Why an Email Drip Campaign Might be Your Best Bet
by Ross Kramer, CEO of Listrak
Published on iMedia Connection 5.20.2010
Few email programs have mass appeal to a mass audience. You might get a couple of clicks, but if you're trying to maximize the ROI of your email campaigns (and who isn't?) stop blasting out emails to every subscriber and hoping for the best. Instead, fine-tune your strategy by creating emails that are targeted, engaging, relevant, and timely.
How, you ask? Automated drip campaigns, I answer. This is a game changer. Instead of creating a single version of your email message for your entire list, or a few different versions if you're segmenting, you create a series of messages designed to lead each person down a specific path based on where he or she is in the sales cycle.
The premise is simple: Subscribers kick off the email campaign through a specific action, such as subscribing to your list, clicking a link in a message, making a purchase, viewing a particular product, or reading a review. Once the campaign is triggered, emails are automatically delivered on a predetermined schedule -- a steady "drip," if you will -- until the series ends or the subscriber opts out of the conversation. Drip conversations allow you to communicate with your subscribers on a one-to-one basis, and because the emails are more relevant, targeted, and timely, they have much higher conversion rates than mass emails.
While drip campaigns might contain conditional branching to send subscribers down different conversation paths, they differ from behaviorally triggered campaigns in purpose and complexity. The purpose of a drip campaign is to maintain regular, continual contact with subscribers in an effort to keep your brand top of mind, increase engagement and accelerate the sales process.
Drip campaigns don't have to be super complex to work either. Here are some ideas that you can try:
1. Welcome series
It's no secret that subscribers are most engaged when they first opt in to your list. If you're just sending a generic welcome message, you're missing a huge opportunity, not only in potential sales but also in building brand loyalty. A welcome series, made up of three, five, or more messages, capitalizes on the engagement levels of subscribers and helps build brand advocates, turning one-time buyers into long-term customers.
Your welcome messages could be segmented based on subscription entry point or profiling attributes. And by all means, test the cadence to ensure the messages are delivered at the right time.
2. Promotional offers
Let's face it: Not every subscriber will be interested in every sale or special offer. But you can maximize the ROI of your offer campaigns by implementing a drip strategy. For example, maybe you have a limited edition of a particular product, so you send an initial email announcing the product. A second email might give a special offer to purchase that product. And the third might let customers know that quantities are running low.
3. Product or brand education
Nurture your non-customer audience with drip campaigns around different actions. If a subscriber clicks on a link in your email to read a product review, send a follow-up email with a product video, a product comparison, a coupon for a special discount on the product, or other materials related to the product. With each email you send, the subscriber learns more and more about the product, and you warm them up to the idea of making a purchase.
4. Post purchase
Marketers know that customer relationships don't end at the point of purchase. But if you continue to send the same types of emails that you send to non-customers, you won't build strong, lasting relationships or promote customer advocacy.
Your customers are special and need to feel appreciated. After a sale, send follow-up messages requesting videos of them using the products or links to submit a review, ask them to share their experiences with their networks, and, above all, let them know how valuable this information is to you.
5. Cross- and up-sell
When a customer makes a purchase, you can begin a value-added cross-sell campaign offering related or complementary products. You can also offer unrelated products that were purchased by other customers, such as "customers who purchased X also purchased Y." And, if you know your product's shelf-life, you can follow up with a replenishable campaign when it's time for the subscriber to reorder the product. These campaigns keep your brand top of mind and make it easy for customers to purchase, so there is no excuse not to implement them.
One important thing to remember when creating your drip campaigns is to keep the email creative fresh. Don't fall for the old "set-it-and-forget-it" adage because if you do, you'll be sending out old, irrelevant messages. As you build your automated drip campaigns, be sure to include quarterly email updates (or more) so your emails remain fresh and relevant.