Posted by: Gloria Dutton, Marketing Coordinator

It’s no secret that times are tough. But mandatory spending freezes and budget cuts are not insurmountable. Your customers’ current spending trends will eventually turn around. Now is the time to put your company in a position of strength as a thought leader and partner, so that when the good times return, your company’s products and services come to the top of your prospect’s mind.

Lead nurturing is one of the top ways to prevent an overall downturn in customer acquisition during times of recession and to ensure more business when the economy improves.  By continually keeping your prospects in touch and informed while they are unable to buy, your company is looked at as more of a long-term partner and smart long-term business choice.  It also will help customers to see that you are there in support of their interests and will most likely not end the relationship once the sale is final if you did not drop interest in them when they were not even making a purchase.

With lead nurturing, relationships have already been created with prospects that have shown an interest in your products or services and in the information you’re providing. They have opted in for email communications, registered for an offer, attended a webinar or searched for your products.  Don’t let this interest dwindle; continue to nurture these prospects. Don’t stop sending information-rich emails, for example, simply because the sales cycle is taking longer than usual. As you maintain nurturing efforts you can analyze which offers leads are showing interest in and which ones aren’t as popular. Use this information to build additional marketing and sales efforts that gain more traction. Then, when prospects are in a better position to buy, you have touched on all of their pain points, making your company an obvious solution provider and contender for their business.

By continually keeping in touch with your prospects and helping them get through tough times without expecting anything in return, when the financial outlook shifts, your continued presence as a long-term partner and thought leader will be rewarded.