Bombard them, it works!
Following up on offers can make the difference between a customer who buys and one who never gets around to it. When someone has already shown interest in your product, I think you should stick with them. Do not conclude that they are uninterested just because they do not answer your first email.
In this video from 5 March 2010, I describe an experience with the American insurance company Allstate. It also helps explain why I follow up when people have downloaded a light version of E-pusher.
Following up on offers: Allstate kept going
I got a letter from Allstate yesterday. It was becoming a habit, because over the past 14 days I had received six or seven letters and six or seven emails with car insurance offers.
I did not actually think the insurance was that cheap, so I had not bought it. But I had gone to their website myself and asked for a quote. That was how I got into their system. So I had already shown that I was interested in looking into car insurance.
My experience in Denmark is that when I have asked for a quote or shown interest in a product, I may have received an email or a letter. And that was it. Here in the US, I find that they keep going once you have shown interest.
I had not said yes to Allstate, but that did not necessarily mean I was no longer in the market. If they kept going and made the offer attractive enough, I could still become a customer. After all, I had asked for a quote for a reason.
Put your effort into people who have shown interest
To me, it makes perfect sense to spend time on the customer who has requested a quote. Which makes better financial sense: sending letters to people who have not shown the slightest interest in changing car insurance, or following up with those who have actually explored the possibility?
When you ask for a quote, it may be because you are not happy with what you have. It may also be because you need the product. Either way, there is an interest that the company has good reason to pursue.
The American approach has inspired me with E-pusher. If you have downloaded the light version, you have probably noticed that you receive several emails from me afterwards. I do not stop at one message and assume that if you did not buy in response, you must be completely uninterested.
A lack of response can have all sorts of other explanations
There can be many reasons why someone does not respond the first time. The email may have ended up in a spam filter, or the letter may have gone missing. Perhaps one person in the family opened the letter, even though the offer was for the other, and never passed it on.
It could also be that the baby was screaming and there were all sorts of other things to deal with that day. Or the customer simply did not have the money at that point. That does not necessarily mean the interest has gone.
So do not lose heart after the first email or phone call. My blunt wording in the video is that you should keep bombarding people with offers when they have already shown interest. It is about following up on that interest instead of letting the contact die after the first attempt.
Give the customer a reason to decide
At some point, you may be able to improve the offer. I mention a 20 per cent discount that applies that day as an example. That is not a fixed formula for the right discount. The point is to make the offer interesting and give the customer a clear reason to act.
Remember your call to action too. If the offer is valid for 48 hours or until another clear point in the near future, the customer knows when to decide. An offer with no end date is easy to put off. We know it from our own lives: it will probably still be there tomorrow.
I see something similar with Aminotastic. Registrations trickle in when people assume there are probably plenty of tickets. I will soon set a deadline for ticket sales. In my experience, a deadline or scarcity can produce a response two or three times stronger than a good offer alone. That is my experience in the video, not a guarantee that every offer will work that way.
At the end, I again invite people to Aminotastic on 27 March 2010 in Køge: 175 kroner for what was then four really good speakers and an entrepreneurs’ fair during the day. That is the historical invitation from back then. The Allstate story is my reminder to follow up and help an interested customer reach a decision.
Best wishes, Martin
Location:N Federal Hwy,Boca Raton,USA
Hej Martin,
Gælder det også nyhedsbreve?
Her tænker jeg på, at hvis folk har meldt sig til firmaets nyhedsbrev så viser det vel at de er interesseret.
Men at bombe dem med nyheder og tilbud, kan det ikke have en dårlig effekt? (og her tænker jeg stadigvæk indenfor nyhedsbreve)
Sasa.