email best practices Archives - BenchmarkONE

Content Grid: What to Send and When to Send It

Part of a great personalized email campaign is knowing what types of content to send throughout a campaign as your audience travels down the sales funnel.  Here is a handy grid to help visualize what to send to your contacts, and when to send it.

You don’t need every type of content on the grid, but working toward a good mix of content for each stage of the sales funnel will help you fuel email marketing campaigns that raise awareness of your brand, deliver resources to prospects, help opportunities evaluate your product or service, and keep customers engaged.

(p.s. Don’t forget that you don’t have to create every piece of content on your own. Supplementing email campaigns with curated content can also add value to your audience.)

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Razor Sharp Email Nurturing – Dollar Shave Club

At Hatchbuck, we love seeing awesome email nurturing campaigns in the wild.  Here is a great example of a personalized email campaign that compels customers to convert.  Dollar Shave Club’s call-to-action campaign cuts to the point and asks for the sale.

Here’s what Dollar Shave Club gets right, and how you can add these tips to your own call-to-action campaign:

Segmentation

This campaign speaks to those abandoned cart leads who filled out a form to sign-up, but didn’t pull the trigger to make a purchase.  These are super hot prospects that have already engaged with Dollar Shave Club, and liked the product enough to almost buy.

Key Takeaway:  When developing a call-to-action campaign that asks for the sale, hone in on your most engaged prospects.  Perhaps they signed up for a free service, abandoned a shopping cart, downloaded a competitor comparison, or visited a pricing page. The more engaged they are with your brand, and further along they are in the sales process, the more receptive they’ll be to this type of campaign.

Single Call to Action

Following best practices, there is only one path for prospects to take:  sign-up/join now.  Each of these emails has a single call to action that funnels prospects to the same landing page that also has a single call to action.  There are no other distractions from the main intent of the email – getting prospects to convert to customers.

Key Takeaway:  Focus on a single call to action, whether it’s to connect with a sales representative or make a purchase online.  Omit extra distractions to keep prospects on the path to conversion.

Alleviating Fears:  Thou doth protest too much, methinks

Part of Dollar Shaves Club’s challenge is to address the barriers that stopped shoppers from buying the blades.  These are HOT prospects that were clicks away from converting to a new customer. To confront those barriers to entry, these emails rejects frequent protests right away, like, “But, I don’t need razors every month!” and “What if I don’t like the blade I choose?”

Key Takeaway:  What protests do you hear frequently from your prospects when they turn down your solution? When you understand the barriers your prospects face, you can ease their mind up front.  For example, do you hear that your offering is too expensive?  Explain how the value it adds negates the cost.  Are your prospects often concerned about a specific risk?  Explain your warranty, or the flexibility of your contract upfront.

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Benefits are the Star

Dollar Shave Club doesn’t beat prospects over the head with features like “best stainless steel blades,” or “soft rubber-grib handle.”  Instead, they speak to buyers’ emotions by pointing out the intangible benefits of getting razors delivered to your door.  It’s not just a razor anymore – it’s a way to avoid the frustration and inconvenience of making another trip to the drug store.

Key Takeaway:  Features aren’t meaningful to consumers unless they alleviate a glaring pain point or challenge they face.  Identify ways that your offering makes your customer’s lives better, whether it saves them time, adds to their status, or eliminates a frustration.

bertha

Egos Remained Intact

Dollar Shave Club could tell their prospects that they’re super dumb for not saving money on razors.  But prospects don’t want to feel dumb, they want to feel like they’re smart and made a smart decision with their purchase.  So – in a snarky way that reflects their brand – DSC gives prospects the opportunity to feel like geniuses :  “Hey, forking over big bucks for razors is not something a genius would do – and you’re clearly a genius.”

Key Takeaway:  No one wants to be called out for being wrong or unsophisticated.  Make your prospects feel smart by making the decision to go with you.

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Don’t Let Great Customers Slip By

According to Gleanster Reaserch, on average, 50% of your leads are qualified, but just not ready to buy. A benefit-focused email nurturing campaign with a single call to action helps your business follow-up with the most promising prospects.  Don’t let lack of follow-up prevent your business from converting new customers.  Nurture hot prospects with the right messaging to get them through the door.