The leads that come through automated lead generation won’t all be the same. They’ll have different needs and react to different content, as well as have different levels of awareness of your brand.
It’s this awareness that really separates leads. It also informs how best to handle them, how much attention you need to show them, and how far they are from making a purchase.
Using ScoreApp’s automated lead generation tools, you can find and win over any lead, no matter where they fall on the awareness scale or what problem they’re looking for you to solve.
Whether the lead is flaming hot, warming up, or ice cold, this blog post will show you how to nurture them towards converting.
Understanding lead stages and awareness levels
The best way to understand what type of lead you’re dealing with is to think of them in terms of temperature. It’ll make sense in a second. Bear with it.
- Cold leads – Cold leads have little to no awareness of who you are or what you can offer them. They have no preconceptions or feelings towards you and have likely landed on your site thanks to a lead magnet. Your job now is to warm them up and win them over.
- Warm leads – A warm lead knows who you are and probably what you’re selling. They’re further along the buying process, but they need more information and relationship building to get them over the line. They’ll likely know what problem they need solving, as well as the solution. You need to convince them you can do the job.
- Hot leads – Leads that are hot to go. They’re already aware of their problem, the solution, and your product. They want to buy from you – they just need a little push.
A well-optimised automated lead generation process will bring you a good split of cold, warm, and hot leads. The challenge for businesses is knowing how to move them along the sales funnel towards that all-important purchase.
Unsurprisingly, each requires a slightly different approach.
Automated lead generation for cold leads
Cold leads don’t know you, so you have to introduce yourself and your solution to their problems.
Leveraging targeted advertising
Targeted advertising is the quickest way to get yourself in front of as many sets of interested eyes as possible.
Google Ads will make sure you’re at the top of relevant searches. Customers don’t just use search engines to find solutions, so spending on precisely targeted social media ads will help you reach more of your ideal buyers.
Once they’ve clicked on your ad, you can direct them to one of your lead magnets.
Using lead magnets
Here’s your chance to really pique the interest of a cold lead. Time to show them what you’re about and learn who they are. A webinar lets you give a detailed solution to whatever problem it was the lead was scouring the internet for help with. Pair it with a strong webinar landing page, and you’ll be defrosting that lead in no time. The most effective landing pages are direct and to the point and optimised for mobile. Otherwise, valuable leads could drop off.
If you want a lead magnet that does more, a quiz gives you the chance to find out more about who you’re dealing with. A ScoreApp quiz will tell you how closely a new lead matches your ideal customer profile. Their answers will let you categorise and segment leads so you know how best to nurture them going forward. You’ll also waste less time on leads that are going nowhere.
Automation tools
When it comes to cold leads, there are three automation tools that are worth their weight in gold:
- Paid advertising across social media and Google Ads to target specific needs
- Lead magnets backed up by ScoreApp – webinars, landing pages, and quizzes can all be set up and optimised with ease in no time
- Email nurturing workflows
We’ve not covered email workflows yet, but they are key to nurturing leads. You can tailor the content and frequency of emails depending on a lead’s place on the awareness scale. Even better, quiz responses will let you get more specific with your communications to keep leads engaged.
And since ScoreApp integrates with email marketing platforms, it’s easy to create and implement any number of different email workflows.
Automated lead generation for warm leads
Warm leads have an idea of who you are and what you can do, but they still need some convincing.
Retargeting ads
Giving leads a nudge with retargeting can lead to high conversions. They may have genuinely forgotten that they were going to make a purchase, because life gets in the way sometimes. Others may need a little extra incentive to get them to buy. Either way, retargeting with a specially created Google or social media ad will often reignite interest and get them there.
Delivering tailored email sequences
Since warm leads will have interacted with you already, you can hit them with an email sequence tailored to their history. If they’ve attended a webinar, then why not tell them about a similar topic? If they’ve completed a ScoreApp quiz, you can get personal and send a sequence of emails on the same topic. Remind them why they looked at your content in the first place and how you can solve their problem.
Case studies and demos
There aren’t many tools as powerful as word of mouth and recommendations. Showing warm leads case studies where you’ve successfully addressed similar issues for happy clients has a hugely positive impact. It’s all about credibility. Instead of telling leads how good you are, you’re demonstrating the results of what you do.
Offering a demo is another great way to get personal with leads, proving you can address specific pain points by paying attention to them and their needs.
Automation tools
So, what automation tools does it take to nurture a warm lead?
- Retargeting ad campaigns using Google and social media platforms.
- Email automation sequences that are tailored to where they are in the buying process. Hook ScoreApp to your email marketing platform to make short work of email automation.
- Personalised marketing. This is where you can use the results of ScoreApp quizzes to find relevant follow-up topics and insights. Get specific – the less generic, the more impressive.
Automated lead generation for hot leads
Hot leads are so close to buying, you can almost taste the sale. They just need a gentle, final nudge to make it happen.
Personalised outreach
Personalised outreach tells leads you haven’t forgotten about them. Following up with abandoned cart reminders, or reaching back out after a demo, capitalises on leads who have already shown a high level of engagement and intent to buy.
Pairing your CRM with ScoreApp’s lead scoring will identify these high-intent leads. After that, it’s just a matter of automating reminders with your email marketing tool.
Discounts and incentives
Everyone likes to feel like they’re receiving special treatment. Offering a discount or incentive to any lead teetering on the edge of making a purchase will often seal the deal. Again, your lead scoring system will tell you who is close enough to be swayed based on previous interactions and intent.
Automation tools
Automating contact with warm leads not only makes them more likely to convert, it also improves efficiency by saving businesses time and resources. All you need is:
- A CRM that is integrated with ScoreApp’s lead scoring tools to easily mark out leads with high levels of engagement and intent to buy.
- Automated email (or SMS) messages to follow up on specific activities and present the next step.
Bringing any lead home with automation
Automated lead generation tools can be successfully put to work on any lead, whether they’re cold, warm, or hot.
Nurturing cold, warm, and hot leads through to a sale takes a different approach, but by using ScoreApp you’ll have access to the data and tools you need. It’s just a matter of creating personalised marketing and email sequences to reach the finish line.
Try ScoreApp for free, and see how easy it is to convert cold, warm, and hot leads with automated lead generation.
