Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Cara hitung ROI dari CRM

Whether you’re using a robust CRM, migrating to a new one, or just getting started in the CRM world, research is the first step on the path to CRM success. In order to prove the ROI, you need to understand the basics, including the cost, how your data is handled, the different opportunities each platform presents, and more.
This post includes useful calculators to do that research. Check them out, share them, and you’ll be one step closer to determining how to get the most return out of your CRM.

What is CRM Worth to You?

Answer a few quick questions to learn how much value and revenue you can get out of your CRM. While this calculator is Salesforce focused, and based on Salesforce customer data, it is quite helpful in answering those preliminary CRM ROI questions. Check it out here.
image: http://cdn2.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/salesforce-crm-calc.png.png
CRM ROI

Dirty Data Calculator

Sure, we’re a little biased, but this little calculator will do the job of showing you how many bad records live in your CRM. Knowing this is crucial to taking that next step of achieving data quality. It’s also a good reminder that you should regularly plan a data quality project, to keep you CRM data free and clear of duplicates, inaccurate information, missing information and outdated information. Try it here.
Recommended for YouWebcast: Zero to Millions: The Secrets Behind Building a Business and Growing a Digital Audience
image: http://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ringlead-data-calculator.png.png
data-calculator

CRM ROI Calculator

This ROI calculator starts by identifying your role. Not only do the questions change depending on whether you’re a marketer, salesperson or in customer service, but helpful, relevant stats display as well. The ultimate result is the annual savings you’ll experience by having a smooth-running CRM. Check it out here.
image: http://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/microsoft-crm-calculator.png.png
roi calculator

How to Calculate the ROI of CRM

While not an interactive widget, this post is helpful in uncovering the ROI of CRM. With detailed recommendations that would lead to a deep analysis, you can use this Forrester post to do some thorough research and answer the big question: What will I get for the money? Take a look here.

Determine the ROI on Your CRM Investment

Download this pre-formulated Excel file from ApexTwo, to calculate the ROI percentage and the number of months it will take to recuperate the cost of SugarCRM. It also lets you compare SugarCRM to other CRMs. Check it out here.
image: http://cdn2.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ugarcrm-roi-calc.png.png
crm-calculator

Simple SaaS CRM Pricing Calculator

There’s only one field you have to enter in this calculator: Number of users. From there, the tool does the rest and displays your monthly cost for a variety of CRMs. This gives you a good idea of your price point, and while it doesn’t do much else, it’s starts to answer a big question that comes into play with CRM: Budget. Test it out here.
image: http://cdn2.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/saas-crm-price.png.png
crm calculator

CRM Implementation Calculator

Implementing your CRM the right way can be just as costly as the CRM itself. This calculator by Altitude Conseil gives you an idea of what it might cost to work with consultants and experts on your CRM implementation. This may include training, tech support, additional features built into your CRM, and much more. Try it here.
image: http://cdn.business2community.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/crm-implementation.png-900x555.png
crm implementation calculator

Learn more about getting your data ready for CRM with the free ebook below.

Read more at http://www.business2community.com/sales-management/crm-roi-helpful-calculators-test-right-now-01208330#uzUdiAkUMqudW2PW.99

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Bagaimana menjual ke 4 type jenis Personalitas

How to Sell to 4 Different Personality Types

Written by Leslie Ye | @
four_apples
This post originally appeared on HubSpot's Sales Blog. To read more content like this, subscribe to Sales.
Go to any grocery store and walk to the condiment aisle. You’ll see dozens of varieties of mustard -- Dijon, honey, whole grain, yellow, spicy, brown -- but probably fewer than five types of ketchup from a small handful of brands. Of those brands, one reigns supreme: Heinz,boasting a number one or two market share position in over 50 countries.
The leading brand of mustard, French’s, holds half the market share in mustard that Heinz commands in ketchup -- around 35.5% -- but has a product line almost three times as large.
This is what journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell terms the “ketchup conundrum.” His 2004New Yorker article of the same name takes a deep dive into food product development and comes to a noteworthy conclusion relevant to salespeople: Unless your product has the expansive appeal of Heinz ketchup, you’ll need to optimize the way you present it and sell it to reach the widest possible audience.
One size does not fit all. Your prospects are individuals with personalities as varied as their business needs, so a successful salesperson needs the ability to sell to different personality types. To maximize your sales success, adapt your tactics to these four major personality types.

4 Personality Types (And How to Sell To Them)

1) Assertive

Who they are:
Assertive personality types are goal-oriented and competitive. Results are more important than personal relationships to these prospects. They might not be the customers you get a holiday card from, but if you can deliver on your commitments, you will maintain a healthy business relationship. Assertives care deeply about the bottom line.
People with assertive personality types are decisive and quick workers. They want information -- fast -- and might become impatient with a repetitive sales rep who speaks in abstractions.
How to spot them:
Assertive personality types speak in declarative sentences rather than asking questions, and in a louder-than-average tone. Look for animated and confident body language, such as leaning forward or gesturing when they speak.
How to sell to them:
  • Professionalism is always important, but especially so when it comes to assertive people. Always make sure you’re prepared for a meeting with an assertive personality type. If you don’t know the answer to a question, let them know you’ll follow up instead of trying to formulate a halfway correct answer.
  • Assertives appreciate efficiency. Don’t waste their time repeating facts or building up to your point. Cut to the chase.
  • Emphasize how your product will solve their business’ problems. Cutting-edge features won’t impress Assertives unless you can demonstrate why they will be useful to their organization.
  • Take advantage of their competitive streak and show them how your product can put their company head and shoulders above others in their industry.

