Marketing automation uses software to automate time-consuming and repetitive tasks, helping companies efficiently nurture leads and increase ROI. One of the most common applications of effective marketing automation involves email drip campaigns.
A drip campaign refers to a series of automated emails that are each triggered to a recipient once they have taken a specific action. They can be used to educate, engage and sell a product or service. When executed well, drip campaigns can help generate up to 80% more sales. Here’s a look at how:
Post-Event Lead Nurturing
Conferences and tradeshows are fantastic opportunities to build long-lasting relationships, as they allow you to network and share your offerings face-to-face with potential customers.
Email drip campaigns can help nurture these prospects after they have been captured in your CRM ― without excessive man hours dedicated to individual follow-up. Capturing event leads is one part of an effective event strategy, and then fostering the relationship and taking them through a funnel is the next.
Here’s a common example of how this works: A prospect is entered into the database. After the event, an email is triggered to all or segmented prospect lists, continuing the event narrative and offering some sort of incentive. Depending on the next action ― either opening or not opening the email ― another email is automatically triggered after a set time period that continues to tell the story and incite an action. Subsequent emails can be “dripped” in this same manner. They often offer new tidbits of valuable information in each email.
This is just one scenario. There are different approaches to drip campaigns depending on what you’re selling, how much education is needed and target audience expectations.
Lead Nurturing via Access to Exclusive Content
You can entice people to engage with your company by offering free content that solves a pain point, such as exclusive research, buyer guides, case studies, whitepapers, comprehensive checklists or other educational communications. You can promote this valuable content on your website, advertising landing pages or through sponsored-content campaigns with media outlets, making it available only once a visitor has submitted their email address. Once a lead is captured, they are emailed the content and receive additional follow-ups related to the content, moving them along their customer journey.
New Customer Welcome Series
Greeting newcomers with a welcome email has become a best practice for many industries. It’s a nice way to introduce a brand story, offer a discount or download and give new subscribers a glimpse of the value they will receive. This also presents you with an opportunity to learn more about your audience by asking them about their preferences and interests so you can tailor content.
To be successful with drip campaigns, you need a solid strategy, impactful messaging and a valuable incentive. An experienced marketing team can ensure drip campaigns are thoughtful, targeted and functional.
