Here's my basic outline. I can provide additional information if you'd like.
Streams and Content: I use a buyer's stage process. My programs are separated by Industry/Job function(Persona) and campaign theme (so they can move to another if this one does not work). Content is also sometimes dynamically offered based upon information gleaned from forms like current solutions, industry sub-segments, etc. I have 3-5 programs in each stream, adding and removing as content ages. Later stream content changes least often.
- Suspect to Awareness: we know you but you may not know us or what we do. Content includes high level eGuides and checklists, interactive tools, etc. that introduce the problem that that prospect is trying to solve.
- Awareness to Evaluation: you know what problem you are trying to solve and are looking for options. Content is a deeper dive into solutions that could solve your problem through white papers and longer form papers/eBooks and case studies.
- Evaluation to Selection: you want to learn about our solutions, specifically. Content includes product-specific articles and data sheets, technology papers, demo videos, etc.
- Selection to Qualification: you are ready to talk. Content offers are a mix of soft and hard hand-raisers for contact like asking for a demo, pricing, or using a self-service limited trial.
While in nurture, once a lead interacts with a Qualification-stage piece of content/hand-raiser, or does something that indicates buying behavior (e.g. visits pricing page), or hits a certain threshold score, then they are paused and passed to Sales as an MQL for them to act upon.
Transitions: No content is gated until Stream 4 (hand-raisers are the goal for our program). Once they engage with content in one stage/stream, then they moved to the next with the goal to get them to a hand-raiser and ready to talk to sales (depending on how much content or how long you think you need to nurture leads, you might opt to wait until they get x number of emails or do x number of things before the transition). I also automatically move exhausted folks from Stream 1 to 2 after a break. Depending on the lead source content, the prospect could start at any Stream based upon our best guess of stage (I have all content and offers mapped to a stage and persona to help plug them into the right program and stream and to see our gaps). There is no need to start someone at the beginning if they are added after interacting with lots of content or certain pieces of content. I have triggers that change a prospect's stage (Suspect, Awareness, Evaluation, Selection, Qualification, Opportunity, Customer, Unqualified) depending on actions they take on our website independent of the nurture emails and how they interact with the sales team or get updated through market research (I guess this addresses your "binge" question). These also trigger them forward (and back) between streams and pause/unpause them in the nurture program.
Cadence: I do as you suggest and have the early stream content spread out every 3 weeks, every 2 weeks, and then once a week when they are closer to buying...EXCEPT that I had a large database that had not been nurtured ever, so this year I took all old, cold leads and accelerated them through an every week cadence to see what we could jump start. Any that came alive but only got to the 2nd or 3rd stage before exhaustion, I am resting them and then putting them into the standard cadence program. All new and future leads see the standard cadence.
There are obviously lots of nuances and it depends upon your lead management process with your sales team as to how the nuts and bolts will need to be put into place. But this is my basic framework. Hope it helps.
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