2) Amiable

Who they are:
People with amiable personality types value personal relationships and want to trust those they do business with. They like the excitement of new challenges and are enthusiastic about formulating creative solutions. However, they might not conduct thorough research before meeting with you and will be looking to you to guide them through the buying process.
Unlike Assertives, Amiables tend to work in a less structured manner, and aren't quick to make decisions. They want to establish a rapport with the people they do business with and will likely seek out the help or approval of multiple team members. You can expect a more drawn out sales process than usual.
How to spot them:
Amiables are great listeners, and might ask more personal questions in an attempt to get to know you outside of your professional role. They will be friendly, calm, and patient during meetings. Conversations with Amiables are generally laid-back and informal.
How to sell to them:
  • Pitch a vision. Help them visualize the outcomes their business could achieve with the help of your product or service.
  • Take time to establish a rapport. Amiables will need to feel safe in their relationship with your company before they’ll be comfortable doing business with you.
  • Take the role of an expert and walk them through the decision making process. Instead of overwhelming an amiable with information, help them through the process and act as an advisor.

3) Expressive

Who they are:
Expressives are also sometimes called "humanists" for a good reason -- like Amiables, personal relationships are very important to this personality type.
Expressives are concerned with others’ well-being. Whether it’s their employees or their customers, the expressive personality type will want to know how decisions they make affect the people around them. They tend to be people-pleasers, but don’t be fooled: Expressives often have powerful personalities and use them to convince others of their strongly held convictions.
Expressives are creative, outgoing, spontaneous, and rely on their intuition. They value mutual respect, loyalty, and friendship. Don’t make offhand commitments to expressives, as reneging on an offer could spell the end of your relationship.
How to spot them:
Expressives tend to be very enthusiastic and colorful. Like Amiables, they’ll want to bond with you and feel connected on a personal level; but like Assertives, Expressives are sure of their beliefs and speak more in statements rather than questions.
How to sell to them:
  • Present case studies. Expressives want to be reassured that you’re looking out for them, and what better way to prove your track record than to show stories of how your business made an impact on other peoples lives?
  • Emphasize an ongoing relationship. If your company offers exceptional customer service or maintains long-term partnerships with its clients, now is the time to shout it from the rooftops.
  • Don’t focus too much on facts and figures. Data is important, but an expressive will ultimately want to know how their buying decision affects their business on a human level.

4) Analytic

Who they are:
Those with an analytical personality type love data, facts, and figures. As no-nonsense people, they’ll look past a highfalutin pitch and get straight to the facts. Be prepared to field a lot of detailed questions, and don’t be surprised if it seems like an analytical prospect already knows you -- they will research you and your business before meeting.
Analytics stick to their deadlines, but they don't make decisions quickly. They care about thoroughly vetting and understanding the options available to them, and won't jump the gun on a decision. They're more logical and cautious than any other personality type, but are secure in their decisions.
How to spot them:
Analytics are less expressive than other personality types. They are concerned with facts rather than emotion, and likely won’t spend time getting to know you on a personal level. In conversation, Analytics are serious, direct, and formal. They might not use expressive gesturingin meetings, but you can be sure they're listening intently.
How to sell to them:
  • Never rush an Analytic. Be prepared for a longer selling process, as Analytics will take as much time as they need to gather all the facts they feel are necessary to make a decision.
  • Assume they are prepared and have done their research. This doesn’t mean you should skip over introductory information, but you can expect to spend less time talking basic features, and more discussing custom, personalized solutions for their business.
  • Avoid making high-level claims. Always provide data when you make an assertion, or risk losing credibility. Overhyping your product might make Analytics suspicious that you’re using flowery language to mask flaws.
  • Provide as much detailed information as possible. Instead of saying “Our product drives growth for many companies,” say, “Our product increased sales in 13 Fortune 500 companies by 25% or more year-over-year.” You can offer more information than they ask for without risking them becoming overwhelmed -- in fact, they’ll probably welcome it.
  • Don’t try to force a relationship that’s not there. Analytics might become annoyed by those they feel are overly flattering or obsequious.
Keep in mind that most prospects will be a mix of these personality types and won't fit neatly into one of the four categories above. However, once you’re familiar with these core personalities, you should be able to tailor your selling strategy to fit any situation you come across.

