Without follow-up emails, many leads fall by the wayside, squandering the money spent on lead generation and wasting the chance of a new sale. This isn’t just the case when the first contact is made (although this is extremely important). Prompt follow-up is also crucial for maintaining good communication throughout the sales and marketing process. After all, your prospects are busy people and only have limited time, regardless of how keen they are on your products and services.
With personalised content being such a crucial part of digital marketing these days, your follow-up emails present both a challenge and an opportunity. Here’s how you can use your follow-ups effectively to help your business make more sales:
Stand Out From The Crowd
Many businesses neglect to send follow-up emails, or don’t have time to do so. Therefore, simply sending them may give you an advantage over your competitors, showing your business to be courteous and attentive to its prospects.
Keep The Conversation Going
Not all prospects are ready to buy straight away. In fact, many prospects take five or more touches before making a positive sales decision. Email follow-ups are part of keeping the conversation going. What to aim for with your follow-ups is consistency. An instant follow-up may appear contrived, while leaving it too long risks the conversation going cold.
Marketing automation software provides the ideal means to manage your follow-up responses. When linked to a drip-feed email campaign with content that responds to behavioural triggers, follow-up emails can guide the conversation in the direction you wish, while giving the prospect the option to opt-out at any stage. When the prospect is eventually ready to buy, they are far more likely to purchase from a business that has consistently stayed in touch.
Personalisation
One of the joys of marketing automation is the scope it gives to customisable content. No one appreciates cut-and-paste sales emails, and an approach that might work for one type of buyer may fall completely flat with another type. If you understand your buyer personas and the motivations that make them tick, you can tailor your email content – and your follow-ups – to address their specific concerns. This builds trust and makes them far more likely to consider you over a company that hasn’t taken the time to tailor their content. There’s no real limit to the level of personalisation you can put into your follow-ups. Some businesses include download links to gated content, personal special offers, training courses, and discount coupons.
More Information
To find out more about email marketing automation best practices and how they can benefit your marketing strategy, give us a call today. We also have a downloadable Marketing Automation Guide that covers all the basics. Click here to claim a free copy.
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