How to Continuously Engage Your Prospects and Customers – A Podcast About Autoresponders
Pinpointe's very own Content Marketing Manager, Eryn Branham, was a recent guest on the TechnologyAdvice Expert Interview Series to share her insight on the intersection of sales, marketing, and technology. The series, which is hosted by TechnologyAdvice’s Josh Bland, explores a variety of business and technology landscapes through conversations with industry leaders.
Eryn joined Josh to discuss how email autoresponders can help businesses improve interactions with customers.
Below are a few highlights from the conversation:
TechnologyAdvice: In general, do you feel the majority of companies are using email autoresponders and if not, what are some best practices for getting started with them?
Branham: I pulled some pretty interesting stats around autoresponders that may surprise some people…
- Only about 25 percent of businesses are using autoresponders.
- About 50 percent are using a triggered welcome email when someone joins their list.
- About 48 percent are using thank you emails.
It seems welcome and thank you emails are a bit more common, but alarmingly, 75 percent of companies are missing the mark on creating autoresponder series that appeal to their audience. This is absolutely crazy because autoresponders are so beneficial.
To get started, there are a ton of resources out there for many different companies. Pinpointe itself has hosted several online events around autoresponders, the most recent being a the rapid-fire webinar How To Master Autoresponders in 20 Minutes. We've also published some great articles on autoresponders. 5 Ways to Use Autoresponders for More Free Time and More Sales covers exactly what you’re asking – how to use autoresponders, when to use them, and also includes examples.
One way Pinpointe use autoresponders is when somebody downloads one of our whitepapers or marketing guides. Those people are then put into a series of autoresponders that contain similar content. Let’s say somebody downloaded information on designing marketing emails. Then they would get a series of autoresponders about that particular subject, which would direct them to blog articles, marketing guides and other helpful content around designing marketing emails. They’re very tailored, which is another thing I recommend…that you tailor your autoresponders to what somebody is interested in.
TechnologyAdvice: What is the goal of an autoresponder?
Branham: Basically, the goal of the autoresponder is to engage in continuous marketing communication with your subscribers and get them more interested in your company. When you have a series going out, I would leave any sales emails out on the first, second, third, and even the fourth autoresponder. You’re trying to build trust with them. This goes back to the ratio question. You don’t want to send out sales information until you build that trust. Send them the content they’re craving first.
For an example, if someone downloads something on designing emails, you’re going to want to send content about that. In Pinpointe’s autoresponder series, we don’t even mention anything “salesy” until about the eighth autoresponder. Yet, in every autoresponder we do include the ability to “get a free trial” or “schedule a demo.” We’re not forcing anything on them, we’re just giving them the information and it's not the bulk of the autoresponder. The key focus is content they’re interested in.
TechnologyAdvice: What does the future of marketing automation look like?
Branham: As companies are grasping autoresponders more and more, there is a higher need for these type of automation features. At Pinpointe, we have continued to evolve our autoresponder feature because we see it a must have for many companies. Autoresponders have been pretty common for large enterprise companies, but they are becoming more and more common for those mid-sized and small companies. Pinpointe is a less expensive solution for those companies who have outgrown the basic email marketing and need more advanced features like autoresponders.
Listen to the entire podcast above in order to hear the full conversation, or download the show to listen later. You can subscribe to the TA Expert Interview Series via Soundcloud, in order to get alerts about new episodes.
This podcast was created and published by TechnologyAdvice.
Interview conducted by Josh Bland.
