Create a B2C lead-nurturing email sequence

Step-by-step Playbooks
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Business Benefits

Move leads from the consideration stage to the decision stage.

Check that your email service provider supports automation and your CRM has been integrated with it.

Email automation providers include:

To validate CRM integration, consult your engineering or revenue operation teams.

Define entry and exit criteria that align with lead qualification, signup, and activation. Set triggers that are reliable, representative of the sales funnel, and consistent with business metrics.

Entry criteria are the actions that start the email nurture sequence. For example, a lead might enter their email address into a form, click a link, view a page, or avoid a specific action like buying from an online store. Exit criteria are the actions that end the lead-nurturing sequence. For example, a lead might buy a product, schedule a call with your sales team, attend an event, or complete a nurture sequence.

Speak with your sales, marketing, and engineering teams to check that your triggers are reliable and realistic. Questions to ask include:

  • Can a lead go through the sequence more than once?
  • What are the specific field requirements in forms or landing pages to ensure the right data is collected?
  • What contacts or leads should be excluded from the nurturing sequence?
  • Are there different entry paths?
  • Should exits be triggered by a certain goal completion, or by completing the overall sequence?
  • How do you want to handle unsubscribes, hard bounces, and other email errors?
  • Are there different exit paths for different audience types? For example, a nurture sequence for repeat customers may be shorter with more options to exit than a nurture sequence for someone who has never heard of your brand before.

Create a list of personas you intend to target with your nurture emails.

These characteristics will help personalize the email copy and increase the likelihood of sign-up and activation. This list of personas should identify:

  • Needs
  • Motivations
  • Personal goals
  • Frustrations
  • Behaviors.

Outline specific topics that your email sequence needs to cover, keeping in mind the level of awareness that your personas have at each point.

For example, with problem awareness, it is likely too early to recommend your products. Instead, you will want to provide resources discussing the problems your leads may be facing.

Specify which content or creative assets you will need to support your lead-nurturing sequence.

Content or creative support may include:

  • Blog posts
  • Images
  • Video
  • Testimonials
  • Case studies
  • Statistics.

Map out your lead-nurturing email sequence.

A nurture sequence is typically 3-7 emails long and builds toward a final invitation to sign up or make a purchase. In cases where nurturement lasts for 3 or more months, you may need to reconfirm interest or move to the next stage in the customer journey.

Write a welcome or thank-you email that describes why the lead is receiving it and what they should expect from your brand in the future.

It is also important to acknowledge the lead’s entry point. Are they receiving the email as a result of engagement at an in-person event, or whitepaper they had recently downloaded?

Draft additional emails for the sequence that gradually provide the lead with more information on the content that they expressed interest in.

Write emails that:

  • Address persona characteristics.
  • Deliver valuable insights or information.
  • Include a call to action (CTA).
  • Provide a fast-track to signup or purchase.

Close the nurturing sequence with a final email for leads that fail to open or engage with your messages.

These messages (often known as breakup emails) should openly recognize the user’s lack of engagement. You should also include a promise to discontinue communication if the user is not interested in your content, products, or services.

If the lead does not respond to this breakup email, remove them from your email list.

Build your lead-nurturing sequence by creating your email timeline, setting your communication parameters, and designing your email messages.

Before you turn on your lead-nurturing email sequence, review:

  • Enter and exit criteria.
  • Message delay settings.
  • Email cadence.
  • Branching path parameters.

Last edited by @hesh_fekry 2023-11-14T10:55:19Z