Pink Floyd memorably sang "Welcome to the Machine" on its 1975 concept album "Wish You Were Here." While the song memorably excoriates the music industry's corruption of young artists, it nevertheless does something that far too many email and mobile marketers fail to do: It sets the stage. The subject of the song knows, at least, that he will fall prey to profit-seeking producers. Many email opt-ins do not know if they will get coupons, newsletters, or anything at all.
While we do not generally advocate crushing the dreams of young musical artists, we always recommend to our clients that they use an onboarding stream to orient their new subscribers. Generally, the initial emails or mobile messages that a consumer receives enjoy the highest response rates, since he or she has the most interest in the brand at the beginning. Marketers must use them wisely to ensure successful ongoing communications.
Start with "thank you"
After signing up, consumers want confirmation of their actions. As a result, marketers should acknowledge sign-up in two ways:
- On screen. Assuming that the consumer has opted-in via a website or mobile site, the marketer should acknowledge sign-up immediately on a thank-you page. At the very least, this page should remind the consumer what he or she has signed up for. If appropriate, the page should also list any preferences elected during sign-up.
- Via message. As a second form of confirmation, the marketer should immediately send a message via the channel elected to let the consumer know that the registration is complete. For consumers who opt in via SMS, this may serve as the only notification.
While communicating the bare minimum of "we heard you" meets the basic human need of closing the loop, marketers who stop here lose a great opportunity to start off on the right foot. Marketers should also include an overview of what the subscriber will receive. For email, include a link to a recent email or simply put a welcome message into the header of the current email. For SMS, use those 160 characters wisely by giving a one-sentence rundown of what comes next. In any case, include approximate timing of subsequent emails.
Start with the basics
In addition to any regular mailings such as newsletters, marketers should also send communications that introduce consumers to the brand or product that prompted the opt-in. For instance, if consumers have signed up for email in conjunction with a new product purchase, then the marketer should use early emails to give a virtual tour of the product. Anticipate questions that new customers may have and answer them in email. In fact, addressing known new user issues can actually help the brand by cutting down expensive calls to the call center.
The same approach works in other situations as well. Retailers can use these messages to introduce consumers to the brand and its distinctive features. B2B marketers can highlight resources for businesses.
These emails should also have clear calls to action. Some marketers may have specific offers for new customers or prospects. Others may simply wish to direct opt-ins to an appropriate area on the website, such as customer service or product information.
Further education
After covering basic how-tos or what to expect, marketers can continue onboarding by offering advanced information. The most successful email or mobile marketers take previous communication or website interaction into account. For instance, if a subscriber clicked on features and functionality links in the early tips emails, he or she should receive communications with more-advanced functionality. Similarly, a retailer might showcase the depth of its offerings by populating later emails with products related to offers clicked on in earlier emails.
As with previous emails, the goal of these later emails remains focused on educating the subscriber on the brand. Absent of sophisticated click data, marketers can simply make an educated guess about the progression of learning that a consumer will go through when becoming introduced to the brand and build content around that track. To put it another way, onboarding should segue neatly into lifecycle marketing, when marketers send communications based on where customers sit in the progression of product ownership. So, if nothing else, these last onboarding emails should prepare the subscriber for the kinds of ongoing education that he or she will receive.
How many? And when?
So far, we have not discussed the ideal number or timing of onboarding communications. The answers to these questions depend on a number of factors.
How complex is your product or offering? Be honest here. Any advertising agency worth its salt could deforest a small national park by printing up literature detailing a brand and its virtues. But consumers probably do not have the patience to sit through long paeans to the brand. Err on the side of brevity until interaction suggests greater involvement. If, for instance, you determine that an onboarding stream needs three emails (a good starting point, by the way), then watch the interaction rates. If opens, clicks, or conversions remain high with message No. 3, then consider a fourth.
How intensively will consumers use your product at first? Marketers would like to believe that consumers will put their lives on hold to interact with their brands, but we know this generally does not happen. One approach to timing centers around targeting communications to known trouble spots and when they occur in the lifecycle. Few marketers should plan on timelines of longer than two weeks for onboarding emails.
Leave room to breathe. Marketers must resist the temptation to fill subscribers' inboxes. Make sure that at least a day or two lapses in between sends so that the new subscriber does not feel overwhelmed.
Far more should go into the planning of onboarding communications. Ideally, the marketer should start by defining objectives for the onboarding. What does the marketer want the consumer to think and to do? Then, by aligning specific communications to these objectives, the marketer can plot out the stream effectively.
So, by acting like the cynical recording company executive in "Welcome to the Machine," the marketer can engage his or her audience more completely. This engagement in turn will keep the audience reading longer, which should keep the marketer from having to send out reactivation emails entitled "Wish You Were Here."
Chris Marriott is vice president and global managing director for Acxiom Digital.
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