You may be using email as part of your marketing toolkit, but are you using automation tools that make life easier for printers?
Many printers shy away from setting up email automation due to the time required for setup. However, while there’s work on the front end, the time-saving benefits are enormous and make your operations more efficient and productive.
Let’s examine the benefits printers can achieve with email automation, and then we’ll look at creative ways to extract more from this technology.
8 BENEFITS OF EMAIL AUTOMATION
Reduces repetitive work – especially if a printer has a small marketing team.
Gives you a place to practice automation – which translates to using other automation tools.
Reduces miscommunication – which can happen when sending emails from your phone in a distracting shop environment.
Increases the number of “touches” you make with a customer or prospect – which helps printers stay top of mind.
Reduces spam reports – which boosts deliverability.
Offers a view of reader behavior – which helps you understand what print customers and prospects need.
Provides a reliable way to reply 24-7 – which keeps communication flowing so nothing slips through the cracks.
Gives you a professional place to start conversations – which helps printers make fruitful connections in a world of closed doors and unreturned voicemails.
DEFINITION OF EMAIL AUTOMATION
Email automation occurs when a recipient triggers an email message, reply, or sequence. The response does not have to happen immediately.
While you can tailor information specific to the recipient – such as first name or preferences – you don’t have to personalize your automation. It can be as simple as you like.
COPY THIS AUTOMATION TO WIN CUSTOMERS
Here’s a strategic email sequence one of my global printing clients uses:
Ask for the reader’s zip code in the newsletter sign-up.
That action launches an auto welcome email with a zoned edition of the newsletter.
A few days later, the subscriber receives a brief “How did you like our newsletter/any questions?” email. The email includes a warm introduction (automated but natural-sounding) from the salesperson who handles their geographic area.
If the recipient replies, it goes straight to the salesperson for a personal follow-up.
In my client’s frenetic print-media world, a strategically prepared email sequence sets the stage for an ongoing business relationship inside the inbox.
DEALING WITH THE ICK FACTOR
Printers often tell me automation seems icky, and they prefer to reply to each email individually.
Ideally, yes. However, automation is a powerful tool for growing the top of your sales funnel and scaling business communications.
When done tastefully, automation projects a professional image. It shows that you are a modern printing business with the technical skills to get work done efficiently.
Furthermore, most people expect prompt, non-spammy automated responses. When you sign up or order online, you expect an immediate confirmation, right?
CHOOSING AUTOMATIONS SUITED TO PRINTERS
Here are eight email automation ideas printers can use:
A welcome email when someone signs up for your newsletter.
A thank you email when someone orders from you.
A customer service survey when someone receives their item.
A drip sequence of educational emails and frequently asked questions to someone researching your offerings.
A questionnaire to help someone find and order the correct item.
A follow-up email if someone abandons their online cart.
A series of event reminders after someone registers.
An announcement of monthly deals to someone who deserves a discount.
HOW TO GET STARTED WITH EMAIL AUTOMATION
Explore tutorials in your email platform.
Next, craft a “single” automation. Don’t jump into sequences at first. Test it by sending it to (willing) co-workers.
Once it’s perfect, activate it with a segment of your list. Let folks know you’re experimenting with automation so they can give feedback.
Then, as you refine your process, keep lists and notes so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
As time permits, keep adding automated replies until you have a set of simple, branded emails that can be deployed indefinitely.
Printers, why not try email automation? Invite email automation to be your friend, and you will reap the rewards.
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Check out last month’s post: How Printers Can Create a Simple Email Newsletter
Sandy Hubbard is a Marketing Strategist and Advisor specializing in Print, Media, and B2B Tech. She helps print companies leverage their marketing to stand above the crowd. She founded the #HelpPrintThrive campaign to elevate and celebrate print. Sandy is also the host of #PrintChat, a weekly global gathering of the industry’s most influential thinkers and leaders. A proud member of Girls Who Print, Sandy was the 2022 recipient of the coveted Girlie Award. Connect with Sandy on LinkedIn.
