing how you follow-up of your current leads are determining the number of groups require different with, and prioritize leads sales ready when they tracks in your program, in messaging? The higher the currently can help steer your enter your database is critical addition to the messaging number of distinct groups, lead nurturing program in a to determining how to set and offer strategy. the more likely it is that you direction where it’s likely to up your lead nurture program need separate lead nurture have the most impact on and how to measure your tracks in order for your ROI. When taking stock of ROI. Additionally, knowing campaigns to be relevant ongoing communication, your average days and effective. don’t just consider formal to opportunity can help marketing programs, you benchmark how lead determine how often nurturing accelerates sales reaches out to your leads. those same leads. 19 LEAD NURTURING STRATEGY GOAL SETTING RECAP 20 LEAD NURTURING STRATEGY GOAL SETTING Qualitative Objectives • Stay in touch with existing Quantitative Objectives • Improve the percentage rate at Your lead nurture efforts will leads so they call on In addition to creating qualitative which raw leads convert to include qualitative goals—what your company when objectives, be sure to set goals qualified prospects by X% business outcomes do you hope the need arises that are quantitative—those that you can measure. Even if you • Improve the percentage rate at to get from setting up lead • Acquire more business aren’t sure what your metrics which raw leads convert to nurture tracks? Consider from current customers should be initially, setting closed deals by X% the following goals: • Turn dormant leads to estimates up front helps you • Increase the number of sales • Convert sales inquiries to define your program. Quantitative active leads ready leads per month to X qualified prospects over time metrics not only help you define • Increase sales productivity success, but they also help you • Reduce the number of leads • Move your buyers through their by distributing only sales determine the scope and scale of rejected by sales to X% buying journey at an ready leads your overall lead nurturing efforts. accelerated pace • Generate X incremental Depending on your unique opportunities per month from • Engage in conversations Without quantitative goals in business case, choose some of the existing database with your buyers place your lead nurturing these goals or set your own. program can lack purpose, and • Faster sales cycle by X% • Qualify and collect Setting these overall qualitative you’ll have greater difficulty more information from goals for your lead nurturing tracking your progress towards • Better win rates by X% inbound leads campaigns will help you make your objectives. Here are some better decisions on timing, • Increase upsell / cross-sell with • Educate and build trust quantitative goals you may want frequency, segmentation, and current customers by X% amongst existing leads to consider: offer strategy. 21 LEAD NURTURING STRATEGY GOAL SETTING Start Small, Think Big By embracing this mentality There is a lot you can do with you will: today’s marketing automation • Launch more quickly: It’s a platforms. And it is easy for simple point, but the smaller companies to want to do your program, the quicker everything. But, especially for you’ll go live, and the sooner those just starting lead nurture, you will see return on your you should create a plan that investment. includes a phased approach. That way, you are incrementally • Know what works and measuring and improving. what doesn’t: Even if you ask all of the right questions and goal set appropriately, it is guaranteed that your results might differ from expectations. If you start small, you can see what works and iterate from there vs. setting up a full 18 tracks and all of a sudden learning that you set something up incorrectly. 22 LEAD NURTURING STRATEGY LEAD NURTURE TEAM Lead nurturing is a co-existence of two opposing variables: creativity and logic. It’s both an art and a science. Your nurture team needs to produce compelling content, but it also needs to perform complex marketing operations. On some marketing teams, all lead nurturing is managed by one person. In other organizations, it is divided amongst several people. Regardless of whether this function is filled by one or a group, the following pages outline the roles and responsibilities on a lead nurture team. 23 LEAD NURTURING STRATEGY LEAD NURTURE TEAM The Creative Side of Responsibilities include: with other key groups like • Writing skills. The nurture Lead Nurturing social, inbound marketing, content manager needs • Setting the standard for and paid programs, in order a comprehensive On the creative side of your content quality. This isn’t to have a cohesive cross- understanding on the lead nurturing team you might just from a performance channel strategy. company’s voice, tone, have a nurture content manager. standpoint; it also applies to and core competencies. Depending on your organization, tone, positioning statements, When you’re hiring someone who this role might be broken up into and key message points. will manage your nurture content, • Producing at a high volume. several roles. here’s what you should look for: There are a lot of moving • Balancing early stage and late parts with your nurture Nurture Content Manager stage content. Early stage • Messaging comprehension. content, your content Because nurturing automates content pieces engage your An understanding of what your manager should be able to communication with several newest prospects with broad, different markets want, and project manage and produce. different segments over a long educational, entertaining which messages resonate best period of time, it requires information. Late stage with each. • Listening skills. To write thoughtful and relevant content. content is more product- effective content, the content The goal of the nurture content • Editing skills. A keen grasp of manager needs to hear focused, such as demos or manager is to make each piece language, along with the ability audience pain points, and customer case studies. Your of nurturing content as relevant to clearly communicate how address them through the lead nurture content manager to your audience as possible. The a piece of content should voice of the company. should