Sales yang efektif

Untuk sukses, kamu harus bisa menjadi seorang sales yang efektif. Namun, sales saat ini tidak lah seperti di masa lalu. Para pembeli memiliki pengetahuan tentang suatu produk bahkan lebih banyak daripada si penjual produk tersebut. Maka dari itu, sebagai seorang sales, kamu harus mencari celah baru dalam menjual ide bisnismu. Coba tips-tips berikut untuk mengetahui bagaimana menjual ide bisnismu lebih efektif:
1.Sebelum kamu melakukan pitching dan mepresentasikan produk ke investor maka bangun rasa percaya diri. Namun, bagaimana caranya? Jika kebanyakan orang akan berkata, “aku pasti bisa” maka kamu harus melakukan cara yang jauh lebih baik daripada itu. Daripada menyatakan, lebih baik bertanya, “apakah aku bisa?” Dengan bertanya, kamu akan lebih mawas diri dan akhirnya percaya pada kemampuanmu.
2.Untuk sukses menjual ide bisnismu, kamu harus tahu benar mengenai cara pandang para investor terhadap suatu bisnis. Mengerti perspektif orang lain akan memudahkan proses pendekatan yang terjadi. Pikirkan mengenai apa yang mereka lihat dan apa yang membuat mereka tertarik maka pitching pun akan sukses dilakukan.
3.Seimbangkan diri anda sebagai extrovert dan introvert.  Kita seringkali memandang bahwa ornag yang akan sukses menjual adalah orang yang extrovert. Namun, ternyata hal tersebut salah besar. orang yang sukses menjual adalah orang yang bisa menjadi kedua sosok. Ketika orang introvert berbicara terlalu sedikit dan extrovert terlalu banyak, sang ambivert menemukan kebahagiaan yang pas. Ornag tersebut tahu kapan harus bicara dan kapan harus diam, kapan harus mendorong dan kapan harus menarik. Penjualan tak diragukan lagi untuk terjadi karena orang ambivert.
Jangan sampai anda kehilangan kesempatan dalam melakukan deal dengan investor atau klien potensial. Selalu persiapkan presentasi dengan sebaik-baiknya. Lihat tips berikut untuk siapkan presentasi terbaik untuk bisnismu disini.

5 Trik gunakan CRM untuk tingkatkan sales Anda.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) adalah sistem yang memudahkan kamu mengurus segala proses penjualan. Hal ini berlaku untuk semua jenis bisnis. CRM bukan hanya berlaku untuk  meningkatkan kualitas customer service namun juga untuk meningkatkan angka penjualan. Bagaimana caranya? Inilah trik untuk tingkatkan angka penjualan dengan software CRM:
1.Software CRM dapat membantu manager sales mengetahui semua aktivitas penjualan yang terjadi. Manajer sales dapat mengetahui semua detail sales tanpa terkecuali. Kesepakatan mana yang memang sudah close atau sebentar lagi akan close. Sales manager akan lebih mudah mengatur dan memberi arahan kepada segala proses penjualan yang terjadi.
2.Software CRM dapat membantu tiap anggota tim sales tahu dimana posisi mereka sekarang. Apakah mereka mendekati target atau belum. Jika belum sejauh mana posisi mereka dari apa yang ditargetkan. CRM software akan membuat anggota sales tahu apa kekurangan dirinya dan apa perbaikan yang harus dilakukan.
3.Software CRM memudahkan tim sales saling berbagai informasi atau dokumen yang dibutuhkan. Tentunya hal ini memudahkan mereka melakukan penjualan terlebih lagi jika tim sales anda tersebar ke berbagai daerah.
4.Software CRM dapat membantu memonitor informasi terbaru dari kontak-kontak penting anda di sosial media.Jika terjadi perubahan besar di kontak LinkedIn atau Twitter, software CRM dapat memberitahu anda dengan segera.
5.Software CRM dapat memberikan manfaat melalui teknologi GPS. Anda akan dibantu langsung bertemu dengan calon pembeli dengan teknologi GPS di software CRM. Anda akan mendapatkan informasi mengenai prospek apa yang ada di area anda. Anda juga akan mendapatkan informasi kontak dan petunjuk peta mengenai prospek tersebut sehingga meeting pun dapat dilakukan.
Teknologi semakin membantu para pebisnis untuk melebarkan sayapnya. Selain menggunakan software CRM, anda juga bisa tingkatkan angka penjualan dengan menggunakan strategi cerdas berikut.

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Sales tetap perlu Cold Calling , tidak cuma Social Selling

I believe in social selling. I believe that the tool kit that is social media has made the world much smaller, has given us an easier way to learn about our clients, and has provided a much easier way to both connect and nurture relationships.
I have won major accounts with relationships that were begun on social media, including LinkedIn, Twitter, and this blog. Social media and inbound marketing are helpful and sometimes effective tools.
But it is criminal negligence to suggest to salespeople that they no longer need to make cold calls (or pick up the telephone).
It’s easy to recommend that salespeople not pick up the phone when you don’t carry a bag. It’s easy to tell salespeople not to make cold calls when you don’t have a quota. It’s easy to tell salespople that the old ways of selling have died when your business model allows you to acquire clients more easily through social media and your blog.
If what you sell is designed to help salespeople better use social, it’s easy to sell the idea that they will no longer have to make their calls. But it is criminal negligence. You’re hurting people.
Would you take your own advice if you were that salesperson or their manager. Would you abandon the phone if your family was counting on you to support them? Would you stick with social media alone if you didn’t have a blog–or were forbidden to keep one? If you were a sales manager, would you stake your job on a prospecting plan that included social selling and inbound alone when opportunity creation is one of the biggest challenges any sales organization faces?
If the only way you can sell something is by convincing people that they can have the results they need without having to do what is necessary, you aren’t helping people. You’re selling snake oil. An honest approach would be to tell salespeople the truth, namely that they need to be able to use all prospecting methods available, including social selling. Not to use social media to prospect would also be criminal negligence.

