I recently spoke on the phone to two prospective clients who both wanted the same thing: more customers. They were both planning on sending an email to a list of names they had bought from a list broker. Both were expecting a response rate of around 10%. The main difference between the two was that one had a plan – the other didn’t. Client #1 was going to test different subject lines and email body copy; they had a strategy around following up anyone who responded to their initial email. And they had realistic expectations around budget. Client #2 on the other hand, was just going to send an email introducing their company and their product with a link to the order page on their website, and cross their fingers that they would gain thousands of customers this way. They had ‘spent all their money on the list’ of 40,000 names and didn’t have any money to spend on the most important part of the project: the copy. There are plenty of things small to medium businesses can learn from these scenarios, but if I had to isolate three key takeaways, they would be these:
1. Plan.
If you’ve just spent thousands of dollars on a list, make sure you get your money’s worth out of mailing them. Depending on how you have acquired your names you will generally have one shot to get their attention. You can’t just assume that they are in the market for your product or service and will respond then and there – having some kind of offer or a reason for them to ‘opt-in’ will mean you can put them on your database and follow them up later.
2. Test.
Getting a cold lead to even open your email is the trickiest bit. They don’t know you, and your email is one of literally hundreds or possibly thousands they will receive each day. If it’s too obviously a sell, or your opening line is a dud, your email will be trashed as fast as they can swipe from right to left. Split your list into segments and test as many subject lines as you can and see which one gets the most opens. Under no circumstances should you email the entire list in one hit. If possible, segment the list and send different emails/offers appropriate to the different audiences, based on their needs or pain-points.
3. Follow-up.
Having a compelling CTA (call to action) will help you boost response rates but you also need to make sure you have a strategy around what you are going to do next. That might require your sales team to be on the phone in the days following the mail-out – ideally you want as many people to respond to your email, giving you permission to contact them again. Most sales don’t happen in one hit. You will still need to nurture your prospects and do the hard yards to get them across the line. Your email is an opening salvo – it’s not a silver bullet. Planning an email or direct mail campaign? Here’s a checklist of things to consider before you begin.
Email Acquisition Campaign checklist
- Who are you sending the email to?
- What role do they have in the company?
- Are they the decision maker? ie are they one who will be buying your product?
- How did you acquire their name?
- What info do you have about them apart from their email address?
- first name?
- surname?
- title?
- company name?
- phone number?
- address?
- Who are your main competitors for your product/service?
- What 3 things can you tell your audience about what makes your company (or product or service) unique? Why should they buy from you rather than a competitor?
- Do you have any testimonials from existing, happy clients, esp if it’s a person or company others might recognise?
- Is there something you can offer your audience in return for them ‘opting in’ to your database? e.g. 10 Things you need to know about Self-Managed Super Funds; 5% off your first order; free delivery etc.
- Do you have a newsletter or anything else they can sign up for?
- How are you planning on tracking the success of your campaign? What does success look like? (What conversion rate are you aiming for?)
- What’s your overall strategy once they respond (or don’t respond)? Are you planning on making any follow up calls to particularly hot prospects? How will you identify these people?
