It’s 2018: If you aren’t already using marketing automation in your strategy it’s time to start. With various marketing automation tools available for businesses of any size and at different price points, there’s no reason to avoid marketing automation any longer. Here at Webolutions, we’ve done our homework on platforms and our favorite solution just so happens to be Infusionsoft. It’s powerful, easy-to-use and fits in our budget. By combining Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and marketing automation in one place, Infusionsoft makes it a piece of cake to send targeted messaging to our market segments.
With everything in one place, you can focus on optimizing journeys, improving internal efficiencies, identifying leaks in campaigns and fostering an environment ripe for conversion throughout all stages of the customer lifecycle. Now, let’s review some popular campaigns that’ll seal the deal with leads and repeat customers.
See our article: 3 Phases of Lifecycle Marketing
Sales Pipeline Campaign
Building automation into your sales pipeline enables companies to pick some low hanging fruit as opportunities move through the funnel. By understanding and anticipating their needs. For example, perhaps just after entering the pipeline, they receive an email with facts about your company and your sales representatives receives a prompt to send them a hand-written note.
When it comes to the pipeline, process is important. Hammering out the minutia of your sales pipeline can put your marketing automation in overdrive. Creating automation for the stages of a sales pipeline means more efficient and happy sales teams.
The beauty of using Infusionsoft is that it helps to close the gap between sales and marketing teams. We’ve found once sales teams understand and buy-in to the power of integrating CRM and marketing automation, they’re more successful as a result.
Welcome Series
The Welcome Series is perhaps one of the most straight-forward campaigns to automate. Regardless if you’re B2B or B2C, new customers and subscribers should receive a welcome email series to let them know what they can expect from you in your new relationship.
B2B New Customers
New clients for a professional services firm, could receive these emails as part of an onboarding journey. Here’s a sample of the emails you could send:
- Email 1: Send this shortly after the lead becomes a customer and let your new client know how excited you are to be their partner. Provide some helpful resources, such as FAQs, and pertinent information, like contact info or customer support phone number.
- Email 2: Sent a day or two later (depending on your timeline). This may include links to any forms that need to be filled out or it might deliver important files.
- Email 3: Send several days later. Let the client know about any upcoming webinars, events, products and other services that they should take advantage of.
B2C New Customers + B2B & B2C Email Subscribers
Generally, B2C customers receive a welcome series after purchasing a product (and signing up to receive marketing communications during that process) or simply by joining an email list.
- Email 1: Send immediately for email-only sign up. This usually includes an offer to incentivize a purchase. For sign up during a purchase, delay the send by a few hours or even up to a day, as the customer is already receiving transactional emails from you. Welcome your new customer and let him/her know to expect to hear from you and what kind of info and content you’ll be communicating. Does being on your email list mean getting an exclusive offer? Be sure to call this out.
- Email 2: Wait two days to send. In this email, showcase your product assortment or other services that other customers are using. If this is not an option, promote your blog.
- Email 3: Wait three days. Let your customers and subscribers know to join your community on the social media your brand and your fans are active on.
Win-Back Campaign
Those subscribers who haven’t engaged with emails, visited your site or made a purchase in a while need love, too. This is a special segment of your list that benefits from unique messaging, compelling them to get reacquainted with your brand.
Having inactive subscribers on your list is inevitable, so be sure to give some extra thought to make subject lines, preview text and body content extremely engaging through entertaining or witty copy, value-oriented information, like intriguing statistical data. Of course, you’ll want to do this while remaining authenticate to your brand and your message or offer.
Use language that politely acknowledges the lack of interaction between the subscriber and your brand, such as “We miss you!” or “Hello, again!”
A Win-Back journey could be comprised of several emails. Here’s an example of how this flow might look:
- The first email is a soft sell: Educate the subscriber on any new updates with your company or website.
- Push a little more with the second email 3 days a later: Hype up your benefits.
- Finally: Send an offer in the third email 2 days after the second email is sent
Key Takeaways
- There’s no excuse to avoid marketing automation as accessibility is available to businesses of all sizes.
- Marketing automation can, and should be, implemented at any stage of the customer lifecycle.
- Test your campaigns. Monitor results and performance. Then, adjust your tactics – such as when emails are sent – as necessary.
- Always be thinking: What can I automate next? Where’s the gap I can bridge with prospect and/or customers? Keep building journeys and campaigns to propel the growth of your business.
Webolutions is an Infusionsoft Certified Partner. Let us help you grow sales through automation. Contact us today.
