• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, January 14, 2016

According to an Ascend2 survey of marketing, sales and business professionals around the world, 79% of whom are B2B-focused, the creation of relevant content is considered both the most effective and the most difficult online lead nurturing tactic.

 The survey indicates that increasing conversion rates (68%) and sales opportunities (68%) are the most important objectives of a lead nurturing strategy, with email (78%) and websites (48%) considered the most effective channels for lead nurturing purposes.

According to the study, nurturing prospects is the top goal of content marketing,

with the most important objectives of a lead nurturing strategy having one thing in common, says the report: moving leads closer to being sales-ready. Increasing conversion rates, sales opportunities and lead qualification are more achievable when marketing and sales processes are aligned.

Almost two-thirds of respondents report that their lead nurturing budget is increasing either significantly (16%) or marginally important (49%), and virtually all believe that the use of marketing technology is either extremely (75%) or somewhat (22%) important in effectively implementing lead nurturing tactics.

Now more than ever, an effective lead nurturing strategy requires precisely targeted messaging delivered across multiple marketing channels and devices, concludes the report.

For additional information from Ascend2, please visit here.