Selling software as a service (SaaS), particularly in a business to business (B2B) setting requires a nuanced approach in order to achieve customer success, which in turn is vital to the success of your business. Smooth on-boarding of new customers is crucial to growth in the field of SaaS as customers expect fast and easy set-up and immediate results. Effective communication with your existing clients also ensures that they become loyal lifetime customers and maintaining retention of their interest in your software will also lead to recommendations as they refer other clients to your product. Paying close attention to the type of emails your marketing and customer support departments send out to both clients and potential leads is vital. The message that your emails get across to your audience can make or break your company; with consumer email inboxes being inundated with hundreds of sales pitches daily, striking the right balance between simplistic efficiency and personalized attention to detail is paramount. There are a number of tried and tested strategies here to utilise best practices for customer success, and we have researched the nine most important emails you can send out to your clients for effective communication that achieves results all round.
1. The Welcome Email
One of the most important emails your team must send out, is a carefully worded welcome email to new customers. You will need to familiarise them with your brand and your product, set the tone for your relationship and make them feel good about their initial interaction with you. First impressions really do count here, so make sure your initial point of contact is swiftly executed and personalised to make the customer feel special. This email needs to build momentum with your client so that they feel motivated to follow through with their initial decision, and the ideal way to go about this is to include a boldly worded call to action or clickable button that sets the customer a goal to proceed with for their next step in setting up their software package.
2. The Support Email
Many clients struggle with the initial set-up of software that they are not familiar with. In order to avoid frustrations surfacing with respect to this, it is good practice to follow up your welcome email with a support email outlining answers to frequent problems, providing links to extra guidance and offering friendly, approachable, tailored help options via your software customer support team. A positive introductory tone from your support team in this type of email can make a significant difference to customer perception of the product. Most of the interactions that your customers will make over the lifetime of their product plan will be with your customer support team should any issues with the software arise, so this is a really important area in which to build a trustworthy rapport. To go the extra mile, use what data analysis you have at your disposal to check up on your client’s usage, and pre-empt any potential glitches or bugs ahead of time.
3. The Thank You Email
All consumers respond positively to good manners and gratitude from businesses that they have chosen to invest their time and money into. While recipients of the “Thank You” email are unlikely to spend much time responding and may only briefly scan this follow-up message, it will nevertheless score you brownie points in their general perception of your brand and keep your company at the forefront of their mind. While it may seem like a small gesture, you can make additional use of this type of email by politely requesting customer feedback. This is a good opportunity to engage further with your clients and develop a lasting relationship, by troubleshooting early and responding to their opinions.
4. The Product Changes Email
All software services require fundamental fixes and updates from time to time. This is a necessary aspect of an industry that relies on current behavioural trends and technology. However, humans are often innately resistant to change and as such, when surprised by unexpected software updates can feel alienated. Ensure that your clients are aware in advance of any changes you intend to make to your software in order to prevent any frustration in this area, and list how it will affect their usage.
5. The Advertorial Email
Many software service users do not make full use of the potential capabilities of the product they invest in, and as a result can end up dissatisfied with it’s productivity. Wise words from our tame tech blogger, Jonathan Saunders at Big Assignments and Paper Fellows, are to “keep your clientele up to date with creative new ways to utilise your product by sending them handy how-to tutorials.”
6. The Incentivised Plan Email
Generating a new lead is always great for growth, but so is building on existing leads. Encourage existing clients to upgrade their plan by up-selling or cross-selling them your premium packages. You can incentivise this type of action by marketing a discounted deal for new or loyal customers, or by offering a free trial period during which they can experience the benefits for themselves.
7. The Business Blog Email
When it comes to engaging with new clients, publishing free content is one of the most effective tools. Consumers have been shown to respond best to businesses that provide the most accessible information, so circulating a regular company blog is a real winner. This type of content can make good use of positive testimonials and also provide helpful guidance from software experts. You can also use customer success story templates to show your previous clientele.
8. The Milestones Email
Finally, we have a great piece of advice from a professional email writer at Essay Help and Boomessays. Eva Santiago stresses the importance of “give[ing] your clients something to celebrate. Mark important milestones in your customer- relationship with a personalised email and share your business achievements with them too.” Success breeds success, so ensuring your customers are aware of your progress as a competitive company will likely encourage lifetime value from them.
Armed with these nine varieties of emails to send to your clients, your software service business is certain to prosper. Keep your content simple and friendly, with personalised touches where possible, and that all important consumer relationship will ensure your clients stay on board, wherever your business is headed.
About the Author
E-learning consultant, Lauren Groff, writes at Essay Writing Service and Paper Writing. Lauren’s also contributes to State Of Writing.
