The Huge Mistake that Makes Buyers Delete Your Sales Email
Have you spent days crafting the perfect sales email, and had no replies? Even though you have a vast database and have gathered thorough and extensive prospecting, people just don’t seem interested in your product.
The number of people you’re emailing is the cause of your worries. Prospecting is the best way to grow your company, however, you’re making a huge mistake by not personalizing your emails.
Personalization is not as simple as using customizable fields to greet potential buyers by name. Emails arrive in inboxes across the globe every second, and people can easily spot a generic message. They’ll hit the delete button as soon as they read anything that isn’t relevant to themselves or their company.
You could even be harming your chances of sales with these customers. People want high levels of communication with the companies they buy from. They don’t want to feel as though they are part of a list, or that their needs aren’t valued or understood.
Not all customers are the same. So why are they all receiving the same email?
If you were at a trade show, speaking one-on-one with hundreds of customers in a single day, would you approach them all the same way? Or would you have a range of different pitches for different types of companies?
Of course, you’d target different people with information relevant to them. Your sales process will already include different strategies for targeting small businesses or huge corporations. You may have different pitches for different sector types. Even the USP of your product or service may change depending on who you’re talking to.
An email sent to your entire customer database is never going to be specific enough to return high-quality leads. While you may get a few replies asking for further information, most companies will see it as spam and delete.
The best way to improve your chances of making a sale is to personalize your emails. The easiest way to do this? Segment your database.
What is email segmentation?
Email segmentation is simply splitting your database into more detailed categories. It allows you to create a range of different emails to use when prospecting.
Within your current customer data, you should have some variables that will allow you to increase the personalization of your prospecting. Whether it’s personal customer demographics or business information, you can use it to your advantage.
How should I segment my database?
The number of ways in which you can segment your database is unlimited. Whether your company is targeting the general public or other businesses, we’ve identified some of the simplest methods below:
1. By USP
You already know the main selling points of your product or service. Even if your service has a number of benefits, detailing each and every one will make your emails too long. Customers will switch off and hit the delete button if you’re not clear and concise.
Create a number of emails, each specific to one of your benefits. Dedicate each email to speaking about one benefit only. By streamlining your sales emails, you’ll soon start to see what works. What you may have thought was your most important USP may not be the most important to your customers.
This benefit may have been buried halfway down your generic email. Potential customers may have previously stopped reading before they discovered why your product is so useful to them.
You can even target your database with multiple emails. Send out your first specific emails, and track your clicks, opens, and responses. A few months later, send each segment a different email.
This improves your chances of attracting a customer with a benefit that fits their individual needs. It also reduces the risk of being marked as spam!
2. By customer type
When targeting the general public, every customer expects to do business in different ways. An email filled with slang and emojis would go down like a lead balloon when marketing to baby-boomers. On the other hand, teenagers who receive a formal email addressed ‘to whom it may concern’, will hit delete before reading the first paragraph.
There’s no way you can craft an email that caters to all customer types, without marginalizing at least one customer base.
Instead, create emails that cater to a wide variety of personal demographics. Consider splitting your database into different age sectors, and using different language in your sales pitch. You could even split these categories further, and create different pitches depending on gender.
3. By business sector
When targeting B2B customers, it’s important to remember that no two companies have the same needs. What is seen as a benefit for a beauty salon may not work for a restaurant?
Craft email campaigns dedicated to a specific business sector. Improving your credibility by showing that you understand how your product could improve their company will increase engagement. Use industry-recognized terminology for each sector, or mention recent news or information that is relevant to their company.
Even if your product has a specific target market, such as business owners, company size can also change how you craft your email sales pitch. Sole traders are more likely to respond well to brief and informal emails, showing how you could make their life easier. Entrepreneurs with larger organizations may be looking for insightful information on how your product could benefit their staff.
How can I improve segmentation?
If you’ve tried the above tactics and have seen an improvement, you may be wondering how to supercharge your emails further.
Initially, you will only be able to segment your data depending on what information you’ve already collected. However, you can improve your email sales process by updating your prospecting tactics.
Improve your data collection methods by starting to gather information that will help you segment. Consider more specific information such as company size, location, age or even interests. Build on what you already have, and find out what else you need to craft the perfect set of sales emails.