Berikan training ini utk sales Anda, sebelum masuk ke Social Selling

If I could give salespeople training in only one thing, I would pick any of the fifteen things on this list before I would train them on “social selling.”
  1. How to Cold Call and Book Appointments: There isn’t anything higher on this list because cold calling is what would improve most salespeople’s results faster than anything else.
  2. How to Overcome Objections (or Resolve Concerns): No matter how good you are, without the language and rationale to deal with objections, you aren’t creating or winning an opportunity.
  3. How to Differentiate Themselves and Their Company: I’ve never asked a salesperson what make their company different and gotten a compelling response, even when their leadership team believes they know their differentiators.
  4. How to Leverage the Buying Cycle: Salespeople would benefit more from knowing how to serve their dream clients as they go through the stages of buying more than anything they might learn about Twitter.
  5. How to Understand What Makes an Opportunity: Unless and until your dream client agrees to pursue change with you, you don’t have an opportunity.
  6. Why They Need to Follow Their Process: Most companies don’t follow aprocess, and neither do their salespeople. I’d teach them why they should follow it and how it helps them win.
  7. How to Target and Nurture Their Dream Clients: Too little time, too many prospects. You have to focus on the clients for whom you create the most value. You need to nurture those relationships.
  8. How to Plan a Sales Call: Honestly, most salespeople don’t plan their sales calls at all. It’s a mistake to waste a client interaction.
  9. How to Open a Sales Call: Without the ability to open a sales call effectively, you quickly come across as an amateur and a time waster.
  10. How to Do Good Discovery: Without understanding your dream client’s most strategic needs, it’s difficult to be compelling, and it’s more difficult to frame your solution.
  11. How to Gain Commitments: First, most salespeople don’t know all the commitment they need, and when they do, they don’t have the language to gain those commitments. I’d teach them to close.
  12. How to Build Consensus: No one builds consensus on LinkedIn. Complex sales require consensus. Without it, you lose to the status quo.
  13. How to Think Like an Businessperson: In B2B sales, business acumen and situational knowledge are what allows you to create value. I’d teach this before I’d let the salesperson flounder around on Facebook.
  14. How to Tell a Story: One of the ways you prove how what makes you different makes a difference for your clients is through the stories you tell. Tweet that.
  15. How to Negotiate: Most salespeople crumble at the first question about price. I’d teach them to negotiate around value.
I could extend this list by another 15 competencies salespeople need more than they need social selling. If you want to build a personal brand that stands the test of time, being good at what you do counts for than being known.

Friday, April 3, 2015

10 Keuntungan dari Email Marketing

10 benefits of email marketing

Email marketing is utilised by thousands of businesses of all sizes across the globe. Those who are unfamiliar with this method of advertising may not immediately understand why it is so popular amongst companies in a variety of industries - but here are ten reasons why email marketing is seen by many as vital marketing tool... 

10. Low-cost

One of the most obvious benefits of email marketing is its lower cost compared to mainstream marketing channels. There are no print or postage costs and no fees paid in exchange for exposure on a certain billboard, magazine or television channel.  Email marketers might consider investing in specialist software to automate, track and evaluate their emails. Granted, there may be a small overhead for sending thousands of emails at a time, but these costs are far lower than what you would expect to pay using other marketing channels.

9. Target fans of your brand The Simplified Guide to Email Strategy

Email marketing is one of the only channels that consumers ask to receive. The majority of businesses utilising the platform only send messages to those who have signed up to receive them. This can allow for much higher conversion rates as a business is only targeting those who already have an interest in their brand. It is, of course, possible to send unsolicited email marketing messages, but this is only likely to annoy consumers and result in a damaged brand image. 

8. Segmentation

Most marketing professionals would happily pay to ensure they were only spending money targeting those who were interested in their brand. Email marketers can go one step further though, by only sending emails to subscribers who meet certain criteria.
If a franchise only has an offer on in certain areas of the country, it can easily arranged for emails to be sent only to those living in certain areas. If there is a sale on sports goods, it can be arranged for only those who have shown an interest in sports to receive an email.
Email list segmentation works fantastically for brands who gain information about their subscribers. Studies have shown that marketers who use this tactic often boast improved engagement rates as a result.  

7. Calls to action

Email marketing is great for taking advantage of impulse buying. There aren't many other marketing platforms which allow customers to go from witnessing an offer to purchasing an item within two clicks of a button. With a tempting call to action and a link straight to the checkout, email newsletters can drive sales like no other channel.

6. Easy to create

Email marketing doesn't necessarily require a huge team or reams of technical nous in order to be successful. It's certainly possible to jazz up an email campaign with fancy templates, videos, images and logos. Yet, some of the most successful campaigns utilise simple plain text emails, suggesting that it's the content of an email that is the most important thing.

5. Easy to track

Another key benefit of email marketing is that it's easy to see where you're going wrong. Most email marketing software will allow you to track open, click-through and conversion rates, making it simple to spot how a campaign can be improved. These changes can be made almost immediately too, whereas print or broadcast advertising requires quite a bit of effort to alter.

4. Easy to share

Subscribers can forward brilliant deals and offers to their friends at the click of a button. There aren't many other types of marketing that can be shared as easily as this. Before you know it, subscribers could become brand evangelists; focused on introducing your business to a new market.    

