Defining success for your ecommerce business during these years would mean implementing effective lead generation and conversion techniques. Research suggests that 65% of marketers fail to follow up with their leads. And this is where lead nurturing comes to play.

The journey towards conversion (from generation) may not happen by itself every time. Depending on the type of business, you will need to nurture your leads to turn those into customers. Converting them requires a planned approach.

Having the right marketing strategy is pivotal to business growth, and excluding lead nurturing tactics is a crime. It involves providing necessary information to prospective buyers at various points of their purchasing cycle. When choosing the right way to contact your leads at each stage of the purchasing process, you must first establish your objectives. Also, define your ideal result in sales, sign-ups and form-fill ups as your target.

Once you are done defining your end goal, ensure putting a concrete plan to bring you there and that your team is aligned and prepared to execute it. In this post, we will discuss five lead nurturing tactics that you can implement at any time. 

1. Follow up

There is no assurance that every lead would convert. But that doesn't mean you let loose. You need to keep an eye on how the prospect uses your site (using Google webmaster tools). The first step is to understand the buyer's behaviour and analyse their intent to tailor a follow-up approach. 

Then, plan to send interactive material for a follow-up. This approach lets you tailor the follow-up to the point where your lead is now located within the conversion funnel. 

Assume you are into the business of career counselling. Additionally, one of your leads has shown a strong desire to switch jobs. Now you may reach them directly with a questionnaire titled "What Job Should I Take up Next?" This will assist a lead in deciding on the next stage of their career and rekindle a cold lead's interest.

Another way to build trust is to assure clients of quality straight from the CEO/Founder or VP. Putting down their thoughts about the business and how much they value their customers into a corporate letter with a digital signature can serve as an amazing personal touch.

Moreover, you may send surveys and questionnaires to solicit feedback on any material (such as an e-book) that you have supplied your leads. Based on their reactions, you may build interactive material and customise their future content experience.

2. Content downloads

Users can download the content from your ecommerce and opt for a purchase. For instance, if your ecommerce site deals with women's apparel, consider drafting a blog on "The Ultimate Guide to Rock your Spring Wardrobe" or something similar. This should be something that resonates with your buyer personas.

Ultimately, you would want the downloadable to work for you, so it is best to give a call to action button to relevant blogs and apparel. Research suggests that 96% of your website visitors are not ready to purchase when they arrive on your site. 

Giving downloadable content that adds value in exchange for their key data (email and phone number) is a great bargain. Once you have them in your database, you can leverage other lead nurturing techniques for effective conversion. 

3. Use multi-channel lead nurturing techniques

Gone are the days when you only rely on email drip campaigns and SMSs to nurture leads.  A modern marketer will need to adopt newer techniques and technology beyond conventional lead nurturing methods.

Now is the time to use multi-channel lead nurturing tactics as a part of marketing automation solutions. You can rely on a blend of marketing automation solutions as a part of adopting multi-channel lead nurturing techniques. This should include email marketing, paid retargeting, social media, direct sales outreach, and referral link building.

And since there are many methods involved, you need to ensure meaningful integration of the sales and marketing department. The sales team also needs to closely watch where the leads come from and how they interact with customers before conversion (if required).

4. Offer rewards and incentives

No one says no to gifts! And that’s where you can build trust amongst the prospective customers and show that you care for them. Such action will draw their attention, making them more inquisitive about your business offerings. 

This is also a powerful technique that benefits both lead nurturing and lead retention. In fact, 58.7% of internet users say that rewards and loyalty points are among the most valuable aspects of their purchasing experience. 

It is always a great idea to nurture leads with giveaways and contests. This opens the opportunity to interact with them, get hold of user-generated material, create a lasting brand image, and boost social exposure. As a result, you will see how quickly the prospective customer decides, thereby shortening the journey from generation to acquisition.

5. Strategic retargeting 

You must have come across a Facebook advertisement of the same product or service that you recently browsed. Why does this happen? This is because the marketer has opted to retarget or remarket the advertising that is contextual to you. And this is one of the ways to nurture a lead.

Retargeting advertisements may need you to spend money to get your product in front of a new audience and stay relevant for an existing one. The goal of remarketing is to provoke a sense of urgency that pushes the prospective customer to choose quickly. Often, this would come with some 'limited time offer' which incentivises quick decisions.

It is possible that your lead won't convert instantly or even after enough nurturing. But it is not the end! There are many ways through which you can influence your buyers with the right retargeting methods, as you can adopt those throughout the purchase process.

Retargeting advertisements don't always bring customers back to your website, but they help build your brand recognition. Your leads will remember your ad when they need a comparable product in the future. Whether your business deals in trendy clothing or furniture, you'll come across several businesses vying for the same audience, and therefore, depending on competition, it can be a costly affair.

But retargeting advertisements assist your ecommerce business in gaining popularity and generating sales in the longer run. This is one method where you nurture the lead through brand recognition. Also, it is a great method to create a new business brand where every time the lead sees your business name, unique selling proposition, and product options, you increase the likelihood of conversion.

Bottom line

Lead nurturing aims to cultivate a long-term connection with a potential set of customers by engaging them in meaningful conversations. Remember, you reap what you sow. And nurturing leads is about seeding a relationship, caring enough for their needs, and encouraging them to make a meaningful choice.

Try out some of these strategies with your team to ensure that your lead nurturing efforts are as successful as possible. The results will largely depend on how you interact with the audience, what value you can add to your leads’ lives with your products and winning their trust. Often when you have a database of generated leads, you would employ a blend of the techniques mentioned above to get desired results.