Embrace True Nurturing Programs

Posted by Ambal Balakrishnan May 17th 10

Why should you engage prospects consistently across the complete buying cycle? Ardath Albee, B2B Marketing Strategist at Marketing Interactions, says that engaging prospects consistently drives more viable sales opportunities. We asked Ardath Albee "What are key marketing trends and predictions for 2010? What actions should marketers take in 2010?". Ardath Albee helps her clients create customer-focused eMarketing strategies that generate more sales-ready

Ardath Albee

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"Marketers will employ nurturing programs across the entirety of buying cycles to fuel pipeline momentum."

Ardath Albee's Marketing Prediction for 2010

In 2010, more B2B marketers will implement true nurturing programs to improve upon the limited results possible with short-term campaigns. They will realize that engaging prospects consistently across the complete buying cycle drives more viable sales opportunities into their pipeline. The problem with campaigns is that they’re usually structured over a quarter with a sales offer at the end. If your prospect’s buying process is six months, or longer, you’re still trying to control how and when they buy. This approach doesn’t work. Launching a new campaign likely means marketers will change the story they’re telling, still searching for the short-term sale. If the story changes enough, it will veer away from your prospects’ expressed interests and they’ll move on to another company that’s providing the information they need for the buying stage they’re in. True nurturing is about providing valuable information related to your prospects’ top priorities regardless of their timing to buy.

Ardath Albee's Marketing Action for 2010

Create long-term nurturing programs:

Get to know your buyers really well by creating personas for target markets.
Select a priority your prospects need to solve and uncover all the questions they must answer in order to make a confident purchase decision.
Answering the questions provides a plan for content development.
Make sure each content resource includes both a call to action and a takeaway.
Stick with the program throughout the length of the buying cycle.

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