A lot of business happens on the golf course, but B2B marketers can actually learn some valuable lessons from the game itself. Beyond patience and hard work, golf can teach us important strategies for lead nurturing.
Tee yourself up for success by applying these lessons from golf to your lead nurturing approach.
You need the right set of equipment.
Every golf club serves a purpose, and they all work together to move your ball along the course. Your marketing automation platform should be equally specialized, with customized nurture programs tailored to specific elements of the customer journey.
It’s also important to know your equipment and it’s best uses. You wouldn’t putt with your 9 iron, and you wouldn’t send an introductory email to a user already deeply invested in your brand. Get to know your marketing automation platform’s features and how they can facilitate unique customer interactions.
Know the course.
You can’t score a hole-in-one if you can’t see the flag. Set yourself up to win by clearly defining your goals and planning how you’ll move the customer through your marketing and sales funnels.
Just like every course is unique, every customer has an individual journey to complete. When nurturing leads, you can use marketing automation to map out each customer journey and the content they’ll interact with along the way.
Check the environment.
A strong gust of wind can easily throw your ball off course. It’s important to consider outside influences when ushering your leads towards conversion.
Competitors, the marketplace environment, or previous interactions with your brand can influence how your customer receives your message. Monitor the external environment closely, but also consider where the customer’s existing relationship is with your brand.
Marketing and sales alignment will streamline your communication. Consult with your sales team to learn about previous customer interactions, and use the platform to tailor your marketing communications accordingly.
Perfect your aim.
Targeting is key. Find a laser-focused direction for each consumer, and make sure you’re pushing your content in the right direction. When you target content effectively and individually through your marketing automation platform, customers may be more receptive to your messages.
According to Salesforce’s State of the Connected Customer report, business buyers in particular place more importance on retargeted offers and personalized cross-channel ads than do consumers. Consider adopting an account-based marketing strategy to take full advantage of these unique preferences.
Trust your team.
Even the most prolific champions don’t win alone. When it comes to honing your lead nurturing strategies, trust the advice of your team — just like a golfer trusts a caddy! Sales reps bring the customer through the final steps of the sales funnel, so their perspective is valuable. Marketers can ask sales teams for input and agree on how to score leads, for example.
From interns to senior leadership, you never know who can give you just the idea you’re looking for. If your team observes something isn’t working, consider changing course.
Learn from your losses.
Even when you play your best game, you won’t always come out on top. There are times you’ll be beat out by a more qualified competitor, but you can use this as a learning opportunity.
Study the customer journey, and find where leads might be dropping off. From there, you can fill content gaps by creating pre-approved content (such as email templates) for the sales team. Start honing that part of your game, and remember: practice makes perfect.
Focus and personalization are par for the course when it comes to effective lead nurturing. Lucky for you, marketing automation can do some of the work for you. For more information, download The Complete Guide to Lead Nurturing.