SMB Marketing Automation Blog » Automation System

Integrating Automated Lead Nurturing with Old School Sales Techniques

Lindsey Bowman — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:39:24 +0000

I met with a client this morning who currently uses Net-Results to track website visitors and identify companies coming to her site. When she sees one who could be a good prospect, she picks up the phone and attempts to call the person who came to her site. She doesn’t always get to the right person, but she does typically make contact with someone in the organization and has a good initial prospecting call. When I asked her how she normally follows up with those prospects, she said she generally handwrites notes and mails them. I thought that was a great idea – very few people do that because email is just easier – so it really makes her standout. But, I felt that the combination of handwritten notes and automated lead nurturing could further enhance her follow-up strategy and give her greater insight into the actual interest level of her prospects.

So, I showed her how to set up a lead nurturing campaign in Net-Results. First, she would create an email template using our text editor and include personalized fields such as first name, company name, and any custom attributes she wanted to include. Then, she would create a perpetual campaign based on a list. When she obtained the prospect’s contact information over the phone, she would enter it into Net-Results and add them to a list. When the contact is added to the list, an email from the lead nurturing campaign is automatically triggered. This is her “thank you” email that she would normally send from her email (and will look the same), but this email will contain Net-Results tracking. So, when the lead opens the email and clicks through it, she will then know every page they look at, how long they spend on the site, their navigational path, if they’ve been to the site before anonymously, and every time they return. She can even automatically adjust lead scores based on these actions so she will undoubtedly know who her best prospects are.

We will also set up the campaign to continuously follow up with those less-qualified leads. Those prospects that do not click through her initial follow up email will be automatically sent an additional follow up three days later, and then a final follow up the following week if they continue not to respond. The client is also going to post a PDF brochure on her site and link to it from her emails so she will know who is looking at her sales collateral.

Of course, among all this she will continue to produce handwritten thank you notes; but Net-Results will automate and enhance the entire process.

Using Net-Results will allow you to understand who is actually interested in your product or service after a sales call and who is simply being polite. Identifying those most interested will allow you to focus time and energy on real sales opportunities while nurturing those less interested in an automated fashion. Save time and close more business by integrating old techniques with new technology… brilliant!

Text vs. HTML Emails – What to Use When?

Lindsey Bowman — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:02:28 +0000

There are certainly benefits to sending both TEXT-Only and HTML emails when launching an email campaign. HTML emails are of course attractive when well-designed, allow you to insert images which help you determine an open rate, can be more compelling to click through, and convey multiple messages in an organized format. On the other hand, text emails can have a better deliverability rate, look more personalized, and are generally less likely to be confused with spam (although many spammers these days have caught on to that notion). So which one is right for your campaign? Well, it all depends on what message you are sending to what audience.

Here are my recommendations for email usage broken out by type and audience:

A regularly sent newsletter to existing customers/opt-ins: HTML. Create an attractive looking template and stick with it. This gives a sense of uniformity and creates a familiar environment for your audience. If you use a “from” name that members of this list will recognize, your open rates will soar and you are not as likely to be marked as spam… if people don’t want to receive your emails anymore in this scenario, they are more likely to complete the unsubscribe process (which doesn’t hurt you like complaints do). Be sure to insert numerous links to important content (as many as ten links or more), and make sure you have a strong call to action – even if the goal is simply to get people to your site. Customer retention is a great benefit of regular communication, so while you may not be able to directly tie new revenue to these efforts, it will be worth it as long as you are providing real content value to your recipients and not a blatant advertisement.

An Autoresponder/Shopping Cart Abandonment Email: TEXT. If you utilize a marketing automation system such as Net-Results, an auto-response email from a web form completion (or bail) will likely be the first time this prospect will receive email from you. Deliverability is the key here, so keep it simple. We have customers who successfully send incentivized shopping cart abandonment emails that are basic text and appear to come from a single customer service rep. The email content simply says something like, “I noticed you did not complete your order… is there anything I can do to help?” and “I realize in this economy the cost of shipping is a strong concern. Please use this discount code for $1 shipping. Thanks, Stephanie.” (There is indeed a Stephanie that works for this particular client, so the email is genuine.)

