May 3, 2018

Tips For Growing Your Lists Using A Cross-channel Approach

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By Danielle Woolley, Head of Customer Success at Adestra Ltd.

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Never rest on your laurels with list growth. The numbers speak for themselves: the more prospective customers you talk to, the more conversions you’ll be able to achieve and the better you’ll be able to meet those revenue targets. Even those smugly sitting on a sizable database after GDPR should be aware that every list has natural churn, with around 25 per cent of your list unsubscribing or disengaging annually.  With this in mind, it’s important to fill the gap and capture new people into your funnel.

Audit Your Acquisition Touchpoints

A great starting point for bumping up your list growth is an acquisition audit. Look at every touchpoint you have with customers; on your website, in-store, phone calls, transactional emails, blog posts, apps and social channels. Consider even printed collateral, packaging, events, sister brands and ATL advertising. Are you taking every opportunity to capture customer data and positive opt-in? Is the current process as prominent, simple, and effective as it can be?

See our eGuide for ideas on how to leverage social channels to build your list.

Set Targets

What’s your current sign-up rate for website visitors? By how much could you improve it? What’s a realistic target for each of the touchpoints you plan to exploit? What is each new sign-up worth to your business? Having something to aim for will focus your efforts and help you to secure resource.

Consider The Value Exchange

To boost your sign-up rate, consider what’s in it for your customer. They’re trusting you with their personal data, so what are you offering in return? There are many effective tactics that have been tried, tested and proven successful. Online retailers, for example, often offer discounts on first time purchases (to the point where its almost become an expectation). You might offer entry into a competition, or something valuable to your customers such as a free trial, whitepaper or eGuide. Of course, GDPR, should be taken into consideration: make sure opt-in is not conditional to receive the ‘gift’. It’s still a great tactic to attract people to your site and encourage them to fill out the sign up form.

At the very least, make sure you explain the benefits of signing up to your newsletter and emphasise the good stuff that your subscribers will receive. Small changes in terms of value exchange can have a real impact on your companies growth. For instance, our client Big Cup Little Cup optimised their website, resulting in a 200 per cent increase in newsletter sign-ups.

Trigger A Welcome Email Straight Away

Acknowledge your new sign-ups as quickly as possible (ideally in real-time) and build on their newbie enthusiasm by entering them into a welcome journey. For extra points (and engagement!) personalise their experience according to their point of entry. Online retailer PetsPyjamas achieved outstanding results with this approach.

Good luck!

 


Written by

Danielle Woolley,
Head of Customer Success at Adestra Ltd.