Your prospect is rarely ready to buy from you on their first visit. That’s why a carefully planned pre-purchase email sequence is essential to nurture them through your funnel and convert them.
In an ideal world, a customer would land on your website, be dazzled by your proposition, and purchase from you.
Unfortunately, that seldom happens.
The reality is that 92% of customers on your website aren’t even there to buy. They’ve probably landed on your website through referral traffic on social media or SEO.
Why Your Business Needs a Pre-Purchase Email Sequence
The traditional consumer decision process typically follows this consideration process:
- Consumer identifies their needs
- Collects information
- Evaluates alternatives
- Makes purchase decision
If you’re not collecting data from your prospects first visit, then you’re significantly decreasing your chances of success for a future conversion.
At Magnet Monster, we call that “leaving it to fate”. Rarely is it the fairytale ending you conjure up in your imagination.
What you need to do is take control of the consumer decision process. That’s why a pre-purchase email sequence is mandatory for your business.
A Sale Starts with Engaging Your Prospect
As already discussed, it’s unlikely a prospect will purchase from you the first time they visit your website. However, if you can at least engage with them, then you’ll maximise your chances for a future conversion via retargeting.
The easiest way to achieve this is with a strategically designed Lead Magnet that leads through to your pre-purchase email sequence.
[DIGITAL MARKETER CUSTOMER VALUE JOURNEY]
While your prospect is often reluctant to part with their money, they’re more generous with their email address. If your Lead Magnet is a strong enough proposition, then they’ll happily provide you with it. That’s when you start nurturing them through your funnel.
The 5 Pre-Purchase Email Sequence Every Business Needs
Irrespective of whether you’re in the B2C or B2B space, we’ve found the following 5-stage pre-purchase email sequence evergreen.
Try implementing it for the subscribers of your Lead Magnet and watch your conversions skyrocket.
Email 1: The Lead Magnet Download
The first email needs to thank your subscriber for opting in and delivering your Lead Magnet.
We recommend keeping this brief while still inviting your newly acquired lead to talk to you.
A simple link to your Lead Magnet alongside an invitation to schedule a call/ask a question should be all that is required at this point.
See how we set this up at Magnet Monster for our own business below:
We also include an explainer video in our welcome email to introduce prospects to our service, but it’s not invasive and an aggressive sell.
So, remember, your first email simply needs to welcome your new subscriber and deliver upon your promise (Lead Magnet).
Email 2: Inviting Conversation
24 hours later, you should follow up with your lead by adding further value.
We recommend asking your potential customer for feedback on your Lead Magnet and if they have any further questions.
By doing this, you ensure two things:
- They actually consume the content and engage with your brand
- They realise you invite conversation and stand behind your product/services
This email is also relatively straightforward, but a small trick at the end of your email can begin a subtle process of upselling them.
It’s called the “P.S or P.P.S”, and it looks like this:
During the P.S on this email, however, the upsell would be less aggressive.
Instead, we recommend introducing them to a testimonial of your product or service and how it’s helped another customer greatly.
You should allude to the fact that you’ll cover this more in the next email, but if they want to skip the beat then they can simply click here to read it today.
This is smart as it slowly introduces them to your proposition in a manner that’s still trustworthy and non-invasive.
Ultimately, we start ‘nurturing’ the prospect before stronger calls-to-action in subsequent emails.
Email 3: Social Proof/Testimonial from Customer
Once a basis of trust has been established, you can begin introducing your prospect to your products or services.
An effective way of doing this is with a strong testimonial or case study that backs up what you’re offering.
Given that 88% of customers trust reviews left online, this is a proven method of demonstrating value.
And with 9/10 customers saying they also read reviews before purchasing, it’s imperative to include some form of social proof in your pre-purchase email sequence.
Here’s an example of how we use social proof in our pre-purchase email sequence at Magnet Monster to introduce our Lead Magnet service:
The highlighted red text is a hyperlink going through to a powerful case study where the owner of Genetic Supplements talks about how effective our services were.
While we redirect people back to our website, it’s not a necessity if you’re in the B2B space. You can simply invite people to respond to your email if they’d like to talk more about your product or services.
You can also include the testimonial within the email body itself. It’s not imperative to redirect people back towards your website, although it’s good practice if you’re in Ecommerce as that’s where they’ll be purchasing from.
Email 4: Call to Action on Product or Services
At this stage, you’re going to want to capitalise upon interest from your lead and encourage them to purchase your product or service.
If you’re in Ecommerce, then it’s as simple as linking directly to your product(s) and providing a strong incentive to purchase. Refer back to your social proof in the previous email or any testimonials, and tell them how it will genuinely benefit their lives.
For B2B, it can be more complex and dependant on your sales pipeline. This may start with a call or a free demo of your product or services. If that’s the case, you should include your preferred call-to-action based upon the next steps your company usually takes.
Ultimately, however, this email is about having the confidence to command action from your lead.
The use of the “P.S” technique to reaffirm your proposition can also help click-through rate (CTR) and take advantage of users scrolling straight to the bottom of emails.
Email 5: Discount Incentive
If your lead still hasn’t taken action, then it may be time to use a time-sensitive coupon or discount to close the deal.
Using time-sensitivity on this offer is imperative in order to create urgency in your offer. You don’t want to be seen as somebody who willingly offers discounts to anyone and everyone. Instead, this should be more of a gesture for first-time buyers in order to get them to convert.
You should only send this email specifically to contacts who haven’t taken you up on your previous offer, so there is going to be some behavioural segmentation and tracking involved with your email software to make this email work.
Conclusion
Nurturing your prospects through this proven pre-purchase email sequence strategy can increase your conversion rate exponentially.
Given how effective email marketing is in providing an ROI for marketers, implementing automated sequences like this can help you increase conversions on autopilot.
Need help setting up a pre-purchase email sequence for your business that converts leads? Contact us here and we’ll respond within 24 hours.
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