It’s not enough to obtain leads and hope that they decide to invest in your product. Only 5% of consumers are ready to convert after they have given their information to a company. So what do you do with the rest of the 95% that have shared their information with you? You keep them interested through lead nurturing. In the past, this hasn't been the main focus of tech companies, but that's starting to change. Since 2011, tech marketers have been claiming to change their funding distribution to include lead nurturing. In 2012 alone, at least an 11% increase was seen. So what have successful tech companies been doing to nurture leads? Let’s take a look:
1. Apple- Encourages subscribers to create free content and use that as propaganda. Apple adds fun and interesting aspects to it's technology as well as creates a personalized buying process so that people are excited to share it's products in interesting ways. They aim to impassion their subscribers because seeing customers in the media who are freely forming content around their products promotes them to their leads and forces the company to be kept in mind during the decision processes. An example would be a YouTube star creating a viral YouTube video about the hilarious things Siri says. Leads see this and are reminded of what Apple products can offer them.
2. Amazon- Sends friendly reminders with additional information. When you show interest in buying something from Amazon.com by clicking on it or starring it, but you don’t end up buying it, the company sends you an email reminding you of the product as well as other ones you might be interested in. They encourage you to buy something, but also give you other choices to seem less pushy while increasing their chances of converting the lead. If you still don't follow through on an order, they continue to send these emails in hopes that something will finally peak your interest or convince you to buy.
3. Microsoft- Segments customer data and creates four multi-tiered, persona based, always-on nurture campaigns. Their main focus is to send the correct content to the right group of people at all times so that they keep their leads interested instead of annoyed and bored no matter which medium they’re reaching them through.
4. Samsung- Social networking around the world has allowed them to intensify their lead nurturing. In 2012 they were one of the top tech companies on social media. By staying connected in real-time with people who have pledged themselves as leads, they have been able to easily nurture without annoying anyone. Posting relevant content to their Facebook page has been a very lucrative strategy for them.
5. IBM- Uses webinars to both gain leads and nurture them. Their website is full of webinars that teach you more about IBM as well as the industries it commands. IBM believes that webinars are the best way to capture a prospect's attention and hold it until ready to buy. It provides them with informative lessons on their products in the most positive way possible.
6. HP- Email nurturing is their biggest strategy. It has been proven that the farther you fall down the HP tech hole, the more likely you are to buy one of their products. Therefore, by continually sending out emails that contain interesting product offers, they increase the odds of leads falling down that hole. They make sure they don't do it too often though because they don't want to drive their customers away. Each email has a cohesive color scheme and format so the prospects aren't distracted from the product offers.
7. Toshiba- LinkedIn has been their greatest ally. They use InMail, ads, and sponsored updates to target specific groups of leads on LinkedIn and continually invite them to see how their brand makes their jobs easier. They discovered where their main prospects gather and was able to infiltrate their circles at very low costs.
8. Sony- Email nurturing galore for this company. They are on the more aggressive side of email nurturing. They will push their products on you before they give you content to read. They often use Facebook to get people to sign up for their email list so that they can send them emails about products even when prospects are expecting content update emails.
9. Intuit- Emails containing a free trial are sent out to every prospect so that they can learn even more from Intuit. They then encourage prospects to spread new information to other small businesses. So they nurture with emails, but put a spin on them by enhancing the segmentation of prospects and then encouraging them to find new leads.
10. Xerox- Focuses on satisfying the customer and then tries to convert them. Xerox is all about nurturing through their services. If someone expresses interest in their products, but can’t seem to afford them, Xerox is willing to cut a deal with them. They do this because they believe it targets a group that they would normally miss out on and encourages their bussiness in the purest fashion.
11. AT&T- Creates a portal where leads can have access to crucial information. When you give your information to AT&T you are granted access to their portal, which contains pricing, customer service, faster speeds, and so on. This way they can keep a close eye on their leads while nurturing them with helpful services.
For tech companies nurturing leads should be a high priority, but the type of nurturing you do all depends on the type of business you run and what kind of customers you attract. For these successful companies, their plans have been revised to the forms you read above. So take into consideration what they do, what you do, and determine if there is a crossover that will allow you to give their lead nurturing style a try.
Now that you've mastered the nurturing process, learn how to generate more leads by downloading the free eBook below!
