In the first part of our series on email marketing we covered the basics. In Part 2 we look at following up your prospects – such as the people you meet at wedding fairs and who enquire through your website – and keeping in touch with your booked clients. Email is a low cost and effective way to do this. Used properly it will increase the number of enquirers who convert and help you sell more to those customers.
Follow up your prospects
Set up a schedule for following up prospects. For example people who:
• you met at a wedding fair
• purchased stationery samples
• requested a brochure
You should aim to follow up more than once. Don’t be shy about this – the worst that can happen is that they will ignore you or ask you not to contact them. But you will get extra sales and you may also get valuable feedback about why they are not buying.
Keep it friendly and non-pushy. Your first follow up could be “I’m just checking that you received the quote/brochure/sample. Are there any questions you would like to ask?”
A later one “Just to let you know that we are nearly fully booked for July but we are still available on {their date}. If you would like us to photograph your wedding, please get in touch to book now.
Keep in touch with your customers
There will be times when you will be in close touch with your customers (especially if you are a wedding planner!). But there may also be quiet periods between booking and the actual day.
Think about the possibilities for “keeping in touch” emails as this can be a great opportunity to let people know about additional products and services.
Set up standard templates
Creating standard emails for your regular communications will save you time and ensure your message is clear (and spelled correctly).
But personalise each email as you send it so you build a rapport with the customer. Add a paragraph at the start and end or tweak the text so you don’t sound like one of those dreaded auto emails that banks love so much.
Use your signature
Most people set up a signature for their emails with contact details, but you can also use this to add a marketing message such as:
- a link to sign up to your newsletter
- details of a current special offer
- news that you have just won an industry award
In Part 3 we will look at setting up and sending a regular customer newsletter.