It’s like trying to solve the crime of a large mansion full of wealthy debutants, fascinating associates, foreign guests, family, maids, and butlers. Every person who has had the “opportunity to do so” is a “suspect.”
Every eNewsletter recipient in a community of targeted customers and your customers is also viewed as a “suspect.”
Your mailing list subscribers are not suspected to be involved in criminal activity, unlike those who were at the scene of a crime. Your readers may be interested in purchasing your product or service. It is a mystery how to determine which readers are potential buyers so that your sales team can use their time efficiently.
Your Suspect Pool
A suspect, like the one in a good mystery story, is someone who shows up. Suspects include those who subscribe to your newsletter regularly. As stated in the article Building Trust, these readers were not purchased from a mailing list. They were carefully selected and connected to your organisation. The newsletter addressed a business issue that piqued their interest. They are interested in Online newsletters: Demonstrating value from the same series.
When a suspect unsubscribes from the eNewsletter, they are no longer visible in your organization. This lack of attention can be attributed to two factors: either the reader doesn’t have a problem you can help solve, or the newsletter isn’t providing good information.
This is good news in the first instance. It is not worth spending time or money on people who are disqualified. It is too costly to pursue those who are not interested in what you have to offer.
You have a problem in the second situation. Not because your clients are not interested in solving the problem but because you are not providing high-quality information.
Your newsletter may lose valuable subscribers due to poor content and not because they aren’t interested in solving your business problems.
Tracking Suspects Interests
How can you tell if your newsletter is delivering quality content? Tracking comes into play here. There are many types of tracking technologies that you can use to track your eNewsletter. These tools provide real-time feedback about unsubscribe rates and e-newsletter opening rates.
These statistics will allow you to see which articles your subscribers read and, more importantly, which articles they do not. Focusing on the most popular topics can ensure a quality newsletter, and it will also help you select prospects who are interested in your business.
Sort Suspects from Prospects
Let’s start with this: Each suspect is in total control of their purchasing cycle. They put themselves in your sales cycle at their own pace, not at yours. It’s important to know how to use your e-newsletters to determine when a suspect has become a potential buyer.
Suspects have a wide range of needs and behaviors. As your suspects become more interested in what you offer, your relationship with them grows, and they become prospects. Every prospect in e-newsletters comes from the suspect pool. You can filter them out by tracking their behavior.
As your readers move through the sales cycle, you will see how your relationship with them changes from suspects to potential to qualified leads.
Level 2 Prospect. When you give them links to your site and a way to return from your newsletter, many of your readers will visit it. When they click on the link to your website, suspects will become prospects. This is a one-way communication. The visitor visits your website but does not initiate a conversation. It is a sign that they are interested in receiving the eNewsletter and in the company that provides it.
Level 3 Prospect. Fewer readers move on to the next step and start two-way communication, such as conducting a reader survey regarding the eNewsletter or entering a competition to win a prize. This type of communication shows they are interested in your business and willing to depend on you enough to submit personal information. They are just one step away.
Level 3 Qualified Lead. The prospect moves to the third level and becomes a qualified lead on their own by responding to a “call to actions” such as a complimentary offer. Your company is the first place they look when they are looking for a solution to a problem.
This type of lead is qualified, whether it comes from the suspect or prospect pools. It becomes so when the person requests a freebie and completes the questionnaire to get it. The prospect not only respects your newsletter but also has enough faith in your business to give you the information necessary to deliver a free service, such as an ROI analysis or a prototype marketing piece.
Do prospects put themselves in the sales cycle?
Your suspects will feel more secure if they know that you understand their business and are reliable. When suspects visit your website from your newsletter and receive your “call to action, they will be more likely to respond. Consider this in a personal sense: Which stranger, if they don’t know you, is more likely than someone who doesn’t accept an invitation for dinner?
It is not a direct mail piece that is sent only once. The newsletter acts as a sieve and conduit, allowing you to be attentive to your readers’ natural buying cycles.
You’ll be surprised at how quickly clients will become interested in and recognize your services once you implement an effective eNewsletter marketing strategy. Your sales team can’t sell to them, but by distributing your eNewsletter regularly, you make it easier for them to purchase. The final piece is to close the sale.
