Generating leads for your business is a must. Converting these leads into paying customers takes an effective lead nurture program that is consistent, focused on their pain points, and demonstrates why your product or service is the best choice. Your lead nurture program should start with defining the target customer (or influencer) and end with measurement of results.

Here are the five areas we focus on when developing a lead nurture program.

Step 1: Define target customer

Start by thinking about all the customers you have to reach to sell your product and service. Each of your target customers has certain desires, pain points, and influence on the decision process. At this step, your goal is to document these attributes so that you can understand where to focus your lead nurture content.

Target CustomerProduct ManagerEngineerTechnician
What do they do?Senior level product manager in charge of product development and marketing.Designs and tests new products in development. Works with manufacturing on production.In the field, providing initial installation, product support and troubleshooting.
What do they want?Prove product works.
No-hassle buying experience.
Components that perform reliably based on specs.Easy to use and troubleshoot problems.
What are their pain points?Meeting compliance requirements.
Rapid pace of product development and getting quality components.
Finding reliable suppliers.
Need support during initial prototyping.
Hard to troubleshoot products.
Can’t be in two places at the same time, need remote access.
Are they a decision maker?YesNoNo
Are they an influencer?NoYesYes

Step 2: Map lead nurture content to the target customer and buying stage

Now that you have developed personas for your targets, you can map what type of content – video, white paper, article or demo materials you’ll need to create to move your prospect through the buying process successfully.

ContentBuying
Stages
Product ManagerEngineerTechnician
Product RoadmapEvaluationABC
White PaperEvaluationBAC
Technical SpecificationsDefine Specifications
Evaluation
AAA
Client Success StoryEvaluationABC
Installation VideoEvaluationCAA
Dedicated engineering supportEvaluationBAC
24/7 Support LineEvaluation
Post-purchase
CBA
A = High priority
B = Medium priority
C = Low priority

Step 3: Develop the lead nurture plan

The lead nurture plan defines who does what and when. If this is the first time your company has launched a lead nurture program, keeping it simple to start makes good sense. You can ramp up or expand activities as you go along. Remember to engage team members who play a role in the development and fulfillment of the plan.

Here are a few questions you will need to answer:

  1. When and how does a new prospect enter the lead nurturing process?
  2. What communication channels do you plan to use?
  3. How often will you communicate?
  4. How will you track your activities?
  5. How will you measure the effectiveness of your activities?
  6. What resources will you need to execute the plan?

Step 4: Execute the plan

Consistent and sustained actions lead to successful execution. Regular status meetings with your team will help you keep on track. And, now that you have a plan, you can use it to launch future lead nurture programs more quickly and easily.

Step 5: Measure results

Evaluate your progress using the metrics established in Step 3. The results will help you determine what activities were successful and those that need to be reworked. You will want to use a combination of website engagement, completed contact forms, social media engagement, leads that reached quote stage, and leads converted into customers. You can also ask your new customers that went through the lead nurture program what content was most useful to them. Likewise, if you have an opportunity to ask the prospects that did not choose your company what you could have done differently, listen without comment.

Executing a winning lead nurture program is easier when you follow these steps and plan our your process.

Need help generating leads, read our Four Tips to Get Started Generating Leads