Turn Customer Feedback Emails Into Sales [Part 2]

In Turn Customer Feedback Emails Into Sales [Part 1] we got chatting about something a little different to the usual, instead of talking about the emails you send to your subscribers, we started talking about the emails that they send to you.

We quickly realised that we have a ton more to say on the topic and some super practical tips for converting email replies into sales, so we decided to record part 2 – you're welcome!

When you send out a broadcast email, or even when a campaign is triggered, and a subscriber replies to your email it can quickly turn into an awkward conversation if you're not sure how you should handle it.

It's always nice to build a relationship and deeper connection with your list, I mean we all like making new friends, but what if you could actually turn those conversations into sales?

Every time someone replies to one of your emails it's an opportunity to educate and promote, moving someone further along in their journey to purchasing the perfect product for them, faster!

Turn Customer Feedback Emails Into Sales

Episode Content

• (3:24) The reasons why your subscribers and customers might reply to your emails.
• (5:47) Figuring out why your subscribers might be engaging in conversation.
• (6:39) The best way to deal with a reply that looks more like a support query.
• (7:41) What to do when someone replies asking for help or for more information.
• (8:19) How to look for buying signals in the email reply so that you can move towards a sale.
• (9:20) What to do if there are no buying signals and how to keep the conversation flowing.
• (10:16) How to sign-post subscribers to the perfect product for them.
• (11:40) Encouraging replies as a call to action in your emails.
• (14:20) How to turn an email complaint into a sales opportunity, in a nice way.
• (16:19) Handling positive feedback and how to turn that into a social proof opportunity – yay!
• (18:31) Listeners question submitted by Paul Healey.
• (22:00) The subject line of the week from Pete Vargas.

We show you the exact campaign, including email templates, that we use for this in our @Me Campaign. You can grab it as part of The Email Marketers' Game Plan right here.

Listeners Question

Watch the full episode right here.

A lot of people subscribe to lists using their Gmail email address, how do you stop your broadcast emails from going into their Gmail ‘promotions’ tab?

Paul Healey – Group Coaching Academy

Rob: It’s all about education. As marketers, we have very much moved away from the idea of getting somebody on your list and then just sell them as much stuff as possible. Now it’s quite refreshing when someone opts-in to your list and the next thing they see isn’t one of these trip-wire offers, and what that means is you can now focus on every element of consumption – getting them to actually look at the free thing they opted in for, and a big part of that is getting them to actually find the emails that help them do that.

If you have it set up so that when someone opts-in to your list you send them an email saying ‘tell me where to send your free thing’, so you’re now getting them trained to know that when you send them something important they will need to find it in their emails. You can even send them basic instructions as part of their welcome email on how to find the emails you’re going to send them and when they will arrive.

You can also tell them that if the email does land in their ‘promotions’ tab, they can drag it across to their main inbox and that should default all future emails into the main inbox for them.

Kennedy: The other thing you can do is avoid promotional trigger words. That includes anything that sounds like an offer or includes the words, free, buy, discount, etc. If you make sure that your early emails don’t include those trigger words, then they should land in the main inbox along with all future emails.

Episode Resources

Turn Customer Feedback Emails Into Sales [Part 1] – Podcast Episode
The Email Marketing Strategy Every Business Should Steal – Blog Post
6 Techniques To Segment Your Email Subscribers – Podcast Episode
Writing The Perfect Welcome Email With Gavin Bell – Podcast Episode

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