"We have found that a large number of companies allow unfulfilled leads to fall into a great abyss, never to be contacted again," writes Mike Neumeier at the Arketi Group blog. He suggests that companies take another approach—and apply the principles of nurture marketing to lost leads and "recapture unfulfilled sales through strategic communications and continual outreach."

To do so, Neumeier suggests you first identify why each lead was lost. (Was it sent to Sales too soon? Did it buy from a rival?) Then decide at what stage it belongs in the "nurture pool":

• Awareness. (These lost leads still know you're there, but they're not shopping.) Offer them "webinars, podcasts and generic industry white papers," Neumeier suggests.
• Discovery. (Although they didn't buy from you the first time around, they might still be interested.) Present focused case studies and reports, he advises.
• Validation. (This group is still ready to buy!) "Relevant material for this phase includes product and company brochures, comparison sheets and product quick-tours," he notes.

Here's how nurturing can help recapture two types of lost leads:

Type 1: Not ready. Say the lead came from a tradeshow and was handed to Sales but was not ready to purchase. "There is a strong probability that this lead should be in the Awareness phase and wants to receive invitations to industry webinars to learn the benefits of solutions," Neumeier says.

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