3. Global

What other marketing platform lets you instantly send a message to thousands of people across the world? Sure, social media can help you spread the word amongst a global audience - but there's no telling who's actually reading your content.

2. Immediacy

Due to the immediacy of email, a business can start seeing results within minutes of its emails being sent. A 24-hour sale is a brilliant marketing ploy that can be utilised by email, as it creates a sense of urgency and convinces subscribers to take immediate action. Businesses typically have to wait weeks until they see sales come in as a result of print or broadcast campaigns and, even then, how can they be sure what was responsible for the purchase?    

1. Return on investment

In the business world, results are arguably all that matters. With this in mind, the main reason that most businesses invest in email marketing is the fantastic return on investment. In 2011, the Direct Marketing Association estimated that email marketing typically returns £40 for every £1 invested. A number of sources have suggested that this is better than any other platform.

Gunakan Email untuk tingkatkan Konversi Rate Sales Anda.

How To Use Email Segmentation To Increase Your Conversion Rate

Written by Neil Patel on April 2, 2015
emails
Email segmentation is an effective strategy that can increase your email open rates by 203%. According to Emarketer, “39% of email marketers who segment their email lists, see better open rates, and 28% saw better email deliverability and earned more revenue.”
Your ideal customers are not all the same. Some of them will respond to your promotional emails, but the majority want something more: education and value.
The more value you give your subscribers, the more responsive they’ll become. That’s when your subscribers open your emails and click links. According toConvince and Convert, “44% of email recipients made at least one purchase in the last 12 months based on a promotional email.”
As proof that email marketing works, the chart below shows that for every $1 you invest into email campaigns, you’ll get a 40% ROI.
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Email converts better than SEO, display ads, and social media lead channels. If you haven’t gotten serious about email list segmentation yet, then this guide is for you.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to segment your email list, write better subject lines, improve sales conversion, and get more qualified visitors to your blog.
Lets dive into each of those steps:

Step #1: Learn the Basics of Email Segmentation

Email segmentation is simply the practice of dividing your email list into different parts or segments. Then, you can tailor unique messages to each individual segment.
Each stage of email segmentation takes into consideration the challenges your target audience faces and the reason why they joined your list in the first place.
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Essence of email marketing: You can craft a unique value proposition and build a solid rapport with your customers through email.
When you start marketing online, the essence of collecting leads is to have a ready-made audience who have permitted you to send informational and promotional email campaigns at regular intervals.
In his classic book, Email Persuasion, Ian Brodie showed how email marketing can help an online business owner captivate and engage an audience, generate massive sales, and establish authority.
All of this is easier when you segment your list and focus on the uniqueness of a specific segment. Email segmentation helps you discover untapped potential in your list and take advantage of it.
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Who should use email marketing? People ask me this question all the time. Most online marketers still believe that email marketing isn’t effective for every business model, but that’s not true.
It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in. If you deal with prospects and customers, then the best way to keep in touch with them is through email marketing.
Marketing in this context doesn’t mean that you’re always selling a product or service to your subscribers. It just means that you educate them on the resources that will solve their problems.
So, who should use email marketing? Among others, these people:
i). Authors: Do you write a blog or books? Or do you create and sell information products? Then you should use email marketing to connect with customers, network with fellow authors and notify prospects (and customers) when your new book or blog is live.
ii). Content Marketers: If your primary tool for reaching your target audience is content, do yourself a favor and build an email list.
Great content drowns without readers. Whenever I publish a new blog post, I send the live URL to my email subscribers. Within 24 hours, thousands of people will read and benefit from the post.
iii). Software Developers: It can take thousands of dollars to develop software, an app, or a plugin. Before you release it for sale, you have to test for bugs (errors).
However, if you’ve got a decent email list, you can let your subscribers try the beta version in exchange for their honest feedback. Without an email list, even if you let random people beta test for you, they might not send useful feedback. That’s because you didn’t build a meaningful relationship with them.
iv). Public Speakers, Consultants: Are you keynoting or presenting at an upcoming conference or event? You could significantly increase the number of attendees if you send invitations to your email list subscribers. Consultants also need an email list in order to maintain a steady flow of clients.
v). Digital Marketers, Information Marketers: Digital marketers can use email marketing to improve online credibility and communicate with their prospects. If you sell information online, make no mistake about it – growing an email list will give you a solid advantage.
vi). Manufacturers, Wholesalers & Retailers: People in this group who deal in physical products (e.g., shoes, apparel, cars, sports equipment) can use email marketing to notify prospects and customers about new deals, new arrivals, and new developments in their product lines.
Benefits of email marketing: Email marketing has at least 10 benefits that make it worth your while to invest in growing a loyal list of subscribers.
According to Radicati Group, the total number of email accounts worldwide is expected to surpass 4.9 billion by the end of 2017. Consumers accounted for 76% of all email accounts in 2013 and that number is expected to get bigger.
Mobile marketing may be dominating right now, but email has always trounced Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn. and blogging in terms of lead and sales generation. In a nutshell, the benefits of email include:
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Need more proof? Copyblogger increased their email sign up rate by 400% after the launch of their premium content platform, MyCopyblogger.
Email marketing myths: Myths are usually false beliefs that can hold prevent people from moving forward. In this case, they can also keep you from leveraging email marketing for your own business success.
So let’s eliminate some of the “common wisdom” myths that pervade the industry. In an Alchemy Worx infographic, you can see seven myths about email marketing – here’s one:
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Email marketing is highly case-specific. The exact strategy that works for another email marketer may not work for you.
But there’s no doubt that email marketing itself works.
Sometimes, even the smallest changes help. For instance, you could increase your email open rate by 203%, just by personalizing the subject line or adding somepower words.

