Last week I received an email from COACH regarding their classic tote (in addition to the 50 other emails I receive from retailers). I like nice purses and totes, so I decided to take a quick look. While on the site, I set my eye on two that might work for me—the gorgeous Bleecker Legacy Leather Weekend Tote and the Poppy Leather Glam Tote. I also accidentally checked out a men’s wallet in the “you might also like” section. But it was easy to decide that the bags were far too expensive, and I went back to work forgetting all about the luxurious bags.
The very next day, I received another email from COACH, which I thought was odd since I usually receive one email per week. But this email was different. And impressive. The message said, “We Think You’ll Like These A Lot,” and there were pictures of the only three items I even gandered at. Talk about dynamic lead nurturing!
As Chad said in Friday’s post, dynamic lead nurturing is much more advanced than static lead nurturing. The retailer must track a visitor’s previous purchases (I don’t have any of those) and pages visited to compile targeted and personalized recommendations, in this case sent via email.
Being a marketer myself, I know that the leather retailer is attempting to push top-of-the-funnel leads further down the sales funnel using its targeted, personalized email. They have made it so easy and enticing to simply click through the email and land on the purchasing page for the item I am practically drooling over. The page instantly shows several images and a slew of customer reviews (4.9 stars out of 5, not bad!). They have taken all the right steps to create online customers out of those of us naive enough to agree to a newsletter.
This sort of dynamic email lead nurturing requires pretty advanced and pretty expensive software, which COACH can afford. But is it worth it? I still have yet to buy any bag via COACH’s website, but I have to be honest, I was genuinely intrigued when I received that second email. And when I saw that beautiful bag staring at me once more, I almost broke down and bought it.
This is why dynamic lead nurturing works so well. Although I am not ready to buy now, I may be when I get a promotion or raise (or another pay check). In the meantime, COACH is collecting my information, likes and dislikes and can gently remind me of the classic bag I was coveting weeks, months or even years from now. If your sales cycle is 1 year or even 5 years long, just imagine the possibilities here.
So while it didn’t work in the sense that I am a proud tote-owning customer yet, I would admit that I have gone from a top-of-the-funnel lead to a middle-of-the-funnel prospect and can feel myself slipping further. Thanks a lot, COACH. Enjoy my next paycheck.
What examples of dynamic lead nurturing have you seen? Let us know in the comments below. And for more information about lead nurturing, check out “11 Steps for Online Lead Nurturing—Tuesday’s Tips & Tactics.”
