Does your company already generate Leads with Digital Marketing actions? So you should know that it is not enough to have a base full of contacts:
it is necessary to interact with it, educate it and guide it until the moment of purchase. Hardly a Lead will go all the way to the sale alone, and in this context, sending the right message at the right time makes all the difference.
When the number of Leads is not very large, you can more easily identify in which stage of the purchase they are and feed them with relevant content for each one, so that they get closer to the moment of sale.
However, with larger volumes, doing it manually is not feasible.
Marketing Automation, just as the name implies, is a solution to automate this process. This allows for determining some triggers for the Leads to enter the nutrition flows and receive the ideal content for the moment they are going through.
Therefore, it is essential to be able to clearly identify where each Lead is located. Only then will it be possible to determine the path that each one must follow and design all its steps. Now you must be wondering: "ok, and how do I do it?".
The answer is: analyze the actions carried out by the Lead. This basically consists of seeing the history of interactions and their behavior. To better illustrate it, we are going to give some examples of RD Station Marketing Leads, our Digital Marketing Software.
Examples of lead segmentation criteria
Learning and discovery: in this first stage of purchase, the Lead is beginning to learn about the subject and does not yet know that he has a business need or opportunity.
Actions that identify if the Lead is in this stage:
- Download extensive and introductory materials – You have downloaded content that shows that the Lead is interested in the subject, but still quite broad and introductory for someone who is "beginning" on the subject. In our case, they could be eBooks or webinars like the one on “Introduction to Social Media Management”.
- Origin: social networks – The origin of your traffic comes from a social network. The people impacted by these channels are generally not actively looking for anything, but they see an ad or post that caught their attention.
Recognition of the problem: the Lead is a little more advanced. Here you have already discovered that you have a problem/need and start looking for solutions.
Actions that identify if the Lead is in this stage:
- Download in-depth materials – You have downloaded more in-depth material on the issue, such as “The Definitive Guide to Social Media”.
- Clicks on the emails – You have clicked on at least 2 emails from an automation flow focused on who is in the previous stage, learning.
- Source: Organic search – He landed on your site via organic search, meaning he was actively searching for the topic on Google.
Consideration of the solution: At this stage, you are already considering different alternatives to solve the problem or address the opportunity that you identified in the previous stage.
Actions that identify if the Lead is in this stage:
- Success Story Download – Downloaded a success story about a company that has increased the number of leads using RD Station Marketing.
- Clicks on emails – Clicks on at least 2 emails in a flow focused on the problem recognition step.
- Origin: CPC (AdWords) – Traffic originates from Adwords campaigns (ads that you pay to attract people who are already looking for a solution).
Purchase decision: Before opting for the best alternative to his problem, the Lead compares the options he has on hand. You are well advanced now, you know your problem, and possible solutions, and basically need a "nudge" to close the deal.
Actions that identify if the Lead is in this stage:
- Budget request – The Lead requests a budget or sends an email asking about product/service specifications.
- Free Trial – Start a free trial of the software, such as Taking a free trial of RD Station Marketing.
- Download Comparative Materials – Download materials that compare the offered software with other tools on the market.
- You click on the pricing page link – You click on an email link that directs you to the pricing page.
Based on criteria such as the ones we exemplify, it is possible to define what stage your Lead is at. The great advantage is that, from these, a new flow of nutrition can be activated.
That is, when the action is carried out, the Lead automatically enters the flow prepared for him. And the best: without having to do it manually.
But... what if the Lead does more than one of the above actions?
This can happen. A Lead can download a material early in the process and quickly advance through the other stages and download a more advanced one while still in the flow of the basic material. It is not logical to leave it being fed with focused content for the beginning of the purchase process, right?
That is why the use of tools with prioritization of nutrition flows is very important. This means that if a Lead in a more basic flow performs an action from a more advanced flow, he will be immediately removed from the basic flow and taken to the more advanced flow. His timing is respected and communication is adapted to accompany him.
In addition, with these jumps, the purchase process is accelerated and they generate more sales in less time.
See you soon!