Step #2: Get Started with Email Segmentation

In this section, I’ll give you an overview of email segmentation and teach you how to get started on its technical aspects.
Email segmentation – particularly what’s called “micro segmentation” – can trigger a response and increase click-through rates.
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Email list owners are beginning to realize that meeting customers at the point of their need is crucial. Consumers now expect brands to personalize their emails and make their emails more relevant to the customer’s needs.
Popular email segments: One of the benefits of email segmentation is that it enables you to respond to subscriber behaviors and thereby make each segment’s message relevant to those subscribers.
So how do you make sure each segment of your email list receives the right message? Simply follow these guidelines:
Geographic area: However large or small the geographic “spread” of your target market might be, you can use geography to segment your email list.
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In other words, you could create a special email category for people in a particular city or state. Better yet, divide your market – and your list – into different zones, states, and regions.
Purchase history: You might also segment your list by purchase history.
This is obviously helpful. After all, if a long-time subscriber has been buying from you for years, they’d be annoyed to receive messages clearly meant for new subscribers who have never purchased from you before.
Abandoned shopping carts: Do you know that 88% of U.S. consumers abandon a shopping cart each year? This happens for a number of reasons, but regardless of the reason, you can use email segmentation to close the loop and convert more sales.
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When you remind customers of their cart by email, you can often drive them back to your site to close the sale.
This is especially true when they abandoned the shopping cart because they weren’t prepared to finish the purchase at that moment. But regardless of the reason for abandoning the cart, a simple email reminder can recover the lost purchase.
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When your list puts these would-be buyers into a category of their own, you can keep in touch with them and persuade them to complete the order.

Step #3: Understand Your Email Marketing Service Provider

There are lots of email marketing service providers to choose from. The major players make segmentation much easier than it may seem at first. If you useAweber, Getresponse, MailChimp, or iContact, you can use built in tools to help yougrow your email list and communicate better with your prospects and customers.
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Email marketing service providers make lots of tools available which help you to define, test, send, and measure your emails and their effectiveness. Most providers also give you access to data and reports so you can evaluate your progress efficiently.
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Before you can segment an email list, you’ll need to understand how your own provider handles the segmentation process.
Above all, pay attention to your provider’s rules. This helps you stay compliant and successful. Adjust your settings according to their usage policy and don’t forget to enable a double opt-in feature.
How Getresponse handles email segmentation:
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Getresponse just released a useful report titled, “List Segmentation.” The purpose is to show you how you can take advantage of internal tools to categorize your subscribers and boost your email conversion rate.
They also provide advanced segmentation videos that will help you make the most out of your list’s segments.
Note: In Getresponse, email segmentation is handled by the “Automation” feature.
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However, before you segment your email list, you have to create two or more different campaigns in your account.
Follow these simple steps to create your campaigns:
Step #1: Sign up for or log in to your Getresponse account.
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Step #2: Click on current campaign and select “Create campaign.”
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Step #3: Name your campaign. Use a one-word name, or use a dash (-) to join two words (e.g., “sales-customer”). Click the “Create campaign” button.
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Note: The campaign name should be relevant. For example, if the segment is for blog readers, you could name it “BlogReaders.”
Repeat the process for each campaign you want to set up.
To find out how many campaigns you currently have, simply click the “current campaigns” tab at the top right. Then select the campaigns list.
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Now it’s time to segment your email list, based on the campaigns you’ve created. You should follow these simple steps:
Step #1: Click on “current campaigns” and select “Automation.”
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Step #2: Choose your rules. Then add the rules to your campaign.
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In the above screenshot, if you select “upon sale -> then move”, it simply means that once a subscriber buys your product, their email address should be moved from the general or default campaign to your new segmented campaign.
The subscriber will no longer receive the emails sent to your default campaign, because it’s been moved to a separate and segmented list.
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Getresponse gives a clear explanation what each each of the rules means:
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That’s the basic process to segment an email list campaign in Getresponse. If you use a different email service provider, the tutorials below will be helpful:
The do and don’ts: If you’re familiar with email marketing best practices, then you can bring the same principles to email segmentation. This infographic spells it out:
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Elements of a successful email segmentation: With 81% of marketers actively using email marketing to generate leads and increase sales, it’s very important that you approach list segmentation the right way to avoid losing your audience.
So, when you’re segmenting your email campaigns, make sure these elements are present:
i). Use a recognizable “from” name: What name will you use to send follow-up messages and newsletters to your subscribers? Subscribers want to see whether thesender name is the same one they saw when they signed up.
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It doesn’t matter how qualified your segments are: if your name looks confusing, it discourages people from opening. After all, they won’t even know who you are.
For example, this email I got from Banana Republic didn’t interest me, because the “from” name wasn’t clear enough.
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By way of contrast, this is how messages from Eben Pagan and Envato appeared in my inbox – relevant and recognizable names, with no abbreviations or acronyms:
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ii). Creating the right content: Segmenting a list will produce the best results for you when your content is aimed correctly at the selected group.
For example, if you’ve chosen a rule that says “upon sale -> then move,” it means that you need to tailor content to buyers. That content will logically be quite different from the content you’ll send to those who downloaded your free report.
iii). Two-way communication: This is really very important. What is your Reply-To-You email address? If it’s something like: no-reply@yourbrand.com, then you’re just closing the channel of two-way communication – that is, sending and receiving.Your reply email should be simple, relevant, and branded.
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iv). Use optimized subject lines: Another important element for a successful email segment is an optimized subject line. According to Litmus, you should keep subject lines useful, specific, and timely.
Avoid using spammy words as well as any words that might confuse or annoy your subscribers. Simple is best.
Yaro Starak makes sure that his email segments have all of these elements – andemail segmentation brought him an extra $31,940.
v). Personalization: Personalizing your email subject lines is optional, but it could yield up to a 6X higher transaction rate and 41% higher unique click rates.
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If you’re a Getresponse user, you can simply add a [[firstname]] code at the beginning or end of your subject line to display your subscriber’s first name.
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vi). Actionable metrics measurement: While open rates and click-through rates may be important, by themselves they won’t make any difference for your bottom line. They’re vanity metrics. You can’t really use those metrics to grow your business.
Instead, focus on the actionable metrics below. They’re much easier to analyze and improve:
  • Total number of qualified leads generated from email
  • Revenue per email sent
  • Return on investment per email
  • People who renewed their premium subscription from your emails
  • Total number of sales per email sent

