Within the ever-evolving world we live in, it has never been more important to stay connected with your customers and develop and maintain a strong online presence. No matter the industry you are in, digital marketing has been a key fundamental in improving the way businesses interact with customers and remain competitive in the market. It also acts as a driving force for business growth, increasing awareness and generating new leads. While there are a multitude of tools you can use to develop your digital strategy, email automation is one of the most effective tools you can use.
Email automation is an essential tool these days whether your company is large or small. In this fast paced world, your customers could be looking for a quick response from you after engaging in your website, or interacting with you in store or online, before they potentially seek other options in the market, or perhaps it’s more information they are after when considering your product and services before making a final decision. No matter what they are searching for, it’s key that your audience is provided with a high-level of support and information from the moment they search or generate intent for your product or service.
So, who benefits from Email Automation?
The two most customer facing parts of your business, Marketing and Sales will benefit greatly from Email Automation.
For small to medium business owners, sales is just one of the many hats you must wear. While enquiries or sales are flowing in, you may be caught up in all the other daily tasks your business needs to continue running smoothly. Worst of all is someone who slips through the cracks by accident. Why not automate that first email response that is typically a form letter you use time and again? All the big companies are doing it (or should be!), so you should be as well. It’s more achievable than you might think.
Emails don’t have to lose that personalisation with the ability to add names, products or any other relevant information directly into the email from data captured in your system. Maybe even think about sending it on a bit of a timed delay so that it loses the robotic response 1 second after they had hit send.
The marketing side of your business can also benefit greatly. It could be as simple as scheduling your monthly company newsletter or something a little more complex such as nurturing a customer who is on the fence into having enough information to pick your company over another. Who hasn’t received an email about that product you left sitting in an online shopping cart somewhere? A bit freaky maybe, but the amount of reclaimed sales is enough for businesses to use this trick daily.
With so many integrations into the platforms you may already be using, it is easy for email automation to help keep your business in the forefront of customers minds without seeming too pushy.
And if you haven’t yet jumped on the email automation train and are feeling a bit wheezy about a computer owning this process for you, take a moment to think about all of the other automations you use on a daily basis from your morning alarm clock, automatic bill pay or the Siri/Google/Alexa that you say is for home automation, but you’ve really used it to ask ridiculous questions more than anything… It might just be time to take some email off your plate and add it to the automated things in your life!
What resources should your business be using for email automation?
There are many different platforms for email automation, but some of the most popular ones include MailChimp, Hubspot, Active Campaign, AWeber, and ConvertKit. These platforms offer a wide range of features that cater to specific business goals, so it’s important to choose the one that’s right for your business.
How can your business use email automation more effectively?
Email automation might already be part of your digital strategy, but are you using it to the full potential? Here are a few recommendations to elevate your email automations:
Create automated drip email campaigns
Email drips consist of a series of emails that are pre-planned and are sent out to existing and prospective customers. Go beyond just setting out the one email after your customer has submitted their enquiry or the small push you’ve sent out to let them know their shopping cart still exists and importantly, use timing to your advantage. Perhaps a few days later, you want to give your customers a 10% off their item if they haven’t already purchased it? Or you want to educate them more on your services but you don’t want to overload them with information? Automated drip campaigns are the benefit way to do this. Leverage the power of email marketing here – win your customers.
Track responses & find out what’s working
Are you customers clicking on your email? What are they interested in? What was missing in the email? Did they go to your site? Did they download the PDF? When sending standard emails, unless you get a reply, you have no idea if anyone has even opened it. The beauty of automation is that you can actually see these results for yourself. If your audience isn’t opening your emails, or clicking on your links, try a different approach and keep trying until you get it right!
Segment your audience
Now that you have a solid understanding of who has opened your emails, clicked your links and so on, you can segment your audience. Keep your lists fresh. Email automation is a fantastic tool to help you periodically remove inactive subscribers if they haven’t engaged in any of your emails. Another great way to check in with your subscribers prior to removing them off your list is to send them an email to update their preferences – they might still be interested but their inbox has been inundated!
If you’re looking for more information about how you can elevate your email automation, or need any assistance setting up your email campaign, get in touch – we would love to hear from you!