know the perfect person in this role doesn’t always be positioned. combination for conversion. create the content, but they • Willingness to experiment. • A head for numbers. The Your manager should love to do assign each piece of content • Help to create content to manager should be familiar experiment, but should also to the appropriate segment. engage with leads on multiple with email performance know how to monitor results. channels. Your nurture content metrics, and be able to assess manager should be interacting that performance over time. 24 LEAD NURTURING STRATEGY LEAD NURTURE TEAM The Scientific Side of Here are the responsibilities of a • Execute. The operations • Troubleshoot. The manager Lead Nurturing nurture operations manager: manager must be able to comes up with solutions to To balance out your nurture execute quickly and be agile any roadblocks, and then • Determine the best data fields with change. executes those solutions. team you need a strong dose to reference. If that data isn’t of logic. These responsibilities available, managers need to Here’s what to look for in a nurture • Curiosity. The manager might fall under a nurture figure out how to obtain it. operations manager: should be unafraid to test operations manager. programs, and naturally • System checks. This role • A technical background. You inclined to ask questions or Nurture Operations Manager monitors advanced nurture want someone who thinks in make suggestions. The nurture operations manager campaigns, and verifies that terms of stages, products, and probably has the toughest job those campaigns are running procedures. on the team, especially at a correctly. Frequent system company that uses advanced • Understanding company checks are important. lead nurturing. It’s up to these infrastructure. To build a operations managers to • Balance business needs strong nurture workflow that determine how nurture with sustainable practices. truly meets business needs. flows work, and which filters Effective nurture operations • Attention to detail. The devil is will be used. Nurture operations managers constantly in the details when it comes to managers need to define look for ways to simplify creating nurture flows. segmentations and design their operations, and are nurture flows that meet complex responsible for implementing • Provide feedback. The business needs, but are possible procedures to mitigate manager should be aware of for the entire team to use. Luckily, potential issues. every success and failure, and marketing automation makes this communicate those results to job a lot easier. the team. 25 LEAD NURTURING STRATEGY TECHNOLOGY SELECTION Marketing automation is the technology that allows companies to streamline, automate, and measure marketing tasks and workflows so they can increase operational efficiency and grow revenue faster. One of the key components of your marketing automation technology is lead nurturing. Beyond the time-saving and • Step 1: Write down your goals • Step 3: Identify your efficiency benefits of automation, for the project: To get where requirements: Picking the marketing automation enables you need to go, write it down. right solution involves more essential business processes Statistically you increase your than just picking the right for any modern marketing likelihood for success simply technology. Think about your department. This can include by putting your goals down business case—who will use lead nurturing, lead scoring, on paper. Refer to the goals the technology, and how? lead lifecycle management, we determined earlier in personalization and analytics. this part. So how do you select the right solution for your business? • Step 2: Plan your timeline: Now identify the steps it will Purchase Process take to get where you want Depending on your business to go. Remember, you aren’t objectives and goals, there are ever “done” with marketing different solutions available to suit automation, so build in time your needs. Here is a process you to evolve and adapt and learn can follow to find and buy the your process. marketing automation solution that is right for your company. 26 LEAD NURTURING STRATEGY TECHNOLOGY SELECTION • Step 4: Assemble a team • Step 6: Talk to references: to choose and manage the Now it’s time to find out if solution: Make sure to get your vendor can actually signoff from all stakeholders make customers like you on goals, requirements, and successful. Talk to a variety potential scenarios. Look of references that are similar to your lead nurture and to your organization. marketing automation teams mentioned earlier • Step 7: Make a decision: The in this chapter. time has come. Choose the vendor that can best make • Step 5: Evaluate potential you successful in line with vendors against your the goals you created at the scenarios: You’ll choose the beginning of this process. vendor that best suits your needs if you select a handful of vendors to evaluate. Then, scour the technology, look beyond the technology to account management teams, ask tough questions, and avoid a feature bake-off. 27 CHECKLIST What to Seek in a Solution for Lead Nurturing Lead nurturing is a key component ☐ Enables you to listen and ☐ Empowers you to set a ☐ Helps build relationships to any marketing automation respond to individual limit. You want to make over the entire customer solution, here is a checklist to behaviors in real time. sure your leads aren’t lifecycle. From the make sure your vendor has all You want to make sure you getting too many emails awareness stage through of the latest and greatest lead have a flexible solution from you at any given customer onboarding, the nurture capabilities. that supports 2-way time. Look for a solution right lead nurture solution conversations with your that enables you to set can help engage leads and customers. limits. This is particularly prospects and customers critical when different over time by sending ☐ Enables you to areas of the organization relevant content to buyers communicate with send messages. through different prospects and customers channels instead of just both online and offline. ☐ Determines which content via email. Many modern lead to send and when. Your nurturing solutions allow solution should enable you ☐ Helps measure true the capabilities to nurture to have control over the engagement. The ideal through online venues content