Step #4: Customize Messages By Segments

Email list segmentation can improve your conversion rate.
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The difference between a segmented and a non-segmented list is pretty stark. For example, MailChimp reported its segmentation users saw a 90.79% higher click-through rate than their non-segmented list users.
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To send an email to a particular segment, simply exclude all other recipients from your campaign.
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Be careful when selecting recipients to exclude, so that you won’t send the right message to the wrong people.
Write relevant email subject lines: Your subscriber’s inbox gets crowded. That’s why you have to make your email subject lines useful, clickable, and short.
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Some email subject lines perform really well. For example, look at the one sent byManicube, a company that gives manicures at the customer’s office.
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Manicube used curiosity in their email subject line. We’re often asked to do something, but what happens when you ask people not to open the email?
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It’s short, but it makes people curious. You just need to make sure that when you use subject lines like this, your content is really useful and interesting. Otherwise you might piss off your subscribers, leading them to unsubscribe.
If you’re an SEO expert, a blogger, or a website designer, you could improve on this subject line. For example:
Search Traffic: Don’t Open This Email
Variation: Don’t Open This Email If You’ve Got Enough Site Traffic
Blogging Techniques: Don’t Click or Open This Email
13 Blogging Strategies You Shouldn’t Know
Website Design Trends: Don’t Open My Email
Website Design: I Don’t Want You To Open This Email
Recently, I signed up to several email lists in order to see how other marketers format their subject lines. To be honest with you, when I checked my inbox, only two subject lines caught my attention. Take a look:
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The first email subject line is from Daniel, a customer service guru at 2Checkout. I got interested in the email because, as a customer, I’m always up for an opportunity to benefit from the services that I use. The subject line isn’t about the brand, but about me and how my challenges can be addressed.
When writing your own subject line, focus on the benefit, and keep hitting on what the recipient will gain from reading.
The second email is from Yesware. Yesware is a trusted brand; it helps lots of people track when recipients click or open their emails.
The “from” name is Yesware, which is clear enough. The subject line is about the company itself, not me, but I’m excited about the case study.
“What 23 million emails taught us about long weekends”
I know that by opening and reading this email, I can learn one or more lessons from the analysis of 23 million emails.
Use this article from Hubspot to improve your email subject lines: 18 of The Best Email Subject Lines You’ve Ever Read
Use power words that inspire recipients to click: There are words you can use to inspire action and persuade your recipients to open and read your emails.
These words are called “power words.” They appeal to users’ emotions. They can linger in your subscribers’ minds. When these power words are used in headlines – and in subject lines – they can almost triple your click-through rates.
For example, Jon Morrow uses power words in every blog post he writes or edits:
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Take a look at this partial list of power words:
  • Powerful
  • Improve
  • Trust
  • Learn
  • You
  • Free
  • Immediately
  • Discover
  • Profit
  • Know
  • Understand
  • Best
  • Win
  • Hot Special
  • More
  • Bonus
  • Exclusive
  • Extra
Note: Some of these power words can cause your emails to be labeled as spam.Preview your emails carefully before sending them to your subscribers.
Also, send a test version to your inbox and confirm that you received it on your inbox.To be safe, use free.e or f.ree instead of “free.”
Shopify also uses power words in their email subject lines:
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Write copy that persuades: One of the best tips I’ve ever heard is Match Your Subject Line With Your Email Copy.
For example, if your subject line mentions “outsourcing techniques” then your copy should be about that, not “outsourcing websites” or “please buy my book.” Your copy and subject line should agree, and together they should solve a specific problem.
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Step #5: Understand the Reasons to Segment an Existing, Unsegmented List

