What's in this article?
Consumer demand is currently on the decline and sales-driven businesses are feeling the impact.
Every lead that flows into your business is an opportunity. Now, more than ever, we need to value each of these opportunities to convert a sale. So how do we maximize the value of every lead?
Don’t give up on leads that don’t convert immediately. Upgrade your lead nurturing strategies to turn leads into loyal customers.
Fortunately, artificial intelligence technologies are now available to improve your internal processes, as well as the customer experience using personalization and segmentation.
We’ll show you how AI-powered lead nurturing boosts conversions to do the following:
- Streamline intelligent lead nurturing processes and prioritize prospects.
- Engage leads consistently with valuable and meaningful interactions.
- Empower leads with the knowledge they need about your product and the market to make an informed purchase decision.
Schedule a ProPair demo to see how AI helps you convert and retain customers.
AI and machine learning improve the customer experience
First, let’s introduce the 3 main AI features that impact lead nurturing and improve the customer experience. Each of these can be used to enhance personalization and segmentation when marketing to leads, which improves lead nurturing for marketing directors.
1. Predictive lead scoring and analytics
Lead scoring doesn’t stop after a lead flows into your CRM. Predictive lead scoring continues to score leads using machine learning models that continuously predict what makes a lead most likely to convert so that you can prioritize how to market to them.
Predictive analytics works the same way, recognizing patterns using several complex dimensions of lead data to help marketing teams make more efficient and accurate decisions about what campaigns perform, which need improvements, and where a lead should head next in their journey.
Read more: Guide to Predictive Lead Scoring and Why Most Lead Scoring Models are NOT Predictive
2. Sentiment analysis
AI uses sentiment analysis to help marketing teams gauge a lead’s enthusiasm based on their communications and engagement. This provides data-backed insights into what strategies work best for each lead to gauge whether the lead is having a positive, negative, or neutral experience.
AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants use sentiment analysis while also vetting leads automatically, gathering more lead data that informs marketing strategies. At the same time, they improve the customer experience by being immediately available to answer prospects’ questions and concerns intelligently using Natural Language Processing (NLP).
3. Automations
Many routine marketing and sales tasks can be automated with AI. This includes sending follow-up communications, scheduling appointments, and updating lead or customer information within your CRM. It can even guide leads intelligently through the sales funnel. It moves them from point to point based on data and a flow that AI decision support helps you establish for the highest likelihood of conversion.
By automating repetitive and tedious tasks, marketing and sales teams more efficiently manage high-value tasks and the human side of building meaningful relationships with leads.
Learn more about the latest in AI, read The Future of Lead Management: Emerging Trends and Technologies for Marketing Directors
How personalization and segmentation tactics boost conversions
The above AI and machine learning technologies plug into your marketing strategies to use personalization and segmentation for intelligent lead nurturing.
Each of the below tactics creates a better customer experience as well as more efficient marketing and lead nurturing efforts.
Get more from each lead with AI-powered lead nurturing. Download our free guide here.
Tailored communication strategies
Personalized customer journey
AI uses patterns and data to predict what each lead needs most. From there, you can tailor their lead nurturing experience to provide offers, educational content, and follow-up communications that meet leads where they already are and guide them smoothly to convert.
Efficient resource allocation
These communication strategies apply to internal processes too. AI informs how to prioritize leads to help you break down the specific marketing strategies needed to work each of them. It can even match qualified leads to the best salesperson at the right time. These efficiencies ensure you’re making the most of your current resources.
Make the most of the leads you already have. Download our free guide to maximize aged leads with AI.
More opportunities to sell
Segmented offers
Online leads come from all over, bringing a vast range of needs and concerns with them. By intelligently segmenting them into groups based on AI decision support, you can more easily use segmentation to reach leads at the right time with the best information, tailored to their situations. This allows for making more targeted and efficient offers.
Increased cross-sell and up-sell opportunities
Once a lead is engaged and considering closing a deal, or they’ve already converted, you maximize your opportunities to sell to them by using AI to segment these groups and offer cross-sells for other relevant products or services. AI also reveals more opportunities for up-sells by providing you with deeper and predictive insights for each lead and customer.
Better lead and data management overall
Improved customer retention
Through personalization and segmentation using AI you’ll convert more customers with intelligent lead nurturing. You’ll also maximize the value of converted customers through improved retention.
Rather than focus solely on new acquisitions, use predictive analytics to prioritize leads that might consider jumping ship and nurture them to keep them onboard. AI also allows for continued engagement with customers, making new offers to increase their value to your business, as well as their experience as a customer.
Data-driven decision making
Beyond directly working with leads, AI’s predictive analytics and lead prioritization helps marketing teams more accurately forecast sales overall with an AI-powered decision support system. Gain information about where the market is headed and trends in consumer behavior in relation to your business. This allows you to make informed decisions while structuring and adjusting your lead nurturing strategies.
Learn more — Lead Management Metrics: 10 KPIs Every Marketing Director Should Track
Improve lead nurturing and maximize each lead with AI
If you want to convert more leads, you likely need to evaluate your current lead nurturing strategy.
Are you using any personalization and segmentation tactics? Are they informed by data-backed AI or causing a bland and generic customer experience?
You’ll also want to assess whether your current customer journeys include valuable, conversion-focused content and actionable, relevant offers.
If you need help improving lead nurturing, ProPair’s AI platform uses predictive analytics to help you prioritize leads while also guiding how to personalize engagement and segment leads for the highest likelihood of conversion and retention.
How does AI increase sales?
Download our executive guide to understand the current state of AI and machine learning. We’ll show you how innovative sales and marketing organizations use it to get ahead of their competition.
