Who’s to say that customer’s sales cycle is over? There are always opportunities for upselling, cross-selling, and repeat sales! In fact, it’s to your benefit that you nurture the customers you already have. According to Bain and Company, repeat customers spend an average of 67% more than new customers, and are 6-12 times cheaper to sell to. Talk about a good investment!
So, what do you do to nurture those customers (or shall we call them leads?) so they can generate even more revenue for your business? Well, one tool you have in your arsenal is your email marketing program. I mean, they already trust you and recognize your name in their inbox -- if you’ve got a captive segment of your contacts database, you might as well work it. So whether it’s been a few seconds, weeks, or months since the deal was closed, this post will explain how to use email marketing to re-engage your current customers and achieve greater account penetration for minimal cost.
1) Leverage Your Thank You/Confirmation Email
After a customer makes a purchase, they have a choice -- one that you can play a part in with savvy email marketing. They can either move on from your brand because they’ve got what they wanted from you, or they can consider ways to stay engaged with your brand that could lead to future purchases. And considering that “Welcome” and “Order Confirmation” emails are some of the emails with the highest open rates, you have a unique opportunity to convince customers to stay tuned to see what else you have to offer. And, you know, see what else they might buy from you.
So in addition to the order details and email opt-in confirmation, include a clear call-to-action in these emails to encourage customers to stay engaged with your company in ways other than via email. It could be an exclusive offer to an industry-specific eBook, a promotion of your social media profiles to help expand your reach, or a recommendation for a complementary product or service your customer might like. The better targeted your content, the better chance that customer sticks around.
Whatever you choose, keep in mind that welcome and confirmation emails should thank the customer for their opt-in or purchase and offer additional ways to add value, not push for a hard sale.
2) Send a Product/Service Feedback Email
You’ve made the sale with the customer, but how is their purchase treating them? If you’ve mucked up along the way -- either with poor service or a sub-par product -- you can’t exactly expect customers to purchase again from you in the future. Leverage the power of email to make your post-purchase check-ins more scalable, and your marketing infinitely move lovable.
But beware! Timing is important here. Check in too early, and customers might not have even used your product yet; or in a service-based business, they might not know enough about the experience of working with you to offer meaningful feedback. Check in too late, however, and your product isn’t on their mind anymore. So if you’re looking for feedback on something like a digital download, give your leads a couple days to read it. If you’re looking for feedback on a physical product, extend that time frame a bit to adjust for shipping time and, if applicable, assembly. And if you’re in a service-based business, you should set several benchmarks across a customer’s time spend with your organization.
For happy customers, emails of this nature will not only reaffirm their confidence in a business that’s treated them well, it will make them feel like valued customers who have a stake in the future of your company. You know, the future that would make them happy … and make them more likely to purchase more from you. Talk about hearing it straight from the source.
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