A marketing funnel plays a big role in B2B sales. It is one of the steps in converting Internet users from potential customers to real clients. This marketing strategy can be used in email marketing as well.
Do you want to be obnoxious? Probably not. Instead of repeatedly emailing people on the list, read this article and learn how to make the most out of your email campaign.
What is an email marketing funnel?
An email funnel keeps track of how your customer moves through sales steps.
Business owners use it together with content marketing to:
People say that emails are outdated. Let me tell you that they are wrong. According to a recent study, 93% of B2B marketers use email to distribute content. You may say that not all of them are happy with the results. That’s a fact.
However, for it to work, you have to do it well. That’s where email marketing funnels kick in (and so do we).
How does the email funnel help me to build my business?
The main goal of the funnel is to nurture leads most efficiently.
When you build your relationship with each customer they become loyal to your brand. If you provide them with valuable content, products, and services the people will continue to come back.
A loyal client and fan is the best way for popularization. They will recommend your business to friends, relatives, and colleagues. The latter will repeat this action if they are satisfied and so on.
That is how a simple marketing technique can lead to enormous achievements. Step up your marketing game with email
You’re the king of your email campaign. The marketing funnel helps to figure out what type of content to distribute, how to deliver it and when to do it. Combine this with happy subscribers and you get the formula for sales booster. Having a great email strategy brings many benefits:
1. Targeted content
As it was said before, you’re the king of your email list. As a king, you want your people to be good and feel good.
The most popular reasons to unsubscribe are:
You can segment your subscribers into different lists depending on their preferences, geography, occupation or so. That way you’ll be able to send them targeted emails.
Here are the stats of Lyris Inc’s research on list segmentation: Personalized email messages improve click-through rates by 14% average and conversions by 10%.
Experiment with headlines, images, content to understand what drives the most engagement. In addition to the high conversion rates, personalized content builds trust between the brand and its’ customers.
2. Email marketing builds credibility with customers
People buy from those they trust. For good or bad trust is hard to get these days. It takes time to build it.
High-quality emails, relevancy, and consistency are your tickets to your customer’s hearts. They need to get confident with what you offer them before they buy it. Don’t promote your products too much, don’t beg people to buy. These things scare them.
Instead, try to be patient. First, get to know your people then sell. For some, an emoji will make them open the email. Others won’t like your headlines and unsubscribe from the list. Paying attention to the details will get you to the inbox, instead of the spam folder.
3. Email funnels create lifetime customers
To retain subscribers you need an email nurturing strategy. It’s best to begin your funnel with something educational:
Only after this content, you can include your sales pitch into the copy. After a person becomes a customer, you’ll be able to use other types of funnels to convert them into a lifelong partner.
Business owners say that retaining current customers is more affordable. It’s a double win – lifelong customers helps you make money and save money.
4. Automate it
It’s tiring to manage all these emails, making sure that is sent to the right people. It is quite a bit of work. You don’t have to do it all yourself. A big part of the work can be automated. When your funnel is all set up, you can put this point into action.
There are many automation tools out there. You create conditions so that contacts receive emails based on the way you have segmented them. Your work will be to write the emails and rest will be all set up.
Marketing funnel tips that are a sure-fire
1. Create a customers’ journey map
Email marketing always has a goal. Take your time to figure out why you are implementing this strategy.
The most common reason is to boost sales over time. You need some kind of marketing automation process to convert your visitors into customers. At the beginning of the campaign, people aren’t very likely to buy. Creating a sales funnel nourish those leads into real clients. You see more sales at a lower acquisition cost.
You need to create a map of their journey. Write it or down or draw it on paper. Don’t miss the moment when a person doesn’t buy your stock. The funnel mustn’t stop.
When you’ve created your strategy simplify it. For example, if it’s your first marketing funnel you don’t have to start big. Try sending 3-5 emails at first. After that start building up the campaign. Simplicity is the key.
2. Make them feel at home
A great starting point is to have some welcome series. Email 1 can introduce your audience to what you are doing. Some sort of schedule will do the work. Inform them when:
Email 2 is typically about your life story. How did you end up where you are? When the idea popped in your head? That way the subscribers will feel closer to you. After the introduction, it’s time to throw in some content. Use the segmentation tactic here. Share content which resonates with the people.
The content strategy is up to the 6th email. In email 7 you’ll introduce your product/service. Show the benefits; address your customers’ pain points. Using a high-quality copy will help you.
3. Create your own ‘WOW!’ factor
No one says that you have to reinvent the wheel but you will need to add something unique. Here are the starting questions:
The answers will help you create your ‘WOW’ factor. Your product should be different from the rest. Extremely low prices are a good example.
When creating a lead magnet, you want it to be somewhat similar to the intentions your audience will need to buy your product. You can even go back and find a unique feature that goes well with the product.
In both cases be sure to interact with your clients.
An email marketing funnel organizes your communication approach, helps with content marketing and creates strong relationships with the right customers.
Implementing this marketing strategy will guarantee you higher conversion rates. Higher conversion rates are equal to higher profit, tight? And don’t forget to have fun building your business.
Author: Vasilena Vasileva