What all marketers should do to turn their suspects into prospects

The challenge for you, as a marketer, is converting suspects into prospects. It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish between the two. Yet, such a distinction can save you from costly, poorly targeted, and less effective marketing efforts. Therefore, it's essential to differentiate between a prospect and a mere suspect.

A suspect is a potential customer who is not yet considered a lead. They will only become a lead once they have met certain conditions . Ideally, they must have a specific need, have shown interest in your offer, and have the ability to pay for the products or services you provide.

Obtaining the contact information of a potential target audience member isn't difficult. The challenge lies in getting that contact genuinely interested in your offer, engaging them, transforming them into a qualified lead , and moving them closer to conversion.

To turn your suspects into prospects, here are some best practices to apply.

1 – Use CTAs and lead magnets in your content

Lead generation should be your priority when doing content marketing . Your content must attract prospects to you. This type of content is what's called a "lead magnet" or "gated content" in marketing terms. It's web content designed to convert a simple website visitor into a qualified lead. This content, often premium, is offered in exchange for the visitor's contact information. Therefore, this type of content is only accessible after submitting a form, for example, white papers, downloadable templates, checklists, etc.

A lead magnet can include various elements, but the most important is the CTA, or call to action. This is an essential tool for inviting your visitors to take immediate action. It often takes the form of a special button that particularly catches the attention of someone browsing a web page. Once clicked, the user is immediately redirected to another page. A CTA can be very effective when used to promote your content.

A lead magnet can help you gradually increase your website traffic integrate that audience into your database . Ideally, you should gather relevant information about your visitors.

2 – Sort your qualified suspects from those who are not

Inbound marketing strategies can help you acquire many contacts. However, not all of them will be your target audience. You could have 20,000 contacts in your database , but not all of them will be prospects.

Your customers were prospects before they became customers, and your prospects were suspects before they became prospects. A suspect's behavior might match your ideal customer profile, but you don't have enough information about them to qualify them. This target individual has never contacted your company or shown any interest in your offer. Therefore, you need to restructure your database to differentiate between qualified suspects and those who are not yet qualified. Don't hesitate to filter them to build the highest quality database possible. If you don't filter them, your campaign statistics will be skewed, and you won't be able to make progress.

Today, there's an easier way to simplify your tasks. You can automatically sort the contacts in your database without wasting much time. This is possible thanks to Magileads, the automated omnichannel platform.

3 – Don't neglect lead nurturing

Most of your prospects need reassurance and want to know more about you. This is especially true in B2B , where purchasing decisions aren't impulsive. Before becoming customers, your prospects must go through several stages. If their interest in your brand hasn't yet been clearly identified , they'll be considered a cold lead that needs nurturing until they're ready to convert. This is where lead nurturing comes in, which involves offering content tailored to your prospects and their needs. The goal is to create, maintain, and cultivate a lasting marketing relationship with them.

To develop such a relationship, sending personalized email sequences to your prospects can be a good initiative. This involves a series of emails automatically sent to specific segments of people in your contact database. These emails can be triggered , for example, by filling out a contact form on a website or subscribing to a newsletter. Sending automated emails is based on the concept of marketing automation .

These emails can aim to generate sales or leads. Hence the importance of promoting your content to nurture your prospects and help them become more engaged.

4 – Use lead scoring to track the progress of your prospects

Monitoring the behavior of your prospects is key to sending them impactful messages, and therefore to getting them interested in your products or services.

In a lead nurturing and inbound marketing , lead scoring is crucial. It involves assigning a score to each prospect to identify those who have reached a more advanced stage in their buying cycle. This allows your sales team to prioritize their efforts on the hot leads qualified by marketing. These are known as MQLs , or Marketing Qualified Leads. 

Lead scoring allows you not only to track the progress of your prospects, but also to assess their maturity, meaning their conversion potential. If you'd like to learn more about this practice, we invite you to read our article that shows you how to effectively score your prospects .

5 – Stay active on social media

Always keep in mind that you need to communicate consistently with your suspects. Integrate yourself into their network so they understand who you are and how you run your organization. This process is a more subtle way to introduce yourself to them.

