The 3 automated marketing messages you need to be sending

Getting started from batch to automated marketing messages

Moving from one off ‘traditional’ email marketing to creating automated marketing messages can be a daunting task.  The first question, usually being where I you start?  We work with many marketing experts across an increasingly varied range of businesses, but all have a similar issue.  They want to get more from the marketing campaigns they run and want to increase engagement with their customers.

Using marketing automation platforms such as Websand makes this process easy.  

Easy to adopt. Easy to Use. Easy to understand the results.

However, to get started you need an objective and ideally a plan.

Our fellow DMA email council member, email marketing expert and Websand partner, Kate Barrett of E-focus marketing suggests 3 areas you should consider for you automated marketing messages when reviewing your existing marketing activity or putting together a marketing automation plan.

Over to you, Kate, and the three automated marketing messages you should be sending…

3 types of automated emails every business should be sending.

When it comes to email marketing, many people still think the way to get results is to batch and blast your entire database with the same message at the same time.

But over the last 15 years of email marketing being in existence, the way we engage and are engaged with through this channel has significantly changed.

We are constantly overwhelmed by overflowing inboxes, junk mail and a mountain of marketing messages from our favourite (and not so favourite in some cases) brands.

So how do you stand out in the crowded inbox these days?

The answer is in the results – automated marketing / triggered emails not only generate 96% higher open rates and 125% higher click through rates than standard marketing messages*, but they meet the basic marketing need:

Automated campaigns offer the benefit of relevance and allow you to get highly personal with your subscribers – using their behaviour or known information about them to trigger a specific email campaign.

So whether you’re an advanced marketer sending to millions of subscribers or a budding entrepreneur with only 50 people on your list, here’s (Kate’s) run down of the top 3 automated marketing messages you NEED to be sending……

Welcome Emails

It should come as no surprise that the first automated marketing message you need to get in place is a Welcome message.

When someone registers for your email programme, the first email they should receive from you (after a double opt in/confirmation email, if applicable) is your welcome email.  

It is the first impression subscribers have of your brand through the email channel (and perhaps of your brand altogether) and helps to set a groundwork for your entire relationship with your list.

A study by Experian found that welcome emails have 10x higher transaction rates and revenue than bulk emails. They also have 5x more opens and 4x more clicks. [Source: Experian Marketing Services report]

Your welcome email should thank people for subscribing, reiterate the benefits that they will now receive from you, provide immediate value and even provide other elements such as offering a discount.

Where retailers take this strategy and give an offer in their welcome emails, they often see 9x higher transaction rates than bulk mailings & 8x higher revenue!  [Source: Experian – The welcome email report 2010].  Old report, but still very relevant. 

Reactivation Emails

It is inevitable that throughout your email marketing efforts, there will be subscribers who stop engaging with your campaigns, and these subscribers should be reactivated.

How you classify inactive subscribers may differ depending on your business and sending frequency; for example, this may be when subscribers have not engaged with your emails (opened/clicked) in the last 6 months (if you’re sending bi-weekly/monthly).

Once you have classified at which point you classify subscribers as turning inactive, a series of emails can then be automatically triggered to catch their attention.  Let them know what they are missing out on.  Update them on new features, or encourage them to change their preferences.

After a series of emails have been sent to your inactive segment, you may find a few people who haven’t taken the bait.  You’ve got nothing, not an open, not a click.  For those people, you’ve tried your best, but the brand relationship doesn’t work anymore.  It’s over, so I recommend removing them from your future marketing and unsubscribing them.

Remember the unsubscribe button is your friend, and to keep on the right side of GDPR, it’s best to get into good habits and keep your data as clean as possible.

Sub note…(from Websand)

Remember this process can also be applied based on the spend behaviour of your customers too.  It’s not always just about the ‘new’ people, don’t forget about those loyal customers who have built your business to date.

Automating your Sales funnel

Got a product/service/course to sell?   Automate the process and save yourself time as well as generate leads/revenue while you sleep with an automated email sales funnel!

Using email marketing as part of your sales funnel allows you to deliver relevant, value information to subscribers (based on their individual preferences or behaviour through segmentation) directly to their inbox leading up to the sale.

These campaigns are a great way to stay in the front of prospects minds without being overly pushy and in their face.

In both Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) relationships, but particularly in the B2B markets, you need to gain their trust.

Nurture the relationship.  Let them get to know you and build a relationship before asking for the sale.

Show your value before people will invest in you, and this is where a series of emails can help you to provide this information without overwhelming prospects.

Start sending automated marketing messages today.

Kate’s 3-2-1 plan is a great start, and the results our users have been recording can back this up.  When we review the results from the automated marketing messages sent out against ‘normal’ email marketing, we’ve found the results increase by at least 300%.  

That’s significant and it’s across the board, irrespective of your sector – be that B2B marketing, e-commerce, leisure, or hotels.

If you’d like to get started with creating automated marketing messages to your marketing mix, get in touch and book a chat.