Earlier, I showed you how to create new campaigns and segment your list. There are good reasons to segment your list. Before we discuss these reasons, here’s a success story:
Totes had a challenge. They were getting visitors to subscribe to their list, but only a few of them were actually responding to the emails. They decided to segment the list and within 14 months, they increased their email marketing revenue by 7,000%.
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Many subscribers who couldn’t buy their products responded positively to messages that were tailored to them.
Make sure you measure the impact of your messages. This helps you figure out what’s working and what’s not.
Without further ado, here are three core reasons why you should segment your unsegmented list:
i). Send focused campaigns: You can be laser-focused on your customers by segmenting your list. If you only set up one campaign or autoresponder for all your subscribers, then you’ll be sending generic messages that may not truly benefit every subscriber. Being personal helps you ensure that your campaigns hit a home run.
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For example, if some of your email subscribers abandon their shopping cart, you can send a message offering discounts or free shipping for purchases completed that day.
That kind of message would be meaningless to a new subscriber.
A typical example: A focused email campaign generated a 124% increase in social sharing for True Citrus.
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ii). Add personality to your messages: Earlier, you saw how MailChimp discovered that personalization increased the effectiveness of email campaigns across all segmented campaigns by 14% for the open rate, and 15% for click rates.
Email personalization can happen in two ways
a). When you use a “from” name that’s simple and meaningful (e.g., Neil Patel or QuickSprout)
b). When you address your recipients by their first name, full name, or last name. In Getresponse, the personalization short codes are: [[firstname]], [[fullname]], [[lastname]].
Consumers respond better to personalized email subject lines. See for yourself:
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iii). Encourage subscriber loyalty: Email segmentation helps build subscriber loyalty. This translates to higher customer retention rates.
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As you continue to build relationships with your subscribers by tailoring content to your different list segments, you’ll encourage subscribers to remain loyal to your brand. They’ll develop a higher level of trust.
As you segment your lists and campaigns, you’ll reduce unsubscription rate by 28% and minimize spam complaints by 15%.

Step #6: Understand Conversion Rate Optimization

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) basically refers to creating the best user experience and satisfaction for your visitors so that they’ll buy your product.Conversion rate optimization is concerned with leads and revenue and is an important topic to explore further.
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CRO helps you answer these questions: How many customers did your content attract, and what percentage of them converted to buyers?
Set up goals: Without a goal, you’re heading nowhere. This is critical in email segmentation. A goal gives you a direction that sheds light on every other step you take.
Set realistic goals for your email campaigns, then turn your plan into specific actions.For example, do you want to increase your number of subscribers? Do you want to improve open rates or click rates?
Be as specific as possible. Do you want to add 400 new subscribers to your segmented list this month or increase email open rates by 22%? It’s possible if you follow the steps outlined here.
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According to Admiral Grace Hopper, “one accurate measurement is worth more than a thousand expert opinions.” This means that when you set a goal for your email campaigns and segments, you’ll be able to measure your progress over time.
So what is the best way to set up goals and track your success? Click the link below:
Split test your email subject lines: The major reason for split testing email subject lines is to find out which campaign converts best for you. Most email service providers offer a feature that will help you conduct A/B split testing.
But before you conduct an A/B split test, make sure that your subject lines obey the rules, as stated by Copy Hackers.
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Joanna Wiebe split tested different email subject lines. Here are her results:
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For Getresponse users, it’s pretty easy to set up a split test.
Step one: Log in to your account. On the dashboard, select the ‘“create newsletter” tab.
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Step two: Switch ON the A/B Split test button.
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Step three. Click the “next step” button, then select your template. Click the “next step” button again.
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Step four: Choose your A/B Test Type – in this case, “Subject line.”
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Step five: Write the different subject lines you’d like to test. You can personalize some of them if you like.
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In the above screenshot, I’m testing two different email subject lines:
Content Marketing Part 4
vs.
Today’s Course: Content Marketing Part 4
You can click the “Add more” link to simply add as many subject lines as you’d like to test. If you’re just getting started with split testing, I’d recommend sticking to two options – A and B. You can explore more options with multivariate testing.
Step six: Configure your A/B test.
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Here, always set the “Send best message automatically” option to “OFF.” That way, your messages will only be sent when you approve them. You then choose the best message, perhaps by Open Rate or Click Rate, and adjust your timing to 1 day (or whatever your preferred timing is).
It’s equally important to get notifications once the test has been completed – i.e., when the message arrives in your subscriber’s inbox.

Conclusion

If you’re using SEO, social media, or email marketing, you’re working hard toincrease sales of your products/services. Even as recently as a few years ago, most internet marketers didn’t consider email segmentation a vital aspect of email marketing.
I think this is the major reason for the low open and click-through rates most people see when they send email campaigns. But the smart marketers who segment their lists have seen a 30% increase in email-generated revenue.
Without segmentation, it’s difficult to engage your subscribers and improve your conversion rate.
My parting advice… familiarize yourself with your email service provider’s tools. You can accomplish a lot in terms of contact management, email segmentation,marketing automation, and sales simply by using those tools properly.
Above all, stay consistent and never give up if you fail to reach your set goals. Follow the simple steps I’ve outlined above. You can succeed at email marketing, but it won’t happen overnight.
Have you segmented your email list? If yes, what’s your experience been like so far? If no, what’s stopping you?