The all important welcome email

We often say in sales and marketing that first impressions count. But no less important than first impressions are lasting impressions.

I am in the process of immigrating to the UK and have taken up services with a bank, as it is the most pressing need – I cannot get an apartment or anything else for that matter without a bank account. I have been less than impressed with the correspondence that has followed my engagement with the bank and unfortunately this is going to be the lasting impression I have of them.

Not a very memorable experience
I gave the bank my email address, but at no point was I welcomed as a new client, nor given the step-by-step guide on what to expect. To be fair I was given brochures regarding the account I opened, but they were promotional, so my immediate reaction was to throw them away as I knew what account I had opted for. Some simple, personalised emails would have made the experience a more memorable one for me and possibly created a customer for life. Here are some emails I would have been happy to receive:

• Welcome – we're so happy you've joined us. Here are the numbers you need to keep close by...
• Your card has just been dispatched
• You haven't logged into Internet Banking yet. How can we help you?

the beginning of my lifecycle with the bank. Understanding Lifecycle Messaging is key to creating masterful relationships with your clients as well as new opportunities for sales.

Simply put, a Lifecycle Messaging strategy is one that looks at key milestones in the relationship you have with your client and structures messaging to occur on those milestones. By ensuring your messaging has a clear purpose, you are able to drive your point home more effectively.
The alternative – which many companies still consider to be the norm – is to communicate only when it is convenient for you, which has no relevance to clients. No wonder clients tire of receiving most communication that comes their way.

And what are those milestones? The anniversary of the day they bought your product or signed up for your service, an upgrade notification, a birthday trigger for example. The most important thing to remember when using these triggers is to personalise and make your first communication special, rather than just sending the normal business-like email message.

The welcome message marks the start of the conversation (and there is nothing like an unexpected introduction to help move things swiftly along.)

As the start of the conversation, a welcome email is also far more likely to be opened. This gives you the perfect opportunity to get your email priority placement in the inbox, with the introduction of the smart inbox within the web email environment. Once the client has interacted with that email (opened / clicked / replied), future emails are likely to get priority placement, rather than being categorised as graymail or unimportant.

Amongst other things, the welcome message should:

• Give your clients information on what they've just signed up for and what they can expect
• Give them contact details and service details where applicable
• Serve as an instant confirmation that the email address exists and is
  valid. Should the email bounce, this is a perfect opportunity to gather
  an updated email address by sending a text, calling the
  member/subscriber or ensuring that a notification appears next time they
  log into your site

Also, since this is the first interaction with your client, you could use the opportunity to get more information from them, such as their desired frequency of communication and their likes and dislikes (depending on the communication you're sending out).

The welcome email isn't only about the start of the relationship, it also encompasses any new services the client has signed up for and should know more about. These include when and how to expect their bills, the process for insurance policies and what can be expected, etc.

These first impressions all form part of the customer's lifecycle with your company and are just as important as the live conversation you have with them. Isn't it time you thought more about making your first impression a lasting one?

I'd love to hear about a proper welcome you've received – or not!

* P.S. Google's new priority inbox is going to affect the way all your client communications are prioritised, so making sure your welcome email gets read is now going to affect the way all your client communications are prioritised...look out for a follow up blog to find out how you can get priority status for your emails.

Mia Papanicolaou
Innovative messaging specialist
striata.com