Saas based products rely on email marketing to see a customer through the acquisition and conversion journey. 2021 recorded email marketing as the most automated (64%) with social media coming second (47%).
With the help of one-to-one demos and on-demand how-to videos, email marketing automation has proven to be a successful channel for customer support and digital marketing to monitor conversions.
What is an email marketing automation strategy?
Targeted emails report 46% open rates and drive 18% more revenue. Triggered emails report an open rate of over 75% with a CTR of nearly 152%.
Email is only the visible engagement component of the overall digital marketing strategy of your company. In order to get to email strategy, you need to figure out what your Digital Marketing strategies are and how you plan to reach them with your communication objectives. The below chart gives an idea.
This article will help you explore various email automation content formats for 3 crucial Saas-based subscription scenarios. These situations are user journey based, therefore include the communication objective at each level, what should be done, and tips to avoid common mistakes.
What is discussed:
1. Improve new visits to lead conversion rate
2. Conversions to a Paid user
3. Win-back strategies
4. 5 Email automation tools you can use in 2022
Scenario 1. Improve new visit to lead conversion rate
Saas companies make the most use of email automation for every stage of the user behavior cycle. Starting from sign-up, and onboarding to retention.
We've heard the term that the first impression creates a lasting impression. Ideally, marketers need to Improve new visit to lead conversion rate to be able to get the 'wow effect' fast as possible.
What you can do:
- Map out an onboarding plan: The idea is to get your new user experience easy using your product. Sit with customer support or PM to understand the process
- Focus on customer's needs: If your product is at a mature stage and you have more competitors around it, focus your content on benefits to users than features of the product.
- Credit card at trial: For Saas companies, retained customers give 80% of the revenue than new users. So why request for a credit card at trial when you can use it as a win-back strategy? While credit card trials improve lead quality, no credit card trials have an 80% conversion rate.
What you should not do:
- Avoid clutter: avoid using multiple call to actions, pop ups with all the latest features and discounts.
- Assume it's too early for feedback: Let them fill in a short survey for feedback. Or map their path using a tool such as HotJar.
- Assume all customers are the same level of 'tech-savy': Keep a lookout on who are slower in the adaptation process. Use separate lists with more youtube content and blogs on how to navigate across your site for 'beginner level' users than 'expert level' users.
Scenario 2: Conversions to a Paid user
Only 2.7% of your trial users will stick around after day 30. Although churn is expected, with a solid email marketing automation strategy, you are able to understand the reason behind it, as every product will be different as so with user expectations.
What you should do:
- Use existing email lists to identify the following user segments:
- Subscriptions ending soon
- Trial users who are not active
- Paid users who are slipping away
- Send targeted emails to these bases. Map out email triggers and where in your product platform should they be sent to. Email automation tools like Intercom or Active Campaign can segment lists and plan triggered email automation.
- Give discounts or coupons: Paid users who are slipping away are better saved at this point by enticing them with discounts.
- Schedule demo calls: Make it easy for trial users and active subscribers to reach out to you. If it's harder to increase your customer support bases, use an email automation tool to manage predictive conversations and increase triggered emails. Having one-to-one sessions will improve user experience and help them speed up their journey through the conversion funnel. Use an online meeting scheduling tool like Calandy.
- Make yourself available: Use chatbots, and empower customer support with help articles or product tour videos, software tutorials or website yours for interactive walk throughs using tools such as Loom, Click up or Soapbox
What you should not do:
- Look desperate: Making sad faces and stating the obvious (you have not paid yet) can be spammy when overdone, even in the content form.
- Unsubscribed users: Don't keep on sending emails to users who have unsubscribed from your service.
I receive emails exactly after the 6 month period of unsubscribed duration for tools only tested but not used. Make sure your emails are seen by those who show interest/ are active within your tool.
Scenario 3: Win back strategies
Win back strategy for churned paid users could include tactics like discounts and promotions. We've heard the term prevention is better than cure. Same goes for retaining existing users. Build a email marketing strategy using automation to trigger emails at the right time.
What you can do:
- Content upgrades: give value to your lost users. Using past data on frequency and type of business they are in, make the content upgrades relevant.
- GO with a performance plan/ promise. Everyone wants results before you ask for their money. Understand reason behind churn and project better returns and results than before.
- Stay engaged: Use social media channels to stay engaged, speak about case studies, success stories and new features introduced.
- Be relevant - Keep it brutally relevant ex: subject line: Time to update! Give brief summery of what the updates consist of.
What you should not do:
- Ignoring A/B Testing: Test for subject line, copy and CTA. Tools like Intercom gives you the option to test between audience types as well as message variations.
- Avoiding automation: Email automation tools like Intercom, User Pilot and Active Campaign can build trigger based emails, posts, chats bots, for multiple audience options. Use these options to make the best out of the 2.7% that activates, before they churn.
- Not looking at engagement data: All automation tools comes with inbuilt analytics. track patterns on how your users move within the site and the frequent blockers they face. Create goals and events and conversion tracking to extract specific behavior patterns you want to see among your users.
5 Email automation tools you can use in 2022
1. Active campaign:
Delve into sales automation, conditional lead scoring, automation split testing, multi-automation journey maps, and SMS marketing and automation with Active Campaign at a basic subscription plan.
Mail Chimp is ideal for a start up, where it gives a bang for your buck with 2500 sends for a 500 contact base for one seat. It allows the basic automation features and offers a clean layout. Carry out AB testing and map individual journeys listed in your Customer Journeys dashboard.
Get response connects with paid ads and e commerce sites apart from the email automation features and AB testing. Also facilitates AI driven code free website builder, much needed for lead generation emails and sign up forms. Ideal for entrepreneurers, digital marketers and large companies.
Email automation comes at a higher subscription tier. Comparatively easier to set up workflows. Allows integration with many other email automation tools. Easy integration and good on customer support. Quite a few hidden costs, so be aware!
Easy to use tool, options available for testing content and control groups. Comes with customizable templates for series/ workflows with the flexibility of creating your own attributes. Able to customize interactive product tours within the app, apart from the usual email automation features available.
Conclusion
Email automation is an important element on your Saas user acquisition and retention strategy, which is overlooked by many saas developers. Using the scenarios of buyer behaviour such as visit to lead conversion rate, conversions to a Paid user and win back strategies use multiple social and creative content strategies to keep your users active and engaged.