Story-telling in lead nurturing - the power to engage

Guest post by: Jeff Ogden
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Making a Marketing Reality Check - By Jeff Ogden

by Jeff Ogden, President of the B2B lead generation consultancy, Find New Customers. Reading time

If you listened to the VP of Marketing and co-founder at Marketo, Jon Miller, discuss lead nurturing a recent Find New Customers podcast, (to subscribe to these podcasts for free, click those underlined words.") you heard why it is so important. The fact is that many businesses are potential customers that are not ready to buy today, but may buy in the future.

Unless you find a way to connect and build trust over time until they are ready to buy, these prospective customers can be lost forever.

In this article, I explore how businesses should talk to prospective customers, especially highlighting the importance of good stories.

I also invite you to watch a video clip of B2B marketing expert, Ardath Albee of MarketingInteractionstalking about story-telling using this link:

DemandCon Video: Storytelling Turns Prospects Into Buyers Look at the girl reading a book.Could she beengrossed in product specs and speeds and feeds? How about our world-class whatchamacallit?

No, she's reading a story that captures her imagination. That's what your marketing team needs to do. The first rule every marketing must embrace when they look at lead nurturing programs is this: Companies don't buy. People do.

Since we're speaking to people rather than companies, one must engage on an emotional level. You need to build trust and confidence in your company and the very best way to connect in this manner is through the use of stories. People react to stories on an emotional level and trust the companies they connect with.

Think of somecompanies you respect today: perhaps Apple, BMW, Southwest Airline, and Singapore Air. In each case, do you think of the technicalies of the products? Or do you think of innovative designs, a driver's car, friendly service and pure elegance? Those are companies that built a brand by telling stories.

There are no hard and fast rules for story-telling. Don't take yourself too seriously. Be patient and gentle. Don't overdo it. Think outside the box. Don't be afraid. I cannot tell you what to write in your story. But here's a link to a great e-book by my client/partner on Telling Your Brand Story to Grow Sales. In fact, maybe you need to recruit differently or outsource it -- check out my partner. But think of how you can engage your prospective buyers with stories and you'll prosper.

For a comprehensive but simple guide to B2B demand generation, download the free white paper, How to Find New Customers.

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Free PDF Download
Making a Marketing Reality Check - By Jeff Ogden

About the Author: Jeff Ogden

RSS for Jeff's articles - Visit Jeff's website
Global leader for General Electric for The Pedowitz Group. Also the host of the B2B marketing show, Marketing Made Simple TV. We help companies rapidly grow revenue by transforming the ways they attract, engage and win new customers.

With 8 out of 10 companies saying the lack of quality sales leads is their biggest problem, they need help. SiriusDecisions also found that fewer than 1 out of 10 companies that implement lead management software went beyond the basics. They need help.

We help companies implement world class lead generation programs. Companies need quality sales leads, so they need sales lead generation programs including social media marketing. They need to implement lead nurturing programs. We are considered one of the best leads generation companies in business today.
Click here to visit Jeff's website.

More from Jeff Ogden
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