For many business-to-business firms, automated lead nurturing promises a smarter path to sales. The technology tracks prospects’ online behavior and automatically delivers tailored content, with the goal of warming up leads before a salesperson ever makes contact.
New research co-authored by Nathaniel N. Hartmann, associate professor of marketing at the University of South Florida, finds that the technology does improve how buyers and sellers connect, but it doesn’t guarantee more closed deals. The study appears in the Journal of Marketing.
Automated lead nurturing strengthens sales conversations, but its payoff depends on when and where it’s used. A one-size-fits-all approach won’t maximize results.
Drawing on interviews and three large empirical studies across multiple industries, the researchers show that automated lead nurturing (ALN) helps both sides learn more about each other before direct contact. As a result, sales professionals are more likely to secure higher-quality meetings, virtual or in-person conversations, rather than relying on lower-impact phone calls. Those richer interactions are strongly linked to higher conversion rates.
Still, ALN’s direct effect on closing deals varies. In some contexts, conversion rates rise significantly. In others, the average effect is negligible.
The biggest gains appear when uncertainty is highest: new customers, shorter sales cycles and smaller expected deal sizes. In long, relationship-driven or high-value sales processes, where both sides already have substantial information, ALN adds less value.
Authors: Johannes Habel, University of Houston; Nathaniel N. Hartmann, University of South Florida; Phillip Wiseman, Texas Tech University; Michael J. Ahearne, University of Houston; Shashank Vaid, McMaster University.