Blog

Make a Comeback

March 28, 2017   /   by  Diane Callihan

How Marketing Automation Can Help You Turn a Lost Opportunity into a Win

I was going through all our new accounts today and discovered something pretty telling. Most of our new clients aren’t really new. They aren’t random strangers that found us through an ad or a Google search.

Most of them were once opportunities that we pitched to and lost.

Yep. We lost ‘em. For whatever reason, the stars and planets didn’t align and they took their business elsewhere. We probably allowed ourselves a few minutes to wallow in disappointment, do a shot of tequila and move on.

That could be the end of the story, but it’s not.

Because we didn’t lose touch with those people. We didn’t forget them. And sometimes, literally YEARS would pass.

And they’d come back.

Why?

Well, I’d like to say it’s due to my personal charm and charisma, but it’s something more basic than that.

Persistence.

But not persistence alone. It would be nearly impossible for me to remember every person we’d talked to over the past 10 years and touch base with them on a regular basis. This is where marketing automation comes in.

(See our ebook: 7 Surprising Ways to Generate Leads with Your Marketing Automation Platform.)

Marketing automation does the heavy lifting of lead nurturing for you. Once you’ve entered contacts into your system, you can:

  • Set up drip campaigns that send them helpful resources over time.
  • Set up reminders – like for those prospects that say check back with us next June. (They’ll be impressed that you remembered.)
  • Trigger a notification to go to you or sales when a lead reaches a certain lead score or if they download something from your website. This may give you the perfect opportunity to reach out to them at just the right time.

Marketing automation does not automate everything. You’ll still need to make that initial personal connection and reach out again when the time is right, but it will keep those leads warm and keep your brand top of mind.

So when that lost prospect needs help, they may just come back to you.

Don’t mourn your losses. With a little patience and technology-assisted persistence, they may eventually become your greatest wins.

Need help generating or nurturing those leads? Let’s Talk.

Diane Callihan

Diane Callihan

With more than 20 years of experience writing for some of the country’s top brands, Diane helped to shape Roger West’s content strategy, lead generation, and PR efforts as Director of Marketing. She currently serves as President of Callihan Content Creation.