3 DRIP CAMPAIGN STRATEGIES TO BLAST CONVERSIONS INTO THE STRATOSPHERE
You must be drippin’
Leads are not collector’s items. You don’t get a lead so you can frame it and put it on a shelf to admire while it slowly gathers dust. Nope, you’ve got to work that puppy. Fortunately for you, we are here to tell you what to do. We’re talking drip campaigns.
What’s a drip campaign?
Glad you asked. A drip campaign is a system of automated emails that are designed to keep your leads moving through your sales funnel. Some reckless heathens might term them “trigger emails” or “automated lifecycle emails,” but those people are boring and wrong. We’re going with “drip campaigns,” so there.
The basic idea behind a drip campaign is keeping existing and potential customers engaged with your brand so they can convert. “Conversions” usually mean “sales,” but it could be also other things. Essentially, it’s whatever you want your leads to do. If your business gives away free penguins, then your conversion goal would be to get people to sign up on a form, agreeing to take one of your penguins even though it will probably ruin their life. There are movies about this.
In order to automate the process so that you can relax in a hammock and sip piña coladas all day, you’re gonna need some form of CRM. I’ve already defined “drip campaign” and “conversions” for you, I’m not gonna define CRM as well. Not unless you’re willing to share some of that piña colada.
Let’s get listicle
So, by now you’re probably wondering if there are any drip campaign strategies here at all, or if this is just some kind of complex ruse to get you to adopt a penguin. So let me make with the strategies already before those piña coladas make you even more impatient.
- WELCOMING DRIP CAMPAIGNS
One way to think of a drip campaign is like training a dog. That is, you yell at the dog in a language it doesn’t understand until it accidentally does what you want. Then you praise it and give it treats. Welcoming emails are those treats.
Whenever a prospect opts-in, makes a purchase, or submits an inquiry form – basically whenever they do ANYTHING you want, you need to send them an email, right away. Striking while the iron is hot can boost your open rate over 85%.
The emails in a welcoming drip campaign should thank them for whatever they did, highlight some value of your brand (i.e.: “we have the finest penguins available anywhere”) and clearly direct them to take the next step in your conversion funnel.
Since the prospect is already engaged enough to open your email, it may also be a good idea to engage them further by asking questions that allow you to gather data for future drip campaigns. For example, you might ask: “what do you intend to do with your penguin when you receive it?” and give them a list of choices. This way, if they respond with “eat it,” you’ll know to follow up with some recipes and cooking tips.
- LEAD NURTURING AND RE-ENGAGEMENT CAMPAIGNS
The biggest problem with leads is that they aren’t conversions. Lead nurturing and re-engagement campaigns try to fix that by nudging them along in the process.
Let’s say your prospect has indicated interest in owning a penguin but has stopped short of finalizing the deal. Maybe they didn’t have time to fill out the consent form and give you their shipping address, or maybe they balked at entering their credit card number to pay shipping (“YOU SAID IT WAS FREE!”). Either way, they are still a lead and you are armed with their email address.
So you might start by sending them a gentle reminder: “Hey, we just wanted you to know that we have an absolutely adorable penguin all picked out for you. Just fill out the form here and claim him!”
If that doesn’t yield a conversion, you can try nudging harder: “We’re really hoping that you’ll fill out this form here and claim your adorable penguin soon! He’s getting kind of depressed waiting for you.”
Finally, you might need to push even harder. “Unfortunately, that adorable penguin we picked out for you chose to end his own life last night. Apparently the stress of waiting for you to fill out this form was too much for him. The good news is that we’ve already picked out another penguin for you. His name is Jules. It’s probably best if you claim him right away.
Note how the last email in the welcoming drip campaign actually resets the process. Now you can send the first email again, and keep going until the heartless jerk finally claims his damn penguin.
- SHOPPING CART RECOVERY DRIP CAMPAIGNS
This is similar to the lead nurturing drip campaigns, but it is different in that it happens immediately. Remember, the key to successful drip campaigns is timing. It’s always best to strike while the iron is hot.
These drip campaigns are for prospects who are audacious enough to go all the way through your conversion funnel only to walk away at the last second. You need to let them know that you will not stand for that kind of nonsense. “We couldn’t help but notice that you left before claiming your penguin. Was it something we said? Perhaps you received a call from your mom right before you pressed the CLAIM MY PENGUIN button. Tell her we said ‘hi,’ and ask her if she might also want a penguin. Then click here to claim yours.”
Remember that these are hot leads, so you really don’t want to let them go. It may take a little extra incentive to get them off of the fence and convert. “You know, come to think of it, we were idiots for charging you so much to ship this magnificent penguin. If you respond right now, we can go halfsies on the shipping costs, and this beautiful flightless bird will be on its way to you immediately.”
It helps if you are able to gather data from your prospects to provide some visibility to what caused them to bail on the conversion. That way you can tailor your incentive offer to address their hesitation.
“We see that you entered your credit card info, so clearly you agree that a splendid penguin is well worth the modest shipping fees to get him to you. Maybe you were just high at the time. Rest assured that your penguin will not be bothered by your use of recreational drugs.”
As mentioned earlier, the coolest thing about these drip campaign strategies is that you don’t have to actually do anything but set them up (PIÑA COLADA TIME!). Of course, you can and should tweak them to perfect the timing and messaging. But for the most part, you can just let them keep running, even after the zombie apocalypse happens.
At DAMN GOOD, we love drip campaigns like we love piña coladas and penguins. Why not get us to do all the work for you?
