Types of Follow Up Email Strategy: What to Choose for Your Cold Outreach Campaign?
If you think not hearing from a prospect after your initial point of contact is reason enough to give up and assume the person is not interested in whatever you offer, it means you have not been in this business for too long. An experienced sales rep or marketer knows that before you move on, it is worth nudging the stonewalling prospect a little more by sending them a few follow-up emails.
As demonstrated by numerous studies, follow-ups may increase response rates by as much as 18% for the first one, 13% for the fourth email, and a whopping 27% for the sixth. At the same time, without any follow-up touchpoints, you only stand a 2% likelihood of closing a sale. So, to be sure you do not miss out on 98% of opportunities, here is everything you need to know about follow-up emails.
What Is a Follow-Up Email?
A follow up email is a series of emails marketers send out to a prospect after their initial email received no response or if that response was a ‘no.’ It is done with the ultimate goal of closing a deal at a later point in time, but simultaneously serves a few more purposes:
- Assist in fostering gradual trust
- Improve conversion rates
- Narrow down on proper leads
- Become a legitimate source of future referrals
- Provide the prospect with increasingly more value with each new email
- Raise the credibility of your organization
Initial cold emails often get overlooked or deliberately ignored by the prospect, which is why follow-ups are so important. They are a way to delicately remind the recipient about your company, products, or services.
Types of Follow-Up Email Sequences
Depending on your chosen strategy, your follow-up email sequences can be time-based or intent-based. The former includes 6-8 emails spaced out in time and delivered between 2 and 14 days apart. When opting for a time-based sequence of follow-ups, you do not distinguish between prospects or take into consideration their current buyer’s journey stage.
For an intent-based follow-up sequence, the prospects’ levels of interest are the focus. Such follow-ups are usually meant to target potential customers who send intent signals about being in the solution-searching phase. How accurately and timely you can decipher those signals determines the overall success of your follow-up campaign.
While more energy-intensive and time-consuming, sequences based on the prospect’s intent are more effective since they enable you to do more precise customer targeting. Additionally, being more personalized, these follow-ups can result in higher conversion rates.
