By bbr

by Kelly Lucas, Social Media and Marketing Manager

When it comes to courting and sustaining a successful relationship with our significant other, we all know the basic rules: remember important dates like birthdays and anniversaries, notice if something is different like a new haircut and make sure to routinely remind the other person how much he or she means to you. In marketing, you can carry these same methods and ideas over to use with potential clients in the form of drip marketing, trigger marketing and lead nurturing. These terms are sometimes used interchangeably, though they actually have very slight differences. When all three are used in conjunction, they make a very powerful marketing tool. But what does any of this have to do with relationships?

Lead nurturing (sometimes referred to as nurture marketing) is the term used to describe when a business pursues targeted, warm leads in the hopes of converting them to paying clients. These leads have at one point expressed an interest in your business via something like subscribing to a newsletter or requesting an online quote. There is an interest, even if slight, and you want to nurture it into something more without bombarding them with too much all at once and thereby turning them off.

This process is very similar to meeting new romantic interests: you both share a smile and then you proceed to create a further spark. But when you’re trying to woo partners, you don’t go up to them and give them your entire life’s history, gifts for all upcoming holidays and ask them to marry you right away. (Well, maybe you do, and if so, my guess is you’re still single.) No, you start slowly, with basic introductions and an invitation for another date.

This is where drip marketing and trigger marketing now come into play. In your personal relationship, as things progressed, you made a point of creating a routine, whether it was calling on certain days of the week, meeting up for dinner on the weekends, etc. You kept in touch and kept yourself visible and continued to show interest. Drip marketing is much the same. You create a series of routine emails and/or mailers to keep you in front of your potential client. These can be anything from newsletters, holiday cards or just a basic email to keep in touch. It’s sometimes hard to know when someone will be receptive to a relationship with you, so it’s important to communicate that you’re still there and interested.

Another very important aspect of any healthy relationship is paying attention to the details and remembering important dates. I’m sure many of you have had the painful experience of realizing too late that you forgot a birthday. And how many of you hate to hear the cringe-inducing question, “Notice anything different?” Trigger marketing is all about creating an interaction around a specific “trigger,” like important dates and items (tax deadlines, changes in laws, etc.). These are not routine and can pop up at any moment, so it’s important to learn and know as much as you can about your leads so that you can anticipate their needs and be able to proactively address them.

And like any relationship, it’s important to know when too much is, well, too much. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you need to send a ton of emails, because this can be a turnoff. And if you call too much and try too hard, you could end up receiving a business version of a restraining order.

Drip marketing, trigger marketing and lead nurturing are great ways to introduce yourself and stay top of mind with potential clients. Use the many automated methods available with today’s technologies to create routine touches with leads and generate positive and potentially lucrative relationships.