Make New Friends, Keep the Old: How to Recycle Your Leads Effectively to Ensure They’re Not Wasted

I just read an interesting article on recycling your leads. Very similar to recycling plastic, with a different flair. I think these are great points about not wasting the precious $$, which to Marketing are leads. You don't throw your money away, so why throw away leads. Read what Donna @ acton software had to say:

1.  Don’t waste campaign dollars
Maximize your lead gen dollars by making every lead (both new and old) count through targeted lead nurture programs.
2.  Validate your company’s value
Increase positive brand perception by providing valuable content, thought-leadership, and proof of market penetration.
3.  Push leads effectively through the sales cycle to deliver leads when they’re “sales ready”
Shorten time-to-buy based on positive brand association, proof of effectiveness, and consistent communications. Deliver to sales at the most opportune time –when the lead is showing signs of active engagement.
4.  Leverage customer successes
Highlight your customer successes as sales tool to attract new customers via case studies, references, social media, and webinars.
5.  Nurture from the sales and target-audience
Design email marketing efforts to be consistent with how sales communicates and engages with leads – typically short and to the point – with minimal graphics to ensure maximum interaction with the campaign.
6.  Shake up communications and validations
Provide different points of reference by interspersing consistent drip mailers from sales with relevant product or company news from the Executive Suite (CEO, VP level).
7.  Don’t alienate your prospects
Balance the timing of nurture emails to align with how sales typically engages with leads, and balance with how frequently the target audience would appreciate being contacted. Every other day is usually too often. Every 5-9 days is more likely to appeal to your leads.
8.  Don’t alienate your sales team—empower them
Engage sales from the onset. You nurture process should match the sales style of engagement and processes, provide sales the ability to enter/exit prospects into campaigns, and provide a holistic and real-time view of lead attributes and activity behaviors.
9.  Give your nurture initiatives a fighting chance—put the right tools in place
Make sure your marketing tools are flexible enough to quickly set up campaigns based on your preferences; easily monitor performance; and provide indicators of a lead’s momentum based on activity, e.g. lead scoring and sales alerts.
10.  Keep customers informed and coming back for more
Keep your customers happy, informed, and connected; nurture, up-sell, and cross sell opportunities by consistently providing product updates, news, and success stories.

[via acton]

Posted in: brand,lead,nurture