Press Release: TEXT. Again, deliverability and opens is key here. Most likely your press contacts receive dozens if not hundreds of emails a day. If you appear to be spam, you’ll be blocked not only from that particular contact, but possibly everyone on the same email server for life… which won’t do much for your press efforts. Press Releases are all text anyway, so don’t spend a lot of time making a fancy temple. The media just wants the news.

Product Announcements/Updates: HTML or TEXT. This is a tricky one because it really depends on your product and your audience. If you have a product or service that is a visual like a clothing line, menu items, beauty products, etc. then HTML is the way to go because people will want to see it. But, if you are simply describing the product update or service, such as “we’ve upgraded our database infrastructure” then text is the right choice.

New Prospecting Campaign: HTML or TEXT. This is also a tricky one because you have to weigh the pros and cons of each choice. If you purchase a list, re-market to an old list, or share contacts with partners, there’s a good chance recipients won’t know who you are… so deliverability and looking like spam is a concern – which may indicate a text email would be better. But in this instance, tracking open rate is important because your click through rate might be lower than with an opt-ed in list… so you need to have some idea of who is interested. So, as you can’t track the open rate of a text email, HTML might be a better option. Additionally, you must consider if pictures will truly enhance your email in promoting your product or service as mentioned above. That may be outweighed by the option of a personalized text email that appears to come from a single sales rep as if it was written solely for a one contact (which many of our customers have been successful with).

It really boils down to considering the context of your email, the audience who will receive it, and the message you are trying to convey. Of course you should always consider your own reaction to the type of email you are trying to send and use your experiences to drive your plans. In general, I would recommend that if your list of recipients doesn’t know you, send a text email. If you have an opt-ed in list of known contacts, an HTML email will work well.

How Much Money are you Losing when a Shopper Abandons their Cart?

Lindsey Bowman — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:22:52 +0000

An article in today’s Emarketer newsletter, “The Sad Tale of Abandoned Shopping Carts” reaffirmed what we’ve been preaching for quite some time now: every potential customer who puts items in their cart and leaves without ordering is a significant loss. Just how big of a loss? Well, according to Emarketer, “the average cost of abandoned goods in those shopping carts was $109.” And just how rampant is this problem? According to a Paypal and comScore study, 45% of US online shoppers have abandoned MULTIPLE carts in the past three weeks! What is a retailer/advertiser supposed to do?

Emarketer listed the following top 4 reasons for abandonment and the percentage of respondents who gave that reason – I’ve also listed my ideas for combating the issues:

1. High shipping charges: 46%

It’s no secret that many online retails make significant revenue off the shipping fees they charge and that angers many shoppers (myself included). How many of us have paid $8 for shipping to an eBay seller, only to get the package and find the seller paid $1.50 to send us the package? Companies who make a strong effort to keep shipping costs low (such as using the flat rate boxes from USPS or negotiating rates with FedEx or UPS) and pass the savings on to the customer build stronger credibility and repeat customer relationships. So, first off, reduce your rates if you find many customers are bailing at the point of seeing your shipping cost. Secondly, use a shipping calculator or post your shipping fees so customers can see what they are going to be charged before starting the purchase. Third, create a shipping club like Amazon Prime if appropriate. For $79 a year, you’ll get free 2-day shipping on all products you buy – this encourages repeat purchases as well.

2. Wanted to comparison shop: 37%

If customers want to compare prices and you are confident you can meet or beat other retailers, why not help them out with this? No matter what, you don’t want prospects to close the window or tab they are using to browse your site because that increases the likelihood they won’t be able to find you again (particularly if they found you from organic search). Why not post links to your competitor’s products on your site that will open in new windows/tab with a price match guarantee? That will ensure your window stays open while they browse other sites – and customers may come back to you because you gave them the information they needed. Progressive Insurance gives you quotes from their competitors (even when the competition is lower) so you can decide which company to go with – and I suspect that on a regular basis, customers will choose Progressive over a less expensive policy simply because they have become trustworthy for providing this information.

