There can be numerous reasons why your business might be experiencing a dry spell or a drop off period. It might just be a period with many holidays, the economy is just running low, or the customers have just gone quiet. It is common with almost all B2B marketers. Their clients just do not want to buy their product or services, or at times they just stop interacting with the brand altogether. However, you shouldn’t give up on these customers. One of the basic unspoken rules in the B2B marketing universe is that it is costlier to acquire a new client than to maintain an existing one. Thus, the trick is not to acquire newer customers, but to make the existing ones loyal and re-ignite the dormant ones. Most successful brands around us get majority of their business from their repeat customers.
Let us see how you can turn these dormant leads into active ones.
Understand Why These Leads have Gone Dormant
This is the first step in getting your dormant customers back. These leads have become silent for a reason and it is necessary to understand why. One of the most common ways to do this is conduct online polls and surveys that are specially designed for understanding the customer thought process. Be direct and do not hesitate to ask. Such analysis will only make your business grow. You need to ask those customers suggestions such as how could you perform better, what adjustments are necessary in your offerings, how can you be of more help to them among others. Take their feedback with proper seriousness and try to make adjustments wherever possible. Also, make sure they learn about their suggestions being considered and implemented. You will be surprised to see how much goodwill it creates, and such interactive approach will turn those dormant leads into active ones.
Offer Incentives
Some inactive customers can prove to be tricky at times and may not just be satisfied with your words. Here, you need to offer them some cash incentives or discounts on key products or services, or personalized services that your competitors may not offer.
Whatever you decide to offer, make sure it is valuable for your customers and unique for your business. Make sure your incentives truly standout in comparison with others.
The incentives on the offer will vary for different types of business and also according to what are your customers looking for.
Make them realize your Value
Your inactive customers may have gone silent because they couldn’t achieve desired results from your services or products. You need to make them understand the benefits of continuing the relationship with you or buying your products by showing them successes and satisfaction experienced by your other active customers. This will make them realize the value of working with you and will help them come back.
Connect More with Your Customers
You need to meet your clients on a common ground. Don’t just wait for them to turn themselves in on their own. Make use of social media to connect with them. There are millions of people who use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn every day. Your dormant leads must be among those too. Connect with them with relevant information and offer different promotional content, discounts, or instructional content. Such proactive and persistent approach will also significantly help you turn your inactive leads into active ones.
Make sure your re-engaging communications are easy and with less cadence
It is important to keep all your re-engaging communications efforts creative, simple, and easy to understand for your customers. Whether it is revisiting the website, making a new purchase, or completing a new survey. Also, it is important to reduce the cadence once the customer is re-engaged to keep a healthy relationship.
Milind Vartak
Director at TrojanHorse Strategic Advertising
An experienced advertising professional specializing in brand building, with over 29 years' experience in developing and implementing communication strategies across various industry verticals including IT, Healthcare, Real Estate, HR, Leisure, Automotive, Manufacturing and F&B.
Possess a cross-cultural experience through having worked at some the world’s largest advertising agencies to boutique creative shops coupled with over a decade of experience as a ‘professional brand builder’ in an entrepreneurial role.
Article credits:
https://www.b2bmarketingzone.com/lead-nurturing/b2b/
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=RlQ0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT187&lpg=PT187&dq=how+to+turn+dormant+leads+into+active+ones+b2b+marketing&source=bl&ots=EUTUh1U2mH&sig=FrhZCGuxLN0j6DR-o6uzy_w_qkM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjk3bepwNzZAhUlSY8KHSXGBFkQ6AEIUjAE#v=onepage&q=how%20to%20turn%20dormant%20leads%20into%20active%20ones%20b2b%20marketing&f=false