Drip Marketing
Ever wondered how you get a mail notification about a particular thing which you had just signed up for, or were just roaming around the internet for that thing? It was just very recently when I had to develop a report on the strategies used by Amazon for its international expansion in different countries. I needed to use the site Academia for this purpose. That led me to create an account on Academia, to get access to numerous research and review papers from across diversities. Here is what I got in my mail the next moment.
A few days later, when I went back to Academia to search for papers, I found that a mail had already been dropped in my inbox. Then recommendations started popping in my inbox, giving me different purchase packages to upgrade from, and subsequently the benefits that I would get if I upgrade my viewing package.
As a student, I would definitely be looking for places where I would get a chance for grants and fellowships. The mail stated:
I also received a mail that gave me suggestions on the people to follow in the community. This is what we know as drip marketing, where the marketeers would try to keep us in constant contact with their product.
What is Drip Marketing? An email marketing strategy composed of multiple emails sent out at different instances of time to the consumer/potential customer, at specific times and dates. This kind of marketing is done in the form of drip campaigns, where these campaigns are targeted to certain segmented users. The primary motive of these campaigns in to “attract the right subscribers”.
The users are segmented based on demographics, their purchase history, and the kind of emails they have opened in the past. They are also segmented on the basis of the aspect of the service they are interested in.Drip campaigns are implemented using marketing automation – we do not have to type the mails when a new lead has been identified for our product.
Drip marketing gets its name from drip irrigation – We slowly develop a relationship with our users by giving them information.It’s all about giving the users the right information at the right time, and keeping them interested in you
Key elements of a drip marketing campaign.
Triggers: These cause the entry of a new lead in the drip process. They set the drip campaign in motion. Example: a first-time user registering on the app/website, unpurchased items in the shopping cart.
Conditions: Second step in the drip process. These conditions might need to be met for actions to be taken. Example: After the lead has been generated, wait for 3 days to send the second mail after the welcome mail, or wait for an actual click to happen.
Actions: Actual engagement events – automated mails. Example: The customer review mails, cart abandonment mails etc.
Important features of Drip
- It is super relevant, as every lead is unique, and with drip, you cater to each and every lead.
- Drips engage the leads with a very personalized approach. They are highly effective because they catch the attention of the lead emotionally, and form an emotional and a personalized connect with them.
- Based on user behavior, my example of Academia is a proof.
- It is a set of pre-written emails, which are automated and set on a schedule.
The trigger can be an action (buying a book, completing a purchase, signing up for a free product trial, subscribing to a blog) or an inaction (not completing the purchase, not clicking an email, not using the app for a month). Let us know your experiences of drip campaign in the comment section below.
About Author: Kartikeya Jauhari is a marketing enthusiast and is currently pursuing an MBA from SIBM Bengaluru. He has a love for writing, traveling, and photography. Most of his writings are a reflection of his experiential learning.
