It’s no secret that we’re big fans of using software in clever ways to improve our business and provide extra value to our customers. How and when we send emails is no different.
Occasionally, when we talk to new clients about email marketing we hear
“I don’t have time to write newsletters”.
Some of the most effective email marketing strategies have nothing to do with writing email newsletters. Automated emails sent at the right time to the right people can have a huge impact. We call these kinds of emails ”
Autoresponders”.
With expert planning and execution, autoresponders allow a small business to provide a level of communication and customer service that simply wouldn’t be possible when writing emails manually.
Here are some examples of how autoresponders are effectively used by small businesses today:
Welcome new customers aboard
Continuing to provide value to customers after they’ve made a purchase is a sure-fire way to keep those customers around.
Imagine you’ve just completed your first purchase from an online store. How would you feel if owner of the store emailed a few days after your purchase has been delivered to make sure everything went smoothly and gave you links to guides on how to get the most out of the product? It feels good. It seems like they’ve taken time out of their day to email each new customer.
Follow up with potential customers who haven’t completed their purchase
There are many reasons a customer might not complete a purchase or enquiry form, sometimes it’s all about timing.
Imagine you’re looking to hire a tradie to perform some home maintenance, but you get distracted half way through the online quote form. How would you feel if they followed up with you a couple of hours later to see if you’d like them to give you call and discuss the job?
How did they know?. It feels like magic.
Ask great customers for a review of your product or service
Reviews on sites like Facebook, Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Foursquare are a big deal. More than ever, new customers are seeing what other people have to say about you before they see what you have to say about yourself.
Imagine you’ve just had a great experience with a product or service and the business owner follows up to ask for feedback and links you directly to the places you can leave feedback and a review. Would you be more likely to leave a review now that doing so has been made easy? I know I would.
Eventually, even the best restaurant/store/business will receive a bad review from an unhappy customer who has gone online to vent. If you can encourage your happy customers to leave positive reviews, then you’ll easily drown out the negative reviews.
Automatically share news and upcoming events as they’re published on your website
If you’ve been reading our blog for a while then there’s a good chance you first saw this article in your email inbox. It wasn’t magic and I didn’t spend extra time putting together an email newsletter. I published the post on our website and the next morning it was automatically sent to everyone who has subscribed to get updates from Dash Media’s blog.
Rather than trying to find the time to write an email newsletter each month, consider using email autoresponders to share the things that interest your customers in ways that they’ll appreciate.
Imagine your organisation runs regular events for the public and your subscribers are local residents who are interested in attending your events. A customised autoresponder workflow could automatically email the event details to each subscriber, and then send a follow-up reminder a few days before the event. All you’d need to do is add the event details to the events section of your website. Like magic, what used to be several hours of communication work can now get done in just a few minutes.
Don’t send spam
An essential part of effectively using email marketing software is to only send emails to legitimate customers, clients, and people who have asked you to send them emails.
When planning a one time marketing email or an autoresponder, it’s a good idea to ask yourself if you’d consider the email to be spam if you received it.
Learn how autoresponders and email marketing can work for your business
We can help you plan and run email autoresponders that make your customers feel good, answer their questions, and save yourself hours of time each month.
Get in touch and we’ll show you how email autoresponders can upgrade your business.
