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!

Comments

[Jame Ervin]

Not all non-responders are really not responding. Email open rates aren't a perfect science. Not everyone downloads images all of the time.

I saw a stat once that it takes 6-11 interactions for someone to buy from you. So each email is a chance at an interaction, whether prospect is putting forth obvious signals or not.

One tip I have is to mix up the type of content (links) in your email. If you mostly use words, see if you can find a video, or audio content to include in your mailing. Maybe your "non-responders" aren't readers.

Offering something free is always good. I am a B2B marketer, so most of my messaged include a link to some important content: a case study or a white paper.

Also offer the readers a way to contribute. Ask for their feedback or for them to share tips. You'll have material for your next mailing, and they might be more likley to respond to see their name in lights.