Marketing Makeover | Part 2
What happens when you sign up for a free software trial, webinar, or demo?
If you caught last week’s episode of the Loyalty Loop you’ll know that signing up for anything means you’ll be hit with a ton of follow up emails, mostly begging you to arrange a call with a sales rep.
And most of the time, consumers just hit delete — or unsubscribe.
So, as sales people or marketers, how do we get people to actually follow up and purchase our software? Or at least agree to a call?
To find out, I’m doing a real-life marketing makeover for two brave companies that have agreed to let me dissect — and improve! —their marketing campaigns. Here, in part 2, I’m going to uncover the ONE thing they can change immediately, to have the biggest impact on the prospect’s experience.
Where to begin…?
In last week’s post I asked you guys to chime in with your ideas for how Courtney from Vidyard and Annette from Aprimo could improve their marketing…and you didn’t disappoint!
Some of you suggested they fix their webinar follow up experience. Some of you figured that the registration process for both brands could do with a shake up. And some of you thought that the email follow up sequence had room for improvement.
Do you know what? You’re all right! Each of those areas should be addressed. But for me, there was only one place to start — and for one very good reason too, as you’ll see in a second.
Sales reps that aren’t interested in selling?
After a few weeks of interacting with each brand, I decided to reach out to the reps, Courtney and Annette, and schedule a call with each of them. I then revealed that I’d actually been mystery shopping them (in case you’re wondering — Courtney was surprised but Annette had already figured me out. Looks like I need to work on my mystery shopping skills!)
And during both calls, one thing jumped out at me. They both said something like this:
“I’m not here to sell you anything; my job is to guide you to the right product.”
Yup, they’re simply there to help me find the right software, even if it isn’t theirs. How great does that sound?
The problem is that the communication leading up to the phone calls didn’t give me that impression AT ALL. If we look back at the introductory videos embedded in the emails from Courtney and Annette that I talked about in last week’s episode, there’s only one feeling we get from them: money, money, money. They’re in a desperate rush to arrange that call so they can sell me their product.
So the ONE thing they could do to provide a better experience for their prospects? Improve the first interaction after a moment of commitment.
The crucial concern
A crucial concern is a critical matter of interest or worry attached to every moment of commitment. So every time we fill out a form online — as I did on Vidyard and Aprimo’s websites — a worry wells up in the back of our minds. Our brains know from experience that they are going to try to sell us something, and they’re going to use the data we provided to do it.
At the very moment I had my crucial concern, right after I’d filled out the forms, Courtney and Annette hit me with their emails, both of which contained videos that just confirmed my suspicion that they were, in fact, going to try to sell me something.
Here’s the thing: if Annette and Courtney want to build a better experience for their prospects, they’re going to need to address this crucial concern, right away. If they are only concerned with helping me find the right product rather than making a sale, they’re going to have to convince me.
And the best way to do that? Improving the introductory videos they email out after that first moment of commitment.
The marketing makeover action plan (step one)
Personalize those videos
The original videos weren’t great at all — Courtney’s was a client testimonial and Annette’s was just a bit…generic, a bit meh. And both were far too rushed, asking for a call straight off the bat.
If you caught part 1 of the makeover, you’ll remember that rushing things was one of the biggest mistakes that brands make when they’re creating their marketing campaigns.
Building a relationship with a prospect takes time — you can’t just barrel in and expect them to commit before they’ve gotten to know you and your brand. The whole experience needs to feel more personal, and you need to slow things down and gradually build the relationship and earn their trust.
Which is exactly where Annette and Courtney start when they send me their new and improved videos. Annette uses Vidyard’s tech to include my name in her updated video, which is a great opener. And Courtney begins hers by saying, “Just wanna say, thank you so much for joining on our demo”, so a high five for her too!
So is that job done for my two marketing makeover guinea pigs?
Not quite. They’re definitely on the right track but of the updated videos are missing one major thing: they aren’t addressing the crucial concern. Over the next few days Courtney and Annette both refined their videos, over and over again, trying new things, and getting consistently better.
And if you want to know exactly what changes they made and how the final videos turned out, don’t miss the third instalment of the Marketing Makeover on next week’ Loyalty Loop! Subscribe here to have it land in your inbox a whole day before the rest of the world gets to eyeball it.
Are you addressing your prospect’s crucial concern?
While you’re waiting for part 3, go and have a look at your own team’s follow up email sequence. Are you addressing your prospect’s crucial concern? Are you using reverse personalization, or is it just all about you and getting on someone’s calendar? Are you rushing the experience? And if so, how do you think you could improve things for the prospect, and get better results for you too?
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