B2B Lead Nurturing Stages in Content Marketing Strategy

The main purpose of a content marketing strategy is lead generation and nurturing the existing leads. Well the real deal isn’t to add more subscribers to the mailing list but to convert the leads into buyers. According to reports,“70% of prospects are not ready to  buy when they give you their contact information.” A powerful content marketing strategy can help you to push your leads ahead in the sales pipeline. For doing this it is important that you deliver the right message at the right time. Keep reading to know how you can craft successful lead nurturing strategies by content marketing.

When a prospect visits your website and subscribes to your mailing list. It might be due to many reasons that we don’t know. Sometimes a visitor just wants information and that’s the only purpose that they visit your website for. Generally, they are called the top-of-the-funnel leads (TOFU).

However, there are many people who are actively searching for solutions but aren’t sure. These are the prospects that are the main target of the sales and marketing teams. Lead nurturing is basically the process of engaging and developing relationships with prospects at different stages of the sales pipeline.

To carry out a more focused B2B lead nurturing campaign you need to understand your prospects better. You need to build trust and exhibit your service as a solution to their problems. The lead nurturing tactics should be consistent so as to make more leads close deals.

There are four different lead nurturing stages in B2B lead nurturing strategies that are: Educate, Engagement, Retain and closing deals. Now, we will discuss how you can use content marketing for lead nurturing tactics at different stages.

The first stage when your prospect has just entered the sales funnel you need to make them aware of your services. You must let them know about what your brand has to offer and how it can be beneficial to them.

This is the stage where you have to educate your prospects and provide them with targeted and informative content. You can use e-books and case studies at this stage of the sales cycle. The other form of content that can work well at this stage are:

• Buying Guide/ Pamphlets: This form of content contains information regarding products and services. You can make people believe that your services are better than others in the market. Providing a buyer’s guide can help you to establish yourself as an industry expert. This can help you in giving an edge over your competitors.
• Customer Testimonials: People tend to believe other customers more than the business itself. Customer testimonials can help you to convert B2B leads to sales. Posting reviews can help you to vanish the doubts of your potential customers and give them that final push.

Once a lead enters your sales cycle, you must make sure that you keep them engaged. No matter where they are in their buying journey you should try to influence them consistently. Apart from familiarising them about your business you must also show them your core values.

The best way to keep your prospects informed and engaged is to deliver helpful and low commitment content. This will help to reinforce your business and keep your leads interested. Some of the types of content that you can use at this lead nurturing stage are as follows:

• Blogs and Infographics: You can drive in more leads by simply providing educational and informative content. It is also a great way to establish expertise in your field. By offering value content you can build a better brand image. Infographics are also a good method to display information to your potential clients.
• Newsletters: You can build trust of customers and get them excited about your offerings by sending them emails. You can personalize emails based on the interests of your prospects and include CTA(Call-To-Action). Make sure that your emails are attractive enough that compels the recipients to click on it.

When the leads become sure about your brand and are just a step away from closing the deal. You must emphasize your expertise and aim at making your prospect take action. At this stage you need to be very direct with your content and disperse any sort of doubts of prospects. Some examples of content that you can use at this B2B lead nurturing stage are as follows:

• Discount offers; The best way to push prospects who are at the verge of making a decision is to provide discount offers. You can dig out your prospects’ specific requirements and craft a personalized discount offer. Alongside you can make your offer time based so that it  will create a sense of urgency in the prospect’s mind. However, by doing this make sure that you don’t lose value as a brand.
• Custom Proposals: Custom proposals are a proven best way to close deals. You can provide all the relevant information that your potential client needs and make them take that final step. This will also establish your company’s professionalism and your commitment towards clients.

Oftentimes what happens is that once a company closes a deal with a client, they completely forget about them. This is where they go wrong as maintaining clients is as important as securing a deal. It’s not like once a customer made a deal with you they won’t come back. Usually customers return if they like what you offer and if they get good results. So, it is important that you engage with your existing clients and keep them in the loop. A good marketing strategy is that in which all stages of the sales process are covered.

By providing relevant and targeted content you can maintain a good relationship with your clients. Some of the best content types that you can use for your existing clients at this lead nurturing platform are as follows:

• Follow-up emails: Emails are a good way to maintain relationships with customers. You can share about what’s new in your services and how you are growing as a business. Sending emails bi-weekly, monthly can help you to reinforce your brand idea and what you have to offer.
• Webinars/ Workshops: Hosting webinars can help you to keep your customers informed and updated. You can also have live Q/A sessions so that you can address your customers’ concerns. In these live sessions you can also display your expertise and industry certifications.

Content marketing strategy is great for B2B lead nurturing campaigns. By understanding different buying stages you can craft your content marketing strategy accordingly. This can help you to engage more prospects, establish your brand as an expert and reap better results. The best way to push the leads ahead in the sales funnel is by building credibility and trust. You can do that by providing educational, informative and value added content.