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The idea of creating a lead nurture campaign is pretty easy to get behind. A lead comes in, a scheduled series of follow up touchpoints are triggered, conversion rates improve and all things are right and good in the world of sales and marketing. But when it comes to actually setting up the campaign, it can feel like climbing a mountain. It’s not. Here are some high-level steps to get you up and running with your first lead nurture campaign, no matter which marketing automation platform you’re leveraging with Microsoft Dynamics.
Advance considerations:
Before you get started, ask the following questions: Where will your lead sources come from? What do you know about the individual lead, their company and their needs? The answers to these questions will guide your messaging. Let’s look a specific example that you can use as a starting point to develop your own lead nurture campaigns.
Trade show lead nurtures.
If your organization exhibits at shows, most likely this is a strong lead source for you. Not every lead from a trade show should be treated the same. Individual A, who proactively seeks you out, has a meaningful conversation with you about your services or products and expresses interest in learning more, is a high-quality lead. This lead deserves significant, well thought out attention. On the other side of the spectrum you have Individual C, who liked the idea of winning that iPad you were giving away and dropped their business card in your fishbowl and walked away. Probably a low-quality lead. Probably.
At a minimum we should look at two tracks for our nurture. Track 1 for A leads and Track 2 for C leads.
We already know a lot about the leads in track A. They have expressed interest and should be a priority for a multi-touch nurture. Since we have had a meaningful face-to-face conversation with them, phone or online meetings should be part of the mix along with email. Developing a nurture campaign for Individual A could look something like this:
Touchpoint #1: Automated Email (designed to look like it’s coming directly from the sender)
Timing: The day you meet, or the day after.
Messaging:
$$Firstname,
Thanks for taking the time to visit our booth (booth number) yesterday. It was nice to get an understanding of your role at <Company> and better understand your needs. Below you can find a few links to relevant information about how our services can help you achieve your goals.
<Link to relevant page on website>
<Link to third party online review site>
After the show wraps up on <show end date> I will plan on reaching back out to you to set up some time for a follow up visit. If you would like to go ahead and schedule a follow up you can use the link below to find a spot on my calendar that works for you.
<Link to calendar sharing tool>
I look forward to learning more about how we might work together.
Safe travels.
<your signature file>
<photo of you>
(*people meet a lot of new people at tradeshows and a photo of yourself is a great way to help them recall the conversation you had with them.)
Marketing List: “A” rated leads from show <name of show>
Touchpoint #2: Phone call/message
Timing: Two to four days after the show ends
Messaging:
Hi <firstname>, it’s <yourname> from <yourcompany>. Following up from <showname>. Thanks again for stopping by our booth to visit. I hope the show was productive for you and that you have had some time to catch up with things after traveling.
I will send a follow up email to you today to see if we can get some time scheduled for a follow up call. If you would like to reach out directly to me you can reach me at <phonenumber> or <myemailaddress>.
Marketing List: “A” rated leads from show <name of show>
Touchpoint #3: Automated Email (designed to look like it’s coming directly from the sender)
Timing: Same day as call above
Messaging:
Hi <firstname>,
Following up from my voicemail. Here is a link to my schedule: link to calendar sharing tool
If you are open to it, I would like to schedule a 20-30 minute call to get some additional information about <company>, your role at <company> and your needs.
<mycompany> has significant experience in your industry and there’s a good chance that we have a solution that’s right for you. I have included a couple of links to case studies [or blog posts] below that I thought you might find useful.
Link to case study [or blog post]
Link to case study [or blog post]
I look forward to our next conversation.
[your signature file]
[photo of you]
Marketing List: “A” rated leads from show <name of show>
Touchpoint #4: Phone Call/Message
Timing: 2 days after prior message
Messaging:
Hi <firstname>, it’s <yourname> from <yourcompany>. Following up from meeting you at <showname>.
Our
seems like it might be a good solution for your current challenges [specific example of challenge]. If you are open to it, I would like to get a brief call scheduled to better determine if we are the right fit for you.I will send a follow up email to you now to see if we can get some time scheduled for a follow up call. If you would like to reach out directly to me you can reach me at <phonenumber> or <myemailaddress>
Marketing List: “A” rated leads from show <name of show>
Touchpoint #5: Automated Email (designed to look like it’s coming directly from the sender)
Timing: Same day as call above
Messaging:
Hi <firstname>,
Following up from my voicemail.
A 20-30 minute call to get some additional information about <company>, your role at <company> and your needs would be a good next step for us. Here is a link to my schedule:
<link to calendar sharing tool>
Also, here is a link to a third party review site or our product/services that I thought you might find valuable:
<Link to review site>
I look forward to our next conversation.
<your signature file>
<photo of you>
Marketing List: “A” rated leads from show <name of show>
Touchpoint #6: Automated Email; Branded HTML message
Timing: 7 days after prior message
Messaging:
Subject: How <yourCompany> solves <the problem the prospect has> for companies like <company>.
This message should deliver the heart of what your solution is all about and how companies success by working with you. It can be an excerpt from a case study, a link to a video, or a testimonial.
Include a branded signature block with your photo and contact info.
Marketing List: “A” rated leads from show <name of show>
Touchpoint #7: Automated Email; Branded HTML message
Timing: 7 days after prior message
Messaging:
Subject: Measuring the benefits of working with <yourcompany>
This message should get to the heart of why adopting your product/service is a good investment. Include testimonials and links to review sites if possible.
Marketing List: “A” rated leads from show <name of show>
The above represents the first 7 touchpoints. For “A” prospects, there should probably be more. It would be nice if everyone responded after the first attempt to connect, but that’s not reality. So being persistent and consistent with outreach is important.
For “C” leads, the above 7 touchpoints can be more general and you may want to skip the phone outreach depending on the capacity of your team to make calls. What you shouldn’t do is ignore these leads. When you combine the fact that these “C” leads attended a trade show that has some shared relevancy between you and them with the relative ease of modifying the “A” series of touchpoints, this could be a win.
In addition to the above touchpoints, consider targeting all prospects with ads on social channels and display networks concurrent with the nurture to help keep your brand top of mind. You’ll leverage the same Dynamics Marketing List to create a custom audience for ideal reach.
The best thing to do is pick a single campaign and get started. You’ll learn as you go and likely have some early success to keep you energized. Feeling stuck on nurturing? You can also check out our post on leveraging triggers in Microsoft Dynamics to feed all sorts of marketing campaigns here.
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