When it comes to customer service and success, it's important to think of email as a channel that can accelerate the customer journey. In this talk, we'll be not just mapping out the customer journey, but showing you how to use email to create value for both the customer and your business as a whole. You will come away with practical models for implementing automation and other email marketing techniques to drive engagement, collect feedback, and make customers happy. #LitmusLive San Francisco 2016

1. Using Email to Automate
Customer Service and Success
#LITMUSLIVE #AUTOMATE
Ros Hodgekiss, Campaign Monitor

2. Who am I?
● Customer Success Programs Manager
at Campaign Monitor
● 10 years using email marketing
● #TEDC die-hard since 2013!
#LITMUSLIVE #AUTOMATE

3. Customer Success =
Optimizing how our customers use
our service, creating lifelong fans
#LITMUSLIVE #AUTOMATE
What do I do?

4. Customer Success Programs =
Developing scalable strategies for
customer service and success
#LITMUSLIVE #AUTOMATE
What do I do?

7. Campaign Monitor
is loved by over
2 million people
at 180,000
companies
around the world

8. 1. Why email
automation?
2. Planning the
customer journey
3. Automating the
customer journey
4. Takeaways
#LITMUSLIVE #AUTOMATE
What we'll
cover today

9. Why email automation?
#LITMUSLIVE #AUTOMATE

11. ● Customer Support
● Customer Success
● Technical Writing...
Customer Operations is...
WHY EMAIL AUTOMATION?

12. 1 to a few = High-touch
Customer Operations is...
WHY EMAIL AUTOMATION?

13. 1 to a few = High-touch
1 to 180,000 = Scalable!
Customer Operations is...
WHY EMAIL AUTOMATION?

14. Email automation...
WHY EMAIL AUTOMATION?
...Is when software automatically sends campaigns
to your customers and prospects, behind the
scenes, based on the rules you define.

15. ...Is when software automatically sends campaigns
to your customers and prospects, behind the
scenes, based on the rules you define.
Email automation...
WHY EMAIL AUTOMATION?
Why do it?
To send scalable, timely, and relevant messages that
result in higher engagement and higher revenue.

16. Email automation has proven ROI
WHY EMAIL AUTOMATION?
50%
Conversion rate in B2C*
60%
Revenue growth in B2B*
80% of marketers increase leads and conversions with marketing automation, some by 50%

17. But adoption is low
WHY EMAIL AUTOMATION?
Less than half of all businesses with
< $1B revenues use automation

18. But adoption is low
WHY EMAIL AUTOMATION?
Less than half of all businesses with
< $1B revenues use automation
You need specialist knowledge, specialized tools...

19. … or do you?

20. Planning the
customer journey
STRATEGY

21. Planning the customer journey
STRATEGY
1. The customer journey map
a. Evaluation
b. Growth
2. Measuring success with
customer feedback

22. The customer journey map
● Allows you to view key user milestones, from first touch,
to ongoing maintenance
● Summarizes a "perfect path" that a customer will take
● Provides a framework for measuring success
STRATEGY

23. The SaaS customer journey map
STRATEGY
AWARENESS EVALUATION GROWTH
DISCOVERY INTEREST LEAD ENGAGEMENT ADOPTION RETENTION EXPANSION

24. AWARENESS
DISCOVERY INTEREST
MILESTONES
METRICS
EVALUATION
LEAD ENGAGEMENT ADOPTION
ACCOUNT
SIGNUP
LEADS
GROWTH
RETENTION EXPANSION
PAYMENT MADE
CUSTOMERS
90-DAY CHURN
REVENUE
RETENTION NPS

25. Let's focus
on this...
STRATEGY
EVALUATION
LEAD ENGAGEMENT ADOPTION
ACCOUNT
SIGNUP
CUSTOMERS
MILESTONES
METRICS

26. Evaluation
STRATEGY
Goal: To guide people from trial to becoming a customer
Metric: Customer conversions

27. ● Call up new signups
● Manually send emails
● Hire a lot of new people
STRATEGY
The old way...

