To nurture is to help grow, or to cultivate. Nurturing leads is the process of drawing prospects into the sales funnel, then “dripping” relevant information to them in order to help grow and cultivate their awareness, interest, knowledge, etc. in how our goods or services will be of a benefit to them. This information is brought to these leads via print, email, or other channels- all working together to keep them moving through the funnel until they make a purchase.

Lead nurturing is a powerful tool, but it is a process either unfamiliar to marketers, or just hasn't been implemented due to the many moving parts required to set one up. According to Forrester Research, companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% lower cost. It’s worth learning!

Let’s look at five aspects of lead nurturing campaigns and how they can boost your bottom line.

This is the 21st century, the technology and information era. There's so much information accessible through books, the internet and other channels.

How many times do you search YouTube for a video showing you ow to do something? (I know I'm guilty). We all have problems and we all want solutions. Content marketing has become quite big in the marketing industry across all verticals. It's all about producing content that is found helpful instead of continuously pushing sales tactics on your customers.

Ah, millennials... a raging topic of the day. Who are these tech savvy twenty to mid thirty year olds, and what makes them tick? Or perhaps “buy” is the better word here.

Coming from a millennial, sometimes it’s quite entertaining to read about and realize that there’s so much buzz and research being done on, well, you. Being in a marketing position as well as pursing a college degree in business exposes one to quite a bit of this “buzz and research”, and it's quite intriguing.

As of late, I’ve been more cognitive of marketing strategies aimed at myself and my generation and have done some reflection and research. Please don’t take my words as doctrine, in no way shape or form am I a professional- just merely wanting to share a raw and reflective millennial perspective on marketing to millennials.

Millennials, being in their young 20s to mid 30s, are in vast stages of life. This is that chunk of 10 or 15 years of life that many big decisions are — or aren’t — made (education, careers, buying a house, relationships and family, etc.)

Some of us have moved out and have independence, but some live at home or in some way are still dependent on our parents for financial stability and advice. As Marketing Profs puts it, this generation contains "everything from students still in university to homeowners entering middle age".

The bottom-line is: you’re dealing with a group that has many variables within it. That being said, I think it’s only fair to emphasize that though there are some general guidelines that work and don’t work for us, there will be many ways to find, converse with and persuade different sections and groups of millennials.