As B2B marketeers, we all want prospects to get in touch. But to transform enquiries into actual business, you need to understand where each potential customer is coming from. Each prospect will want to see different types of content, so you’ll need to tailor your strategy accordingly to convince them you’re the right fit for them.
These are the four broad types of customer you need to get to know. Get familiar with them, so you can identify what stage of the journey they’re at, and effectively channel their enquiries into lead conversion success.
They might phone, ping off a quick email, or send a message via your contact form; either way, they’ve done it straight away.
At this stage, don’t invest too much time or offer a proposal – this might even be off-putting for them. They probably just want a quick conversation, so give clear examples of your work online and some of your relevant past clients.
They probably don’t know much about you beyond your landing page or social media profiles. Give them an insight into who you are and what you do but don’t invest too much time. It’s likely they’ll be calling around several different options at the moment, so have some information ready to go that you can quickly and easily tailor for these types of enquiries.
Unless they’re a small company, they’re unlikely to be the key decision maker within their organisation, so give them a professional and persuasive synopsis that they can easily present on to their boss. Don’t inundate them with too much detail. Nurturing leads like this can take a long time and can often be frustrating if they don’t get back in touch, but never underestimate the longer-term value of a good first impression.
They’ll probably contact through personal communication channels, whether that’s direct to your personal email, telephone, or via social media.
This type of prospect will most likely have already seen examples of your work on your website and promoted on social media. Don’t undermine your familiarity with each other by guiding them to content that’s easily available online. Take the time to pick content, case studies and clients that match their enquiry and business.
They will already know of your company, so will be aware of what you do and may have even contacted you in the past. You may not need to send them a hefty proposal. Navigate the conversation and find out the best next steps to secure a conversion. Warm leads can become loyal and longstanding customers, so make sure to nurture your ongoing relationship.
Keen researchers usually narrow down their options to a handful of choices and send out email enquiries to all of them. Even on first contact, their brief will already be detailed, so they’ll appreciate it if you can move quickly to a more in-depth discussion, perhaps over a conference call platform where multiple people can be involved.
Remember, these types of prospect are keen investigators. Don’t be surprised if they’ve researched your past clients, read examples of your work and are familiar with your testimonials and case studies. Respond quickly and, if possible, head straight to offering a solution or a proposal. There’s a high chance they’re a decision maker at their business, so always offer detailed and concrete solutions and strategy.
They’re likely to know a lot about you, so you’ll need to catch up and quickly understand more about them. Ask constructive questions about their pain points and make sure you do your research before any further communication. However, because they do a lot of groundwork, it’s also very likely they’re already in negotiation with your competitors. Because of this, try to offer competitive pricing, a timeframe and respond to enquiries quickly.
They might have attended a webinar or conference, be connected with you on social media, or have spoken to you informally, face-to-face before.
Networkers collect various materials from various companies. They see a lot of different names, so you need to make sure that yours stands out and the material is easily digestible. You should always have branded sales material in your toolkit ready for these types of enquiries.
A networker may know your professional reputation but may not know you personally. Make sure to exchange contact details and connect with them on LinkedIn. They may not have a specific need or problem in mind right at this moment, but they like to explore potential options for the future and build their databases. Try to think long-term strategy and find ways to stay in touch and keep them updated.
By understanding each prospect’s needs, you’ll be able to appropriately field each enquiry and nurture them for successful returns.
At asabell, we’ve spent over sixteen years dealing with a wide range of different customers and understand the complexities of their unique needs. That’s why we’re more than equipped to help you tailor your strategy to each proposition. Whichever way prospects get in touch, we can make sure you have the right strategy and content to turn them into business. If you’d like to find more about what we can offer you, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
