INBOUND INSIGHTS
In a 2017 study commissioned* to analyze inbound marketing patterns, it was found that 77% of firms gave up after 1-2 follows or did not respond at all to inbound leads.
It is not enough to simply follow-up. The firm that did the study also determined that effectiveness depended on 4 factors:
- Promptness of reply – conversion rates rise and fall dramatically depending on the time frame. Delays in follow-up, even by 10 minutes let alone 1 day, are astonishing damaging. A quick call is most likely to yield the greatest conversion.
- Personalization including building in means to create a dialogue between you and the prospect. But there are several aspects to consider in terms of personalization, so I’ve broken this topic out below.
- Persistence over time. One or two attempts is almost never enough, and yet that is where most sales people leave off. The study showed that even a third attempt, versus only one attempt, doubled response rates. Companies that make five to eight attempts are the most successful.
- Performance, meaning it is not enough to follow-up, your communication must actually reach the consumer. Think spam. Studies of email “send forensics” reveal that on average 50% of business email ends up in spam folders. Deliverablity is a challenge.
Personalization Factors:
- Personalization is an important factor. The most obvious example of it is incorporating the name of the prospect in your greeting. But there are several other options to consider:
- Personalization in an email subject line
- Including your own personal signature so you the recipient can identity the sender. This applies also to using a personal reply address, rather than a generic sending email such as sales@ or info@.
- Incorporating specific information about the prospect into the body of the communication is another great way to elevate the personal relevance of your message. With most CRM applications you can build merge fields into your templates.
