Marketers can sometimes think in narrow lanes, especially those working at larger enterprises. Success metrics are highly refined and focused such that it is easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Growth marketers might just focus on new business, social media specialists target engagement and “likes,” while those responsible for customer marketing might just see events as their core KPI. Nurture marketing can sometimes fall through the cracks.
Unfortunately, this perspective can limit your organization’s overall marketing effectiveness. Instead, take a step back and picture your marketing universe as having three groups:
- Current customers
- Future potential customers
- People who will never buy from you
That third group is real. Don’t waste your time or budget trying to convert them. Instead, just focus on the first two and then apply this concept to all of your campaigns.
Your marketing strategy should revolve around keeping current customers engaged and future customers interested. That’s the heart of long-term growth. It doesn’t have to be any more complicated.
Keep Your Current Customers Engaged
It costs less to retain a customer than to acquire a new one. That’s not just a saying – it’s fact. I hate repeating it, but it can be lost in the drive to “get new logos.”
So why do so many marketers ignore their existing base or forget about nurture marketing?
You need a program in place that actively communicates value to current customers. They need to know what’s new, what’s improving, and why staying with you makes sense. It’s not just about satisfaction. It’s about loyalty and preventing churn. If you’re not reminding customers with a nurture marketing strategy of why you’re valuable, someone else will tell them why you’re not.
Great brands don’t just win customers. They keep them.
Your Future Customers Aren’t Ready – Yet
The second group – future buyers – can easily be overlooked. They aren’t ready to buy right now, but that will change. At some point, they will have a need. When that moment comes, you want to be in their mental shortlist. That’s where nurturing comes in.
This is not about hard selling. It’s about building familiarity and trust. You’re helping them solve small problems now so they come to you for bigger ones later.
Nurture Marketing Is Not Optional
Today’s buying process often happens without your direct knowledge. Buyers do their own research – typically away from your website and your content.
This article takes a closer look at this topic: Win the Hidden Buyer Journey with Smart Influence.
They look to peers, read reviews, and consult third-party experts. They may never follow you on social media or sign up for emails – until they’re ready to act.
By that point, your chance to influence their thinking may have passed. You need to stay in their consideration set long before they raise their hand. Nurture marketing makes that possible.
What Is a Nurture Marketing Strategy?
It’s a long-game approach to stay relevant. It’s how you keep your brand in play during the silent stages of the buying journey. Nurture marketing is proactive. It connects across channels. It offers value without pressure. And it builds a bridge from awareness to action.
Let’s look at seven strategies that help you do this well.
1. Email Drip Campaigns
One of the most effective, misunderstood, and underused tools in marketing. Set up automated email flows that educate, entertain, and inform. Focus on content your audience actually wants to receive. Not just product updates.
Share insights, customer stories, industry trends, and tips they can use. Keep the tone conversational. Respect their time.
But don’t try to sell anything. It won’t work by email. Education, however, does. Especially those customers that want to follow you, understand your value proposition, but realize that now isn’t just the right time.
Done right, email builds steady familiarity and reinforces trust.
2. Content Marketing Across Channels
Don’t limit your content to blog posts on your website. Syndicate it. Share it. Break it up into bite-sized content for multiple platforms.
A great whitepaper can be a blog series, a LinkedIn post, a podcast episode, and an infographic.
The more places your content shows up, the more chances you have to connect with future buyers in the wild.
3. Retargeting Ads
Many prospects visit your site once and vanish. Retargeting gives you a second shot. These are low-cost ads aimed at visitors who didn’t convert. They remind people you’re still there.
A well-designed retargeting ad doesn’t annoy. It adds a gentle nudge.
Try rotating creative, testing different offers, and matching the message to where they are in the journey.
4. Public Relations (PR)
Getting earned media coverage isn’t just for massive companies. Even startups can benefit from strategic PR. Press coverage builds authority. It creates third-party validation that your ads can’t match.
Being mentioned in respected publications keeps you top of mind with future buyers – even if they weren’t looking for you at that moment.
Great PR isn’t just news announcements. It’s storytelling. And it works.
See this article to better understand the importance of storytelling as part of your marketing strategy, Why Storytelling is the Secret Weapon Product Marketers Need.
5. Analyst Relations (for Tech Brands)
For technology companies, analyst relations can be a game-changer. Yet many marketing leaders don’t really understand how it works, what drives behavior, or how to best engage with these important influencers.
Analysts influence purchasing decisions, especially in B2B tech. They advise decision-makers, shape vendor shortlists, and publish evaluations. Engaging analysts early builds credibility and awareness. It also gives you valuable feedback on market perception.
A strong analyst relations strategy makes your product harder to ignore.
See this article to learn more, Understanding Industry Analyst Relations: Definition, History, and Impact.
6. Webinars and Live Events
Webinars allow you to educate and engage without a sales pitch. They provide value upfront. You’re offering expertise, not just promotion. This builds trust.
Live Q&A formats work well. So do sessions co-hosted with clients or partners. These add social proof and broaden your reach.
Even if people don’t attend live, they’ll see you as an authority worth remembering.
7. Community Engagement
Find where your audience spends time. It might be Slack groups, Reddit forums, Discord channels, or niche communities. Show up there – genuinely. Offer insight. Share resources. Answer questions. Avoid the hard sell.
This kind of interaction builds relationships, not just clicks. Being helpful in the right places makes people remember your brand without being told to.
Nurture Marketing Is a System, not a Single Campaign
None of these strategies works in isolation. A good nurture strategy is integrated. That means email supports your PR. Webinars lead to follow-up content. Analyst reports feed your blog pipeline. Every piece reinforces the others.
The goal is consistency. Not constant noise – but a steady presence that adds value. When your future buyer decides it’s time to act, they’ll already know your name.
Invest in Expertise
Building and maintaining an effective nurture marketing program takes skill. It’s more than creating content or setting up email workflows. You need to understand buyer behavior, channel dynamics, timing, and messaging. You need to test and refine constantly.
Working with someone who has experience leading these programs can significantly improve your results. They bring proven frameworks. What results is avoiding wasted effort. Further, they can best optimize your resources for impact.
Marketing is hard enough. Don’t go alone when expert help can push your strategy from average to exceptional.
Final Thoughts
Your future customers aren’t ignoring you. They’re just not ready – yet.
Your job is to be there when they are. Nurture marketing is how you stay relevant, stay trusted, and stay chosen. Ignore it, and you’ll be invisible when it matters most. Invest in it, and you’ll be the first call when the time is right.
Now is the time to make nurturing part of your strategy – not an afterthought.
