The most successful companies know how to nurture their leads until they become customers. Without nurture, you might get one-time sales from your leads – and that’s it. This can lead to a lot of wasted resources, as you’ll need to find new prospects over and over again. On the other hand, nurture programs can help create lifelong customers who will not only buy from you now, but also recommend you to others in the future.
How do you know if you’re nurturing your leads well? Here are some questions to ask: Are your emails relevant and personal? Do they offer value through content or offers? Do they include social proof like testimonials or case studies? Are they timed at just the right intervals? These are just a few of many things your email marketing program should be doing. To learn more about effective ways to nurture leads with email marketing, keep reading!
Why Email Marketing is Important
Email marketing is one of the best ways to have your business connect with potential and existing customers. It has been proven time and time again that email marketing is one of the most effective methods for businesses to grow their customer base. Email marketing is important for businesses because it gives them a direct line to communicate with customers on a regular basis without having to worry about other platforms that might be limiting what they can do. The more you use email marketing, the more you will see the results of your hard work in bringing in new leads and making sales.
There are many different things you can do in order to optimize your email marketing strategy. However, there are a few things that are essential no matter what:
- Appropriate content: You need to make sure that you’re sending appropriate content at the right times. You want to avoid sending too many emails or sending irrelevant information altogether.
- Personalization: Emails need to come from a person – not just “Sales Team.” Being personal goes a long way when it comes to building trust with customers.
- Social Proof: Customers need reassurance, so include testimonials, reviews or other forms of social proof in your emails. This will help solidify your brand’s credibility and make customers more likely to buy from you.
Personalize your emails
The best way to show someone you care is through personalized messages. This is just as true when it comes to email marketing. Personalizing your emails will not only make your leads feel like they’re getting a special message from you, but it will also encourage them to respond back to you. You can use data about your past interactions with your lead to personalize your email. For example, if a lead opened your email more than 3 times, this may mean they are curious or have more questions. Setup a re-engagement campaign that auto sends to them and asks if they had any questions or add a button to schedule a call.
Here are ways you can personalize their experience:
- Retargeting campaigns: These are used to ensure that people who have visited your site, but didn’t perform a specific action such as make a purchase. You can send a retargeting email campaign that maybe sends them a 10% off discount on the exact item they were viewing. Retargeted emails not only go out when someone completes an order or views specific content pages, but also in between those events if there has been no activity for more than 30 days (with some much shorter delays).
- Post purchase campaigns: These are a sophisticated way to build brand loyalty and provide value after the sale. One example of an email is one that gives tips on how to care for their purchased item. The next could be a recipe using the bought item, etc. These types of emails give customers trust in the company because you’re delivering something with each email; yet they also just so happen to offer upsells and cross-sells as well!
Offer value with your emails
Email should provide value for your readers. This is the number one way to make your emails compelling and keep readers engaged. You can find ways to provide value by including helpful tips and tricks, educational blog posts, and relevant content that your customer would want to read. Remember, the content doesn’t have to be all about your business.
It’s also important that you offer something of value in each email you send out. For example, if you’re sending a monthly newsletter with deals or discounts, include an exclusive promo code just for subscribers on the first page or at the end of the email. When someone subscribes to your list, they should know exactly what they’re signing up for: lots useful resources and deals!
Include social proof in your emails
Social proof can be defined as any evidence that brings more credibility or trustworthiness to a person or idea. Social media posts and testimonials are examples of social proof – they’re essentially endorsements for your business. Including social proof in your email sends the message that other people are invested in what you have to say, which will make leads more likely to purchase from you because their peers are using your product or service. You can include social proof by including user-generated testimonials or case studies in your emails.
Timing Your Emails
Timing is key with email marketing. The timing of your emails can vary depending on what you’re trying to promote or how often people expect to hear from you. A good approach could be to send emails twice a month and then up it to weekly.You also want your emails to be relevant, so make sure that the content in each email ties into the next one. For example, if you send an email about a new product, the next one should be about why that product would be beneficial for them.
Planning out your emails will help create a cohesive experience for your recipients. Email marketing is all about creating relationships with leads and customers, so it’s important to have a consistent tone across all of your messages and avoid sounding robotic by sending too many irrelevant emails (or worse – ones they’ve already seen!). Keep these tips in mind while planning out your next campaign!
Wrap Up
Before you start implementing a email campaign be sure it is designed to create a sense of loyalty and an appreciation for your company. The content within the emails should build upon one another, making readers feel invested in reading further and eventually performing an action such as scheduling a call, making a purchasing or visiting your store.