3. Lack of money: 36%

Ok… not too much you can do here other than offer a discount. But if customers are not buying because they don’t have the money, you might want to steer clear of them. Customers who purchase items they can’t afford have a much higher return and charge back rate – which means expensive customer service issues for you. Proceed with caution.

4. Wanted to look for a coupon: 27%

Some people (like myself) are always looking for some kind of discount. In fact, I almost never go to a restaurant or department stores without a coupon. That’s because many restaurants and stores make coupons so readily available. I know that Macy’s will run coupons nearly every week in the Sunday paper and that Bed Bath and Beyond will mail me one every month. I know that Restaurant.com is going to send me an email at least once a week for a discount on my discount coupon purchases (how is that for irony). If you don’t want to be known as a retailer that always provides coupons for your store (think: Walmart with “Always low prices”) then don’t make your coupons so prominent. Send them sporadically to your existing customer list and don’t provide universal coupon codes that people can forward on to their friends who you in turn won’t capture information for. Or, create a discount shopping club, such as the one offered by Newport News. For $25 a year you get 10% off every purchase and eight times a year you get 20% off… not a bad deal at all. This, like the shipping club, also promotes repeat business with customers who feel like they have an “in.”

What if you still have abandonment issues?

As I’ve mentioned before, you must try to regain business from shopping cart abandoners… and Marketing Automation is the best answer. Check out my previous post, “How to Regain Business for Shopping Cart Abandoners” for instructions on how to create and launch such a campaign.

Why Your Customers and Prospects Should Drive Your Development Roadmap

Lindsey Bowman — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:22:04 +0000

I’ve found that a lot of software companies have regular meetings to sit around and discuss what they think their customers want. These meetings often involve the marketing, development, and executive teams – sometimes they might even include sales. But how confident can a company be that what they think should be done in terms of development, new features, and enhancements, is actually what the customer wants and/or needs? The truth is… we don’t always know – and when we guess, we usually come up short. That is why software companies need to stop guessing and start listening to actual users and potential uses. Think: Windows Vista.

ComputerWorld outlined “12 unnecessary Vista features you can disable right now” in September of 2008. In Microsoft’s attempt to create a feature-rich, beautiful-looking, super cool operating system, they added a bunch of junk that most users would never use or even realize it was there. And the result? A slower system that forces users to go in and actually delete applications. How is that helpful?

I’m guilty of this myself – at Net-Results, we’ve often sat around and brainstormed about features that would be really cool to have and placed them on our “wish list”. Some of our features have even been driven by what our competitors have deemed important. Yet, nearly once a week I will talk to a prospect or customer who comes up with an idea we’ve never thought of – one that seems simple enough – but never crossed my mind. For example, a prospect asked me if he would be able to send out a discount coupon email to his customers on their birthday that varied depending upon what pages they looked at and where they showed interest. Seems reasonable, right? Yet he told me that not one marketing automation system he’d evaluated would have been able to do that for him. (In all fairness: it is possible with Net-Results, but would take a fair amount of set-up). Another customer asked if they could do split testing in a wizard beyond A/B – they wanted C/D/F and compare all the results. Again, seems reasonable, yet they had never found a system that would allow them to set that up via a wizard. From this, we’ve become much more aware of customer needs and we are tailoring our development roadmap and wish list priority to specifically reflect what our customers want – not just what we think is cool (although we are thrilled when “cool” meets “customer needs”).

While each customer has unique needs that may or may not be wide spread, they are all important to listen to. In brainstorming meetings, be sure to include your customer service department – you know, those people that actually speak to your customers? If Microsoft had listened to their customer base, I expect they might have heard “speed of operation” and “ease of use” as two of the main interests… and maybe Vista would have turned out a bit differently.