28. WELCOME
CREATE
CAMPAIGN
UPLOAD
LIST
SEND
CAMPAIGN
MAKE
PAYMENT
DID NOT
CREATE
DID NOT
UPLOAD LIST
DID NOT SEND
CAMPAIGN
DID NOT MAKE
PAYMENT
A1: CUSTOMER
EXAMPLE
B1: HOW-TO
GUIDE
C1: FEATURED
VIDEO
D2: PLAN
OPTIONS
C2: REPORTING
A2: QUICK
PEEK
LEAD POOL →
PRODUCT RELATED ONBOARDING EMAILS FOR UP TO 3 MONTHS POST SIGNUP
D1: ROI OF
EMAIL
24 HOURS
5 DAYS
10 DAYS
Evaluation, automated
STRATEGY
C. MONITOR
EMAIL
EVALUATION

32. AWARENESS
DISCOVERY INTEREST
MILESTONES
METRICS
EVALUATION
LEAD ENGAGEMENT ADOPTION
ACCOUNT
SIGNUP
LEADS
GROWTH
RETENTION EXPANSION
PAYMENT MADE
CUSTOMERS
90-DAY CHURN
REVENUE
RETENTION NPS

33. Let's focus
on this...
STRATEGY
GROWTH
RETENTION EXPANSION
PAYMENT MADE
90-DAY CHURN
REVENUE
RETENTION NPS
MILESTONES
METRICS

34. Growth
STRATEGY
Goal: To retain and grow paying customers
Metric: Revenue retention

35. ● Setup 1-on-1 training
● Email PDF guides...
STRATEGY
The old way...

36. PAYMENT
MADE
WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3
8a WELCOME 8d A/B TESTING
8e
AUTOMATION
WELCOME
WEBINAR
8a PREMIER
WELCOME
8b ANALYTICS
C. MONITOR
EMAIL
1 DAY
3 DAYS
Onboarding, automated
STRATEGY
8c LIST
BUILDING
GROWTH

38. How do we know we're on
the right track…?
STRATEGY

39. Measuring success with
customer feedback
STRATEGY

41. Customer feedback
STRATEGY
Goal: To collect, triage and follow up on customer
feedback, measure the impact of our strategies
Metrics: Net Promoter Score, Customer Satisfaction

42. "FEEDBACK
MACHINE"
Customer feedback, automated
STRATEGY
FEEDBACK
SURVEY
IN-APP
CUSTOMER
SUPPORT
ENTIRE TEAM
PRODUCT
TEAM

46. How can you
accelerate
the customer
journey?

47. Automating the
customer journey
TACTICS

48. Automating the customer journey
An automated journey is one or more emails designed to
move people towards customer journey milestones and
fulfilling business goals.
Effective automated journeys are contextual and timely.
TACTICS

49. Automating the customer journey
Each automated journey has 3 components:
● Triggers
● Rules
● Content
TACTICS

50. TRIGGERS
Gather data to trigger an
"automated journey"
Automating the customer journey
TACTICS

51. TRIGGERS
Gather data to trigger an
"automated journey"
Automating the customer journey
TACTICS
● Specific dates
● App events
● Changes in user status
● Upcoming dates...

52. TRIGGERS
Gather data to trigger an
"automated journey"
Automating the customer journey
TACTICS
● Signup date
● Created a campaign
● Plan type
● Renewal date...

53. TRIGGERS
Gather data to trigger an
"automated journey"
Automating the customer journey
TACTICS
ECOMMERCE
ANALYTICS
APP
CRM

54. TRIGGERS
Gather data to trigger an
"automated journey"
Automating the customer journey
TACTICS
CRM
ECOMMERCE
ANALYTICS
APP
API

55. TRIGGERS
Gather data to trigger an
"automated journey"
Automating the customer journey
TACTICS

56. RULESTRIGGERS
Gather data to trigger an
"automated journey"
Define the rules
Automating the customer journey
TACTICS

57. RULES CONTENTTRIGGERS
Gather data to trigger an
"automated journey"
Define the rules Create the content
Automating the customer journey
TACTICS

58. RULES CONTENTTRIGGERS
Customer makes a payment Send to customer immediately "Welcome!"
Automating the customer journey
TACTICS

59. RULES
CONTENT
TRIGGERS
Customer makes a payment If more than $500:
Send "VIP Email"
Else:
Send "Thank you"
"You're a VIP!"
Automating the customer journey
TACTICS
CONTENT
"Thank you."

62. Different platforms, same idea
TACTICS
RULES CONTENTTRIGGERS
Gather data to trigger an
"automated journey"
Define the rules Create the content

63. What's under the hood
TACTICS

64. #LITMUSLIVE #AUTOMATE
Takeaways

65. Takeaways