If you’ve read any of our previous blogs, you’ll know we’re big fans of email and the wonders it works for generating leads.

We know what you’re thinking

Yes, e-mail is still relevant. And yes, you can still generate leads via e-mail. In fact, it’s entirely possible you may see more results through email than you would on social media.

Why?

Well, depending on where your customers are, it’s entirely possible your audience isn’t active on social media. Yet, most people that surf the web have an e-mail address. So, what are the benefits of e-mail ?

There’s quite a few, and it all starts by first understanding a specific term we like to throw around in marketing. Automations.

An automation is a process – a process performed by software that manages e-mail delivery to your audience and/or potential leads. Automations are more than just a way to send email, they allow you to grow leads and maintain an active subscriber base.

When it comes to e-mail marketing you need clear, consistent messaging. It’s also important to be as personal as possible. However, it would be nearly impossible to communicate individually with every person. This is where automations come in. Automations allow you to communicate with a mass audience any time a potential lead engages with your brand.

If you’ve been in small business a while chances are you have a target audience and information on that audience. Automations take into account audience interaction with your brand and activate based on that interaction. Let’s break it down.

Automations are set up using trigger e-mails – and they’re exactly what they sound like. Anytime subscriber activity meets the criteria of pre-set conditions, a trigger e-mail is sent to that subscriber.

So how can it practically help my business?

Did someone sign up to receive more information about your brand? A trigger e-mail is sent with additional information. Did someone abandon a full shopping cart? Another trigger email is sent with a friendly reminder to complete their purchase or a discount to help persuade them.

Automations can also be used for things like confirmations, company updates and customer targeting.

Using automations in these situations allows e-mail to become your 24/7 sales person.

It also allows for lead nurturing, all without the need of your attention. Here’s why this is important.

According to a report by Forrester, effective lead nurturing can generate 50% more sales compared to leads that are not nurtured.  A nurtured lead is essentially a lead that is walked through the sales process. For a more in depth look at this process be sure to check out our blog, “Why Inbound Marketing Works”.

We’ve talked at length in the past about the importance of leads as it pertains to sales, so it’s a given how important automations can play in the lead generation role. For any small business, investing time in this process can pay huge dividends.

The best thing about automations is that not only do they provide an amazing way to nurture leads, but they are incredibly simple to use. We suggest a site like MailChimp which is both in-depth and user friendly. There are others too. Sites like Constant Contact and Active Campaign also offer e-mail marketing and automation services for businesses. With a little time and planning, we believe automations can work for any small business.

And, once you get automations down, check our our post about how Facebook and e-mail can work together here.

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