How marketers' influence can expand beyond lead gen: Utilizing remarketing for nurturing leads

When it comes to lead generation, quality is the name of the game. A paid media campaign may generate a record number of leads, but if they don’t turn into sales, the media spend has been a waste.

Many marketers feel their hands are tied. Once the lead is generated, the typical nurture process is handed off to the CRM team. Can anything be done — from a media perspective — to assist with the lead nurture process and turn leads into sales? The short answer: Yes!

Here are three steps digital advertisers can take to nurture leads into sales.

1. Utilize RLSA targeting for lead advancement

Remarketing for Search Ads (RLSA) is a great way to reach previous website visitors when they are searching. You can use RLSA to continuously reach prospects after they have completed a lead form.

First, I recommend that you create a remarketing list for users who have filled out your lead form. Second, identify what searches these potential customers might be making next. And third, serve ads to these “leads” as they continue to search and move through their buying journey.

Here are three tips to help you understand prospects’ search behavior and gather these “next step” RLSA keywords:

1. See what site searches are conducted after a lead form is completed. Your site’s Google Analytics will tell you what your audience continues to search for as they advance along the customer journey.
2. Consult with your CRM and sales teams. Learn the kinds of questions and feedback they get when interacting with potential customers. This is invaluable qualitative information that can provide great insight into your customers’ next steps. Choose keywords that reflect customers’ interests, and also their concerns.
3. Focus on terms related to ‘reviews,’ ‘how-to’ and ‘best.’ The prospect has already expressed interest in your product offering (by completing a lead form). The next logical step along the journey is to understand what the community is saying and what solutions are out there, and to gather other general information about the industry. Ensure your ad is serving on these terms. Create a relevant landing page for prospects that speaks to your credibility and what your current customers are saying, and make sure you provide additional resources and assets that add value.

2. Tailor your remarketing message for leads

Whether display or search (RLSA) remarketing, you will want your message to be fine-tuned to this audience and this specific remarketing list (i.e., prospects who have already completed a lead form).

Consider the ad messaging that inspired the lead in the first place. Next, consider the action the user took in completing the lead. Were they requesting a demo, downloading an asset, seeking a quote or signing up for a free trial?

Based on their initial action, what follow-up makes the most sense? Your remarketing ad messaging, as well as the landing page experience, should be aligned with this next step.

Here are suggestions on messaging:

• Customer reviews. Users who have submitted a lead via a pricing or demo request have shown a high level of interest in your particular product. Nurture these leads with messaging focused on customer reviews and industry accolades. They’ve indicated their need and interest. Ensure they think of you as the best of the best. Build trust in your brand and product.
• Brand benefits. Those who have submitted a lead through an asset download or resource request may be earlier in the sales cycle than those seeking a demo or free trial. Continue to provide value to these users while also tying in a branding element. This is a key opportunity for ad and landing page messaging to center around the benefits of your particular offering. By continuing to offer value to the user, you establish yourself as an industry leader and strong potential partner in their business.
• Unique positioning. The initial ad messaging and landing experience should have spoken to their need of your product. Now that you know who they are and that they’re interested, speak to the key values and differentiators of your offering. Why you versus the competition? Assume they have filled out lead forms on your competitors’ sites as well. This is your chance to keep your brand top of mind and to tout your unique benefits. Don’t waste the opportunity.
• Additional value. Use your messaging to keep the audience truly engaged in the brand. It is important to keep the messaging sales-focused, but you also want to ensure the customer feels as if you are a source of value. Are there additional assets or industry insights you can provide to prospects? If so, utilize this in ad copy and on landing pages. Continue to offer them benefits to keep their interest and establish yourself as a valuable resource and potential business partner.
• Message alignment. Understand the immediate follow-up communication they received from your CRM team. This will further serve as a guide in tailoring your lead nurture messaging. With an aligned message, you come across as consistent and recognizable to the potential customer. Share learnings with your CRM team to quickly draw messaging conclusions and be able to optimize in a timely manner during this critical communication period.

3. Measure paid lead nurturing results

Measuring the effectiveness of paid lead nurture campaigns can be challenging. This is not your typical acquisition campaign, and reporting takes on a whole new look and feel. Obvious key performance metrics such as page visits, time on page, bounce rates and number of pages visited can give a clue as to a potential customer’s engagement level.

However, to really understand how the lead is progressing, and the effect your remarketing ads are having on this progression, utilize Google’s Offline Conversions feature.

It allows you to easily see which ads and keywords are aiding in reaching key progression points along the sales journey. You can measure critical offline touch points such as phone calls or meetings. Using the unique Google Click ID “GCLID” identifier, Offline Conversions allows you to tie back key offline events to ad clicks and be the most efficient with your media dollars as possible.

Conclusion

Search and display should not be relegated to just lead generation. Utilize remarketing to support lead nurturing. By continuously remarketing to form-fillers (“leads”), both can serve as a valuable resource in turning leads into actual sales.

With the right messaging, targeting and reporting in place, lead nurture should be a part of your digital marketing strategy. Acquiring leads is a wonderful start, but the winning combination is acquiring quality leads that are nurtured into sales.

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