Don’t waste your investment in e-mail marketing

Campaigns that "run themselves" rarely bring in sales.

By Brian Gilbert

Gilbert is vice president of Integrated Marketing for Hacker Group, Seattle. He is passionate about working through strategic, tactical and operational challenges to discover the breakthrough idea. In 1998, he co-founded NetReflector.com, an online market research and customer feedback company. Gilbert has extensive experience in high-tech product development and sales and marketing.

It's easy to lean on one method of communication in the sales pipeline. Too many businesses create an e-mail stream and call it a day. It’s inexpensive, and it’s fast. However, the problem with campaigns that "run themselves" is that they rarely sell much. Content turns stale, but no one on the team notices.

Don’t take a passive approach to e-mail
Leads in the pipeline are extremely valuable. We spend thousands of dollars in lead generation campaigns. A lead may cost as much as $50 to $100. It's short-sighted to waste that investment. An integrated, multi-channel approach has more impact than a string of e-mails for closing more deals. After all, the sales team doesn't just sit around and wait for the phone to ring. Don’t take a passive approach to e-mail either. Instead turn it into a sales channel.

Nurture your leads
Before thinking about creative materials, consider an engagement strategy. A multi-channel lead nurture system depends on having more than just e-mail addresses, so collect supplementary contact data first. It's appropriate (and it works) to offer something in return for physical addresses and phone numbers. Considering a lead is worth almost nothing without this information, a quid pro quo is a necessary investment.

Next, develop a method for lead profiling. Some companies ask too many questions too soon about budget, authority, needs and timing. This will turn off many prospects. Instead, drip those questions over the course of a few touches. Also, don't forget about available data: Use the information to create segments and to prioritize follow-up.

All leads are not created equally. In addition to self-reported profile information, think about how lead source gives insight into channel preference and level of interest. Leads usually fall into one of the following categories:

  • Leads who responded to a mailing. People who respond to mail deserve a real note dropped on their desk occasionally. It shows a higher level of commitment and interest than a “click.” Consider investing in these leads via sales rep follow-up or additional mail.

  • Leads who clicked on a search ad. They are currently researching solutions. If they're in the market now, it's essential to offer them something of value to “raise their hand.” Follow up immediately with a call.

  • E-mail responders. Analyze open and click behavior to determine interest and the next action. Mix up offers and calls-to-action. Consider actively going after responders via telemarketing or custom campaigns.

  • Leads who clicked on a banner ad. These prospects have a lower level of commitment. Consider a low hurdle to get them into the follow-up stream.

Best practices require a multi-channel approach, even if the source is unknown. Test different tactics to see what moves the needle for the brand. Examples:

  • Take a random segment of the list every month and make some calls. It never hurts to show interest in a prospect. Also, phone calls are an excellent way to clean up the list and find out who the real decision-makers are.


  • Send a letter rather than e-mail to specific vertical segments each month. Include a helpful article or white paper. An entire, customized sub-campaign could be created based on industry.

Drive the next step
It's important to continue to drive recipients to take the next step in the process. Always ask for action. Always make an offer, whether it's a small gift in return for answering some pertinent questions or a meaningful discount when it's time to close the deal. Then follow up based on the behavior the lead exhibits.

Be sure to keep track of what was communicated and when. Track responses back to the original lead, rather than just counting them in aggregate. These efforts will result in a database that can indicate which ideas worked best.

Conclusion
E-mails are an important and inexpensive way to communicate. But, because e-mail marketing is easy to do, it's easy for the market to ignore them. Mixing up methods offers positive traction with the sales pipeline. And isn’t that what marketing is all about?

CA

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