You’ve just netted a new customer. Perhaps they’ve purchased their first product from you, or maybe their organization has subscribed to your service. Congratulations! Now that you’ve moved them from the ranks of “Leads” to “Bona Fide Customers,” what do you do with them?
We suggest that you reach out to them via email. What should you say? Here are a few ideas for crafting emails for new customers that will keep them coming back – and even turn them into promoters for your brand.
3 Tips for Crafting Emails for New Customers
1. Define Your Goals Before You Start
Personalized emails for new customers aren’t one-size-fits-all. Before you begin writing, ask yourself what the purpose of the email will be. Obviously, you’d like to delight new customers and convert them into repeat customers — but how do you plan to accomplish this?
One method is to establish a personal relationship. This could mean an email directed at the individual (“Hi John! Welcome to the fold!” instead of “Welcome, New Customer!”). According to HubSpot, the clickthrough rate is higher for email messages that include the first name of the recipient in the subject line. The message may also be personalized by your organization’s founder or current leadership.
Greet the customer and thank them for becoming an essential part of your company. After all, without your clients, you couldn’t do what you do! Research shows that customers enjoy getting a thank you email; it makes them feel genuinely appreciated.
Also consider presenting your new customers with something of value. This may come in the form of a coupon, special promotion, or exclusive product or service available only via your email newsletter. It could also be carefully-selected content that contains information your customer will find useful. The latter is the key to engaging with and maintaining the attention of your customers without constantly throwing overt sales pitches at them. Even if you don’t provide them with high-quality original or curated content in the very first email, this is something you should begin doing as you move forward.
2. Hold Their Attention
Whether your email is a simple welcome message or one that offers something more, keep it short and simple. The average inbox is deluged with emails on any given day; even if you’ve enticed your new customers to open your email by crafting a scintillating subject line, if the message drones on or has little white space, the recipient isn’t likely to move farther than, “Hi, Bob!”
Know your audience. Will a short, written message resonate better with them, or will it be more impactful to use a few images and bold colors? The former is more appropriate for a professional B2B-type of communication, while if your organization deals in mostly B2C relationships, the latter may be suitable.
Whatever method you choose, keep the email straightforward and visually appealing. It should be organized so that your recipient can easily skim through it to decide if they want to read it in more detail.
3. Make Readers Click Through
Whatever the content of your email, keep the engagement going by enticing your customer to click through. You can do this by saving some key information for a post on your website rather than presenting it all in your email.
For instance, if a customer has just purchased a new product from you, welcome them to your customer family and congratulate them on their purchase. Explain how their new product or service is full of amazing features and offer a link to the part of your website where they can learn more.
Maybe your new customer’s organization has just signed up for a service offered by your company. Help the new buyer understand the full extent to which their business will benefit from your service; provide a link to a white paper on a topic pertinent to your service and/or their industry.
Statistics show that attracting new customers can cost anywhere from 5 to 25 times more than keeping the ones you already have. Customer retention starts on day one — and a well-crafted initial email can be the first step in your long-term strategy to turn a one-time customer into one that’s yours for life.
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