Mass marketing to smart targeting
Email marketing is a powerful marketing tool that is used effectively by most companies. Here at popcorn, we’ve encouraged our users move from sending the traditional mass marketing emails, to tracking their customers’ engagement – so they know when their customers are ready to buy and why.
There is a powerful source of information that most email marketers miss out on, which can be gleaned from the basic reports that systems like MailChimp and HubSpot also generate. This knowledge is almost guaranteed to grow your list and drive sales at the same time, but most marketers look at it as a negative. This is the bounce report.
What are bounced emails?
Traditionally, the bounce report is used to monitor list health and typically a 20% attrition rate is considered acceptable over a year, but it need not be.
Bounced emails can be separated into two different types: soft and hard. A soft bounce is where your email was unable to be delivered for temporary reasons – such as a full inbox or a short term problem – but this would be expected to be delivered on the next attempt. Therefore most email marketing platforms attempt to deliver even when emails have bounced, up to three times before classing it as a hard bounce. At this point it is not considered possible to deliver the bounced email to the inbox. Typically a hard bounce is caused when the inbox or domain no longer exist, or there is a permanent fault in the way.
How to convert bounced emails into sales
For example, let’s pretend that we are trying to email Joe Blogs at Acme & Co. We can safely assume that the hard bounce is happening because Joe no longer works at Acme & Co. If this has happened, you can also presume that they have been replaced – maybe that new person could be interested in speaking to you. This is where the traditionally frowned upon bounced email turns into a golden sales opportunity.
Simply pick up the phone to Acme & Co, and explain that you have been trying to email Joe Bloggs. The company will be able to update you on the change in position and can probably put you through to Joe’s replacement, where you can introduce yourself, re-igniting the sales process and opting them into your email marketing.
Bounced emails don't always mean saying goodbye
But we are not finished with the sales opportunity yet!
If you’re feeling brave, you might ask Acme & Co where Joe Bloggs has moved to, so you can pick up the phone to them in their new company, maintain the existing relationship and identify new sales opportunities.
So, instead of losing Joe as a contact from your email list, you have now retained him, gained a new one, and generated two new sales opportunities – all from a quick few phone calls.
Simon Washbrook is the founder of popcorn, which is a simple sales and marketing platform that tells you when your customers are ready to buy and why. Typically, we save our users one day’s work a week and generate £185 for every £1 they spend with us. To find out more, please click HERE.
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