At its core, lead nurturing is the process of cultivating leads that are not yet ready to buy. Successful lead nurturing anticipates the needs of the buyer based on who they are (i.e. using profile characteristics like title, role, industry, and so on) and where they are in the buying process. Nurturing keeps prospects engaged by providing the most relevant content, such as white papers, ebooks, and webinars, for their situation.
If done well, lead nurturing can build strong brand loyalty long before a prospect is ready to buy. By cultivating latent demand, companies can increase the conversion of unqualified leads to opportunities and drive more revenue. Nurturing also helps accelerate active opportunities by giving prospective buyers the information they need to make purchasing decisions.