you send based solution measures the such as social media, on the recipient’s actions degree of customer or offline through direct to date—such as visiting engagement with the mail or events. a booth at a show, entire program, as well as downloading content, or with each component of reaching out to a sales rep. content over time. 28 CHECKLIST What to Seek in a Solution for Lead Nurturing ☐ Is easy to implement. We • The system should be all know how frustrating it intelligent enough not can be to rely on the IT to send the content to department to help us get those that have already Marketo’s Customer programs off the ground. received it Engagement engine Look for a solution that allows any marketer to • It should be smart Marketo’s unique Customer Engagement engine create powerful lead enough to know if automatically and intelligently sends prospects nurture programs that someone downloaded and customers the best message and the best are easy to set up and that content through piece of content, based on who they are, what manage. After all, you another channel they have seen in the past, and their behaviors. want to focus on what • For limited-time events matters most—creating You simply drag content into a stream, Marketo’s and special offers, compelling content that version of a track—which can be thought of as a the system should will deeply engage conversation—and the system automatically automatically activate prospects and customers. manages the timing and sending of the right the content at the right content to the right person at the right time. ☐ Simplifies content time and pull it out of The system even takes outdated content out of management. the nurture stream rotation in a particular program. And will warn For example: when the event is over you in advance when there isn’t any more content • The system can available to continue the conversation. • The ideal solution allows you to add new content intelligently help simply by dragging and measure what content dropping it into the asset is performing best work-stream 29 LEAD NURTURING STRATEGY NURTURE AS PART OF YOUR OVERALL MARKETING STRATEGY When creating your lead nurturing strategy, do not think about nurture in isolation. Think about how nurture fits into the other marketing communications you send. You can’t think about lead nurturing in a vacuum. You need to take a look at your entire marketing calendar to determine what other communications your leads receive. You might be sending newsletters, product updates, database emails, and other cross-channel communications. How are these interactions working together in harmony? You want to deliver coordinated, relevant, customer experiences across all of the channels your buyers use. 30 LEAD NURTURING STRATEGY NURTURE AS PART OF YOUR OVERALL MARKETING STRATEGY Communication Timing In the following example, let’s • Day 30—Personal email from How often you send lead assume a prospect downloads sales rep nurturing communications, a whitepaper from your web site, and your lead scoring • Day 45—Email best practices particularly email, needs to be methodology deems this whitepaper reconciled with how often you hit your database with other individual is a lead nurturing • Day 60—Social campaign on communications. The first step to candidate. If the buying cycle for email best practices getting this right is to determine your product is three months, your overall communication the nurturing path for this specific • Day 75—Website cadence. How often are you prospect might look like this: personalization and banner engaging with the contacts in ads to promote webinar series • Day 1—Website personalization your database? Meet with persona based offer • Day 85—Personal email from stakeholders in your organization sales rep offering a product to decide what this number • Day 10—Follow-up with demo should be. Be sure to test and introductory email iterate this over time to determine • Day 90—Personalized ad on the correct number of touches • Day 15—Email offering new Facebook using targeting based on your results. content related to first download and subsequent Consider the length of the buying web site activity process and the communication approaches used. The timing of your lead nurturing programs are impacted by both the length of your average buying process and the approaches you use for lead nurturing (email, direct mail, phone, etc.). 31 LEAD NURTURING STRATEGY NURTURE AS PART OF YOUR OVERALL MARKETING STRATEGY Marketing Calendars With this holistic view, you You need a way to see all of your can see exactly who is being campaigns all in one place—so communicated with and when. you know exactly what database email sends and what nurture campaign sends are going out in any given week. A marketing calendar, like the one in Marketo, is an ideal place to ensure that you are not over- marketing to the same people over and over again with your marketing communications. At Marketo, we use our platform’s marketing calendar to see a holistic view of all communications with our database across the entire marketing department—we can see event invites, nurture emails, demand generation emails, and so on. Marketo Marketing Calendar 32 MARKETO CUSTOMER CASE STUDY Comvita Challenges Because the holistic health Benefits Comvita is a global, natural industry requires a great deal In only six months of using health company with a vision for of communication to educate Marketo’s nurturing, Comvita has preventative and holistic health. consumers about the science seen a 480% increase in new lead Prior to Marketo, Comvita used and credibility of products, the conversion and a 255% increase a content management system previous solution put Comvita at in sale value when leads are with a built-in email tool, which a distinct disadvantage. exposed to nurture. Email • 480% increase in new lead allowed them to send emails and marketing at Comvita is now conversion in 6 months of determine if those emails had Solution the second highest revenue using Marketo been read. Unfortunately, it did Comvita was able to implement generator of all their online little else. Marketo and send out their first activities and Marketo lead campaign in about six weeks. nurturing has one of the 255% Comvita had no way to differentiate between a new lead, someone who had
The first focus was simple:
lead generation and sales. With Marketo, Comvita was