While many business owners are focused on encouraging website visitors to hand over their emails, using newsletters or lead magnets, the key to sales growth is using email marketing as a sales tool.
A contact database is a must-have if you’re a small business wanting to make it big. However, it’s not enough to just have your customers’ emails — you have to treat them as active leads to nurture, with things like email marketing, even if they have already purchased from you.
The Emails You Collect Are a Gold Mine
When a customer gives you their email, it’s an indication that you’ve caught their interest with something that you offer. In many cases, however, an inkling of interest isn’t enough incentive for them to make a purchase or subscription.
You need to actively nurture your leads at every step of the buying process, providing them with relevant, convincing information that solidifies your business as the best solution for their needs. One of the best ways to do this is with email marketing. This form of Lead nurturing is an essential strategy for growing your customer base, as you control their journey through your lead funnel and ultimately ensure that they’ll choose your product or service over your competitors.
Why You Need Automatic Lead Nurturing
At every step of the lead funnel, beginning from awareness to consideration all the way up to the final purchase decision, it’s your job to provide your leads with the information they need to progress to the next stage.
If they’ve just become aware of your business’s existence, you can interest them with social media posts or news releases.
When they’ve warmed up to your business and are beginning to consider making a purchase, you can further convince them with tools like free trials, product demos, case studies, and the like.
When they’re ready to close the deal, it’s up to you to provide a checkout experience that’s as seamless as possible.
Even after a customer has made a purchase, they’re still a valuable lead. Because you already have their email and have built a positive connection with them, you can motivate them to return for a repeat purchase.
The process of lead nurturing is simple when you consider one customer at a time, but in reality, you’re likely dealing with many leads all at different stages of the funnel. This is where automatic lead nurturing comes in.
When you have a good system set up, you won’t have to do the work yourself — the system can observe all of your leads simultaneously and move them through the process as needed. It’s more cost-effective than simply using email marketing, as it lets you keep better track of your leads and respond to their individual needs. In addition, automatic lead nurturing is fast. When your lead carries out an action (e.g. clicking on a link), the system can respond promptly, which gives the customer the impression that the business is dedicated to building a relationship with them.
Start Getting More Sales in Faster With Automatic Lead Nurturing
If you’ve got no idea where to begin with automatic lead nurturing, we specialize in helping small businesses set up their lead nurturing systems and amp up their business volume.