If you found your leads through social media, continue to regularly publish relevant news articles and other content that would generally benefit your target market. Regular posting strengthens your relationship with your leads. They get to know you. Your online reputation will be significantly improved, your business will be more credible , and your brand will gain greater awareness and visibility. You'll be able to attract new prospects to win over.

Note that you'll save valuable time by using Magileads, which allows you to manage your marketing campaign from start to finish, from targeting to retargeting . Your marketers will have access to a database of 20 million potential customers. The platform's automated process will regularly generate qualified leads that your sales team can easily convert into clients.

Turn their suspects into prospects

Expert references and credible studies

Studies and data on suspects and prospects

• Harvard Business Review (2023) : “Companies using a lead nurturing approach see their conversion rates increase by an average of 50%.” Read the study
• Salesforce (2024) : “Marketing automation enables you to qualify 30% more leads” See the report
• Gartner (2023) : “Personalized campaigns generate 20% more sales than generic approaches.” See the analysis

Recognized experts in suspects and prospects

• Neil Patel : “The key to converting suspects into prospects lies in analyzing the customer journey.” Read his article
• Seth Godin : “Permission-based marketing is the most effective method for building trust.” See his post
• Ann Handley : “Quality content is your best conversion tool.” Read her analysis

Direct testimonies about the suspects

1. Marie Dupont, Marketing Manager at TechSolutions : “By applying these methods, we increased our conversion rate by 35% in 6 months.” Read the full testimonial
2. Jean Martin, independent entrepreneur : “These strategies have allowed me to triple my pipeline of qualified leads.” See his interview
3. Sophie Lambert, Marketing Director : “We reduced our acquisition costs by 40% thanks to these techniques.” Read the case study
4. Alexandre Roux, founder of StartUpX : “In 3 months, we converted 60% of our suspects into hot leads.” See the testimonial
5. Emilie Chen, growth marketing consultant : “These fundamental principles have changed my approach to marketing.” Read her experience

User experiences of suspects as prospects

1. BNP Paribas Group : “Implementing these strategies generated 25% more qualified leads” See the study
2. Small business BoulangerieDuCoin : “We doubled our customer base by applying these simple methods” Read the article
3. Scale-up DataBrain : “Our conversion rate increased by 40 points in one quarter” See the case study
4. Michel Durand, independent sales representative : “These techniques allowed me to sign 3 new major accounts.” Read his testimonial
5. WebCreators Agency : “We optimized our lead qualification process thanks to these methods” See the feedback

Stories and anecdotes about suspects turned prospects

1. How Dropbox increased its conversions tenfold. Read the story.
2. The qualification error that cost a startup €500,000. See the analysis.
3. The LinkedIn campaign that generated 1,000 leads in 7 days. Read the case study.
4. How a well-crafted email converted 60% of recipients. See the study.
5. The A/B test that revealed the power of personalized CTAs. Read the results.

Strategic segmentation: from suspects to prospects

Conversion process diagram :
[Image] Suspects → Initial contact → Qualification → Nurturing → Prospects → Sale

Questions and Answers about Suspects as Prospects

1. What is the first step in converting a suspect into a prospect?
Precisely identifying their needs through open-ended questions, as recommended by Salesforce in their qualification guide. Read the guide

2. How long does it take to see results?
According to a Marketo study, 78% of businesses see improvements in less than 3 months. See the data

3. What tool is essential for this transformation?
A well-configured CRM is crucial, as HubSpot demonstrates in their analysis. Read the article

4. How do you measure the effectiveness of your strategy?
By tracking the suspect-to-prospect conversion rate and the cost per lead, as explained by Neil Patel. See the method.

5. What mistake should you absolutely avoid?
Neglecting the qualification phase, an error that costs sales teams 30% of their time according to Gartner. See the study.

6. How to adapt your strategy to very small businesses?
By focusing on low-cost but highly personalized approaches, as recommended by MIT. Read the analysis

7. What content works best?
Real-life case studies convert 45% better than promotional content (DemandGen Report). See the figures.

8. Should you prioritize digital or physical channels?
A combination of both yields the best results, according to Forrester. Read the research.

9. How to handle common objections?
By anticipating the 5 main objections in your sales pitch, a technique proven by Gong.io. See the study.

10. What is the 2024 conversion trend?
Hyper-personalization through AI, as analyzed by McKinsey. Read the report