Are you properly communicating with your brand’s most important allies?
Connecting with buyers needs to be your priority.
Sure, building email marketing lists is important too, but for a different reason. List building improves your chances of selling products to more people.
Providing buyers with great customer service increases the likelihood of future purchases. It harnesses current relationships, develops more extensive ones, and above all else, generates revenue.
Do you focus on post-purchase programs with your current email campaigns? Do you even know how to begin such an initiative? Below are five tips from StrongMail, which they outlined in a free report. These tips help focus email marketers by presenting techniques for communicating with buyers.
#1: Satisfaction Survey – If you’ve ordered a product from a reputable online retailer, you’ve probably received a satisfaction survey. I received one a few weeks ago after ordering an item from Amazon.
The satisfaction email should ask for three main pieces of information: satisfaction with the product or service, the purchasing experience, and the opinion of customer service if applicable.
Satisfaction surveys paint a picture of your entire online sales process and the opinion from a source interested in your brand. The survey should be emailed to the buyer a few days after the estimated arrival date of their product so there’s adequate time for the product to be used.
#2: Product or Service Review – An in-depth look at the product purchase helps in a few ways. First, any possible improvements can be found for future enhancements. Second, the review can be used in future testimonials related to the product. Next, customer generated reviews can help in SEO and community building. As StrongMail points out in the report, 62% of people read online reviews before making a purchase.
To get the most from your product review, ask direct questions to provide a comprehensive description.
[text_ad]
#3: Upgrade, Upsell, and Cross Promote – Do you feel a little happier about email promotions when you receive information on products you’d likely enjoy? Providing related products based on prior purchases shows a consumer that you recognize what interests them. If upgrades are made to products they have purchased, you should offer these products to them. Cross-promote with similar products or upsell to the same products on different platforms. For instance, if an audience member brought a book on building geodesic homes, try selling them a video on the same topic.
#4: Replenishment Reminder – Do you offer subscription products? If so, sending a replenishment reminder will help buyers remember to renew their subscription if you aren’t currently operating an instant renew option. During the initial subscription, you should ask the buyer if and when they would like to receive such a notification.
#5: Lifecycle Reward – Show your buyers they are important to you by offering special rewards. StrongMail suggests offering a “thank you” coupon for first-time buyers. It’s a great way to start a mutually beneficial relationship. The anniversary of purchases could also be celebrated by sending special offers to buyers one year after their purchase.
When using special offers, track the data to see if they are resulting in new purchases.
And for more information on this topic, take a look at StrongMail’s free report, “The Ultimate Lifecycle Email Marketing Guide: Post-Purchase Programs”.
—
Originally published 2/22/2012
Good information on Email marketing, Well explained , Thanks for sharing this post.