The average sales representative gives up on a lead after a few phone calls when it often takes 10 to 14 contacts with a prospect to earn a sale. Consider time and event-triggered automated email messages to guarantee follow-up, resulting in improved efficiency and effectiveness from sales and service personnel. Automated emails allow you to build equity into your marketing efforts and reduce your cycle times for higher productivity from your marketing team. Welcome emails, lead nurturing streams, win-back programs, shopping cart rescues and loyalty programs (e.g. birthday and anniversary offers) will help you meet your customers’ needs when their interest is high. Set-up automated email programs, and focus on building other strategic initiatives, rather than getting caught up in the endless cycle of one-off campaigns that are more or less thrown away after one use. Ah, yes, modern technology can do the heavy lifting for you.

Example: E-LOAN -- a leading online consumer direct lender of mortgage, auto and home equity loans -- has successfully leveraged the email channel to automate customer experiences and improve acquisition metrics. For example, E-LOAN uses automated emails as a cost-effective way to conveniently remind prospects to complete their mortgage applications. Further, these emails help to recapture people who have passed on auto loan financing. The timeliness and relevancy achieved through event-triggered email automation has already yielded a 300 percent lift in response over the control group. E-LOAN reports that automated email programs have helped them recapture a significant number of loans