VerticalResponse for AppExchange Blog

Marketing to Non-Responders

As a Marketing Manager, I'm always looking for new ways to reach out to the folks who are unresponsive to email marketing campaigns, you know the ones who don't open OR click? Did you know that VerticalResponse can help you target them?

To get started, you'll need to access your Email History Reports, which allow you to see how recipients have responded to your email campaigns.  Click on the Reports tab in Salesforce, and then use the drop-down menu to navigate to either the VR Email History Leads or VR Email History Contacts report.

Please note that because we're running these reports through Salesforce, the data for Leads and the data for Contacts are stored in different folders.  So, if you're looking for a complete snapshot of your entire email campaign(s), you will have to run two separate reports (one for Leads and one for Contacts).

Now we're getting to the good stuff: within the VR Email History folders, there are several reports to choose from.  Are you looking for everyone who bounced?   Maybe all of those who opened?  Or possibly all who clicked?

It might be your first reaction to ignore the non-responders.  I mean, they didn't even open your email, right?  WRONG.  Why not take this as another opportunity to win them over?  If you've got Salesforce Campaigns enabled, add them to a new campaign (maybe one titled "Win Them Over!")  And if you don't have Salesforce Campaigns enabled, you can put them all in a new VerticalResponse list.

Below are a few ideas for how to get your non-responders motivate to respond:

1. Do a re-send to the non-responders, but switch up the subject line a bit.  If you need some ideas for how to make your copy more compelling, check out Janine's blog post for inspiration.
2. If you offered a discount in the first send, maybe bump up the percentage a bit.  And if you didn't offer a discount the first time around, why not test with a nominal amount the second time?  Money talks, right?
3. We're always telling people that direct mail postcards are a great way to get in front of folks who've opted out of your email sends.  But direct mail is also a great opportunity to message non-responders, too.  Just make sure that your copy includes a unique landing page url so that you can track the success of your endeavor.  Need help getting started with postcards from VerticalResponse?  Watch the video tutorial to get the ball rolling.

Do you have other great ideas about how to market to non-responders?  Share it with the group by posting a comment!

Jess Greene-Pierson, Marketing Programs Manager

Using Merge Fields to Personalize Emails

It's really a no-brainer: the more personalized your emails, the better response you're going to have from your recipients.  Did you know that with VerticalResponse for AppExchange you can use merge fields to add that personal touch?

If you don't have Salesforce Campaigns enabled, you can do this using our query tool to search through your Lead and/or Contact records at the Standard, Custom, Owner and Account levels.  (And if you do have Salesforce Campaigns enabled, check out our Build a List Using a Salesforce Campaign video tutorial).

To add personalization to your next email campaign, click on the "VR Email" tab, and select "Create New List of Leads and Contacts."  Now you can choose to query only Leads, only Contacts, or both.  You can also set  the parameters for your query (the very same way you would when running a report in Salesforce).  Click on "Next Step", and you will be taken to the "Map Your Fields" page.

Using the checkboxes in the right hand column, you can select the fields that you want to include in your email.  Are there fields in your Salesforce org that aren't automatically showing up in these lists?  Simply choose each from one of the "Other (no match)" boxed and name the field.

It's important here to remember the exact name you assigned these fields, as you'll need to reference the name to merge those fields into your email.  When you're satisfied that all fields that you will need are included, click on "Next Step".

The next page is a summary of your query.  It's a good idea to give this a quick once-over to make sure that all of the correct fields are being pulled in, and specifically that it's pulling in the correct information for each field.  If everything looks good, hit "Next Step" to proceed to the next page.

This is the last page in the list creation process.  Here you only need to select "Create List" and name it (remember that it's always good to be fairly specific in your naming convention to remind you of when and why the list was created.)  Then click "Create List".

Now you can get to the fun part...creating the email!  Just create the email the same way you normally would, and when you get to a point where you would like to merge a field, you can either click on the "Insert" drop down to select a standard VerticalResponse field, or simply type in the name of the custom field that you made when creating the list.  Remember when I mentioned it was a good idea to make note of the exact name of the field?  This is where it really comes in handy, because unless you type the name exactly as it was created, the merge will not work.

Ready to get started making your emails more personalized?  Below are a few ideas to get you started:

1) Be sure to include the recipient's first name; it's a great start to giving your emails a personal touch.  If not all of your Salesforce records include a first name, don't forget to include a default so that you don't end up with a big blank space after the greeting.  To do this, use {FIRST_NAME | Friend} in the merge field.  Don't be afraid to get creative here!  In my example below, I've used "Wine Enthusiast" as the default, as my email was for the wine industry.

2) If you have a field in Salesforce that tracks what your customers last bought, it's smart to pull that in as well, especially if you are marketing a complimentary or similar product.

3) If you're in marketing, and want to send emails out on behalf of each salesperson, you can merge in the Lead and Contact Owner's contact information to create an email signature.  This will make it easy for your recipients to immediately get in touch with the right person when they are ready to act!

A word to the wise:  make sure that all of your merge fields are working properly when you get your test email.  It's much better for you to catch your error than your customers!

Want to watch a video of this idea in action?  Check out the video tutorial.

Got some great ideas for further personalizing emails?  Share them with us by leaving a comment below!

- Jess Greene-Pierson, Marketing Programs Manager