Lead nurturing is a hot topic in marketing circles, and for good reason. 

It saves marketers time, it saves sales reps energy, and it creates positive relationships with potential customers. 

For those on Joomla sites, lead nurturing is easiest to execute with an email system. Sure, you could try to accomplish the entire process manually - but by automating the interactions, you'll save more of that precious time we're all trying to come by. 

Read on to find out how an email system can help - and why you need one!

Sort Lead Types

One of the most important components of the lead nurturing process is understanding your leads. Depending on how someone interacts with your website (content download, email list subscription, etc), you'll want to fine tune your subsequent messages to them.

An email system can create lists of individuals who take specific actions, so you can see not only how many people are in your contact database - but what drove them there.

For example, when someone downloads a beginner level eBook, you can send them an email a few days later with a complimentary, intermediate eBook. Or when someone downloads a case study of your agency's work, you can reach out to show them some other examples of the awesome work you've done.

And just like that, you're developing customized ways to drive engagement based on the lead type. 

Understand Lead Stages

Once you know how someone first became involved with your content, it's vital to your sales success to track their progression through the purchase decision making process. 

With an email system in place, you'll have insights into which of your lead nurturing messages have been delivered, which have been opened, and which have actually led to a conversion.

Beyond helping you to fine tune your email messages for optimal engagement, this information will show you where each individual contact is at in the purchase funnel, depending on the actions they've taken.

For example, if someone just downloaded their first introductory content offer, you'll likely create a series of lead nurturing emails to direct them toward a purchase. When someone has repeatedly converted and has now entered the bottom of the funnel, it's time to pass that qualified lead off to a sales rep. Understanding these different stages (via email analytics and lead management) is essential to providing them with the appropriate next experience.

Automate Interactions

You may have noticed the term "lead nurturing" emails in the section above. As discussed earlier, you could technically nurture your leads "by hand". It would look something like this:

1. Someone downloads a content offer
2. You (the marketer) get a notification, and send them a Thank You email
3. You set a timer to reach out to them in 2-3 days with a complimentary offer
4. Depending on whether or not they download that second offer (which you know via notification), you send them an additional offer or ask them if you can provide any information to help them

This back and forth continues as you send additional content and write the same informational responses over and over again... with every new contact

If you know this process is going to repeat with regularity, why not automate it? Why not save yourself the time and hassle of nurturing each lead, and instead set up a system that sends custom communication based on your contacts' engagement?

Using an email system, you can pre-write a suite of nurturing emails that provide leads with information and resources that speak to their initial interaction with your company. You can also set rules in that system to move people between lists as they progress through lead stages and show interest in specific services that you offer.

This automation saves you time, but it also helps paint a very detailed picture of every lead which is invaluable to a sales representative. When a lead becomes "bottom funnel", or seemingly ready to purchase, the sales rep can reach out armed with a plethora of knowledge about their previous activity and specific product/service interests. 

With all of this in mind, it's no surprise so many marketers are turning to automation to nurture leads down their funnel. But what does this kind of automation look like on Joomla?

To execute a lead nurturing campaign on your Joomla site, you'll need a powerful email component. This extension or plug in needs to go beyond simply collecting emails, it needs to be able to sort leads into lists based on their interactions and trigger subsequent email messages. 

On a premium extension, you'll also be able to trigger the system to alert you when certain events take place. For example, you may want to get an email notification when someone converts and becomes part of your bottom funnel list. You could also trigger emails to sales reps at the same time, so they know when a qualified lead is ready to talk about a purchase. 

Interested in learning about extensions that can execute these tasks? Check out our free eBook below to learn about solutions like MailChimp and jinbound, along with other Inbound Marketing components.

Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rmgimages/4660273582/sizes/m/