The “Back to School” issue of “Pragmatic Marketer” is a classic example of nurture marketing at its best. The quarterly magazine put out by Pragmatic Marketing is jam packed with articles that B2B product managers, product marketers and marketers will not just want to read, but identify takeaways they can put into action immediately.
It is no wonder that Pragmatic Marketing has a loyal following of graduates from courses who keep coming back for more training. Pragmatic nurtures them in many ways; the publication stands out because anyone who does product management, product marketing or marketing will find articles that interest them.
Nurture marketing is the on-going delivery of useful information to your target audience. By educating rather than selling, you get rewarded because when suspects become prospects, they think of you first.
“Pragmatic Marketer” is a classic example of effective nurture marketing because it achieves three goals: 1) attract new course attendees when they are ready to get educated; 2) attract graduates who are ready for a refresher course; 3) make graduates more loyal.
Reach suspects before they become buyers
The latest research indicates that prospects do more than 60% of their research before they reach out to a vendor. Nurture marketing may be one of the few ways to reach those prospects while they are in stealth mode, and well before that.
Nurture marketing is the best way to develop a lasting relationship with those who will eventually buy. This could be as far as three years out or even longer. By implementing an on-going nurture market effort, you’ll be surprised when prospects start reaching out to you rather than the other way around.
Let’s take a closer look at Pragmatic’s “Back to School” issue which can be downloaded for free to your Kindle or in PDF format. On the website page devoted to the issue, four informative articles are promoted with this introduction:
“Become a perpetual student. If you want to succeed, you must regularly learn new concepts and continually refresh the topics that matter most: understanding the markets and ensuring that everything you do addresses their problems. In this issue of Pragmatic Marketer we reexamine some core subjects (pricing, messaging, prioritization), as well as some newer ones (UX (user experience) and IoT, for instance), to make sure you have everything you need to move to the head of the class.”
Of the four articles promoted on the page, this one is of interest to all customers and prospects because positioning (and messaging) is a fundamental skill taught by Pragmatic Marketing:
Article title: “The Art of Product Messaging”
Short promo: Customers will assign their own meaning to your product unless you actively define what it stands for. Tailor messaging to your audience’s key needs, differentiate yourself from your competitors and focus on business benefits. READ MORE >
While some articles are written by Pragmatic Marketing instructors, several are written by industry experts. If you struggle to come up with meaningful content, do what Pragmatic Marketing does and tap into outsiders who understand your market.
Pragmatic Marketer is divided into departments with meaty topics covered within each:
Bits & Pieces
- Why an Ancient Philosopher Would Make the Perfect Product Manager
- Ask the Experts – Any suggestions on how to launch a new product to our channel partners?
Build Better Products
- Prioritize Product Delivery with the 5 Queues
- Internet of Things: A Primer
Sell More Stuff
- The B2B Buying Disconnect: Insights on the Gap Between Vendors and Buyers
Lead Strategically
- Think Like a Military Officer to Grow Revenues
A Pragmatic Approach
- Put this issue’s ideas into action
There’s enough useful information in just this one issue to give readers a good feeling about Pragmatic Marketing. They will all be buyers at some point in the future, and when they are ready to buy, they will contact Pragmatic Marketing first. Take a close look at the issue and see what you can learn from it.