In addition to exciting announcements about a new Android operating system and a Google tablet, the Google I/O developers conference last week was also the debut of an interesting new feature on Android devices: Google Now.
Google Now is designed to automatically present the information you need throughout the day – even before you ask for it. Based on the initial demonstrations, Google Now dramatically raises the bar on personalized technology. The results were impressive: from providing relevant sports scores to routing around heavy traffic for your morning commute. See the product in action below:
Google Now is firmly aimed at consumer use, but serves as a great example of how you should be nurturing your leads and how dramatic the impact of timely and actionable information can be.
Data Driven
Google Now tries to organize your life by presenting information Google thinks you’ll need at a specific moment, in a context that it hopes you’ll find useful. This insight is based on the information Google has collected on how you use their various services, including search, calendar and email.
When it comes to nurturing your leads, your strategy needs to be driven by data in the same way as Google Now. Services like Pardot allow you to track the activity of a prospect on your site, providing insight into consumer behavior and buying patterns. You should use this information to provide only the most relevant information to your prospects.
Highly Personalized
Google Now would be nothing new if it sent the same updates in bulk to all of its users — its true value lies in the highly personalized nature of the information it is providing. Google has access to detailed information about your interests and they are putting that information to work.
Just as no one would be moved by a mass, impersonal update sent to all Google users, no one is going to be excited to receive a generic marketing email from your company. Use your data on a prospect’s behavior to provide information personalized to their needs. If you are using an automated email service, use dynamic fields and variable tags to address readers by their names and provide customized content.
Ultra Timely
For me, the biggest selling point of Google Now is the timeliness of the information it provides. Having the information you need, provided to you before you even ask is truly incredible (albeit a bit creepy). Google Now will put a personal assistant in every Android user’s pocket.
You need to approach your lead nurturing in the same way. You should focus less on being a salesperson and more on being a personal assistant to your prospects, always there at the right time to help them through the buying process. Drip campaigns allow you to automate this process by providing information to prospects only after a certain period of time or after a certain action is taken.
As companies become better at utilizing the troves on consumer data available to them, our interactions with these companies will become highly personalized. While the debate over privacy and consumer tracking rages on, it is near impossible to deny the benefit of a more personalized nurturing and sales process. Use the data available to you to create a highly personalized and timely experience for your leads.