Drip marketing campaigns are automated mailing campaigns designed to nurture leads into paying customers. In many businesses, the art of the sale is a long game that may take weeks or months to close. For this reason, it is most effective to use a multi-part marketing strategy that gradually leads prospects toward buying your product. By deploying your marketing mailers in a timed sequence, you are able to deliver multiple sales messages, each one expanding on the last, creating momentum in your campaign. This gives you room to explain and educate, and it gives your potential customer multiple reminders (and chances to take action!) If carefully targeted, drip campaigns should significantly increase your sales opportunities and even develop stronger loyalty amongst your current customers. There are a variety of steps involved in successful drip marketing, so let’s take a look at the basics so that you can start planning your campaign today!
1.) Creating Your Mailing List
Effective targeting is arguably the most important aspect of any direct mail campaign. Make sure that your list targets your top prospects; only the people who are likely to buy your product/service are worth the time and recourses needed for a multi-part marketing campaign. Even the most creative and compelling marketing is useless if the recipient has no need for your product.
2.) Scheduling Your Drips
The main benefit of a drip campaign is having the capability to space out your offers so that the potential customer receives them at just the right time. For digital channels like email and social media, you could be automating “_____ of the day” or “weekly tips for _____” to keep your customers actively engaged on a regular basis. For direct mail, however, sending daily mailers could potentially annoy your prospects and even weekly messages could end up being delivered closer together than anticipated, decreasing the power of your marketing. It is generally recommended that mail drips be sent three weeks apart. The number of drips can vary based on your campaign’s goals, but typically a four to six part sequence is considered most effective for lead nurturing.
3.) Consistent, Compelling Content
Now it’s time to decide what messages you want to send to your prospects and what format they will be delivered in. Drip marketing has endless applications, so there is plenty of room for creativity on your end. If you provide a complex service that may be difficult to explain on one mailer, use a drip campaign to educate prospects so that they feel more confident in what they are potentially buying. If you provide a trial or less expensive version for customers still considering, use a drip campaign to help them get the most out of their trial and explain how upgrading to your premium service will be even better. Consider who will be receiving your mailers. Would they be likely to read and respond to a postcard/self-mailer or would a highly personalized letter be more compelling? The key to creating an effective drip marketing campaign is to make sure that each drip is different enough that the recipient will want to open and read every time a new one comes in, but also to keep the theme and overall message of the campaign consistent to build brand identity and keep your company at the front of your prospect’s minds.
Follow these steps to create a drip campaign that engages your prospects and your current customers, gradually generating interest and nurturing leads into sales. Make sure to time your campaign to coincide with company events, timed offers, etc to most effectively utilize the drip strategy. It also never hurts to follow up your mail drips with a phone call! Visit https://plumdirectmarketing.com/services/online-advertising for information on the types of Drip Campaigns we offer.
