Context

Proving nurture’s point…

*What is ‘nurture’ in a marketing context? Strange as it may seem, that’s another question that needs asking. Or re-asking. Why?

**Quite simply because the answer has changed.***

… and perfecting its purpose

Three or four years back, most industry commentators would likely have defined nurture by first prefixing it with the word ‘lead’ and then describing it as the process of driving sales conversions by transforming prospects into buyers. Or words to that effect.

Fair enough; it’s a tried and tested definition and it still holds true. What’s changed however, is the extent to which it holds true. The world has evolved immeasurably in the last 36 months or so. Out of necessity, marketing has too – and with it the concept and meaning of nurture.

Accordingly, it’s time to revisit how we think about it. Start seeing nurture less as a process and more as an art.

It’s a subtle tweak but, as we shall see, also a vital one.

Why the shift?

Put simply, it all comes down to building trust.

Tech consumers – even those spending their companies’ money rather than their own – want to do business with brands, and brand representatives, whom they feel they can trust.

Building trust…

What’s more, they are now more diligent than ever in seeking out and vetting such brands.

That makes forming strong, long-lasting, true-and-trusted relationships with prospective clients – before, during, and even after they’ve entered decision-making mode – critical.

Not just to facilitate sales, but to drive prospects to buy into you, your brand, and your offerings to the extent that they’ll become willing, active advocates for them all.

… and cutting through the noise

Other key factors are driving up the need for closer prospect relationships, too.

The massive worldwide surge in remote working and operations, for instance.

The fact that today’s B2B buyers take substantially more trouble and time than their predecessors in evaluating the multitude of options now available to them.

That decision-making teams are now more professionally and geographically diverse than ever before, operating from different countries and so across different time zones.

All these things only increase the importance of cutting through the customary market noise with nurture strategies that drive outcomes.

Don’t be tempted by vanity metrics

It can be tempting for brands to focus exclusively on driving new contacts into their demand funnels. For some, it can prove just too tempting.

Recent research might just give one pause on that score, however.

That research shows, for instance, that 92% of marketing budgets remain dedicated to short-term demand gen, but just 5% of buyers are actually in-market at any one time.

That’s a pretty significant ‘but’.

It means that while many brands are clearly expending almost all their budgets, efforts, and time harvesting today’s ‘active’ purchasing demand (which is, as we have just seen, limited), they’re missing a major trick.

I.e. they’re failing to engage with and nurture those in their target audiences who may not be ready to buy today, but who are researching their options as part of their preparations to buy tomorrow (or at least sometime soon).

There's a clear opportunity for brands who are prepared to put time and effort into building a nurture strategy that really delivers value to the prospect, wherever they are in the buying cycle. Brands that take a relationship-building approach rather than pitching exclusively for those ready to buy-now, will reap long lasting rewards.

And the evidence supports this. It’s probably best quantified by placing it in the context of one of our earlier stats: that those companies who manage to excel at nurture actually generate more sales-ready leads.
50% more, and at 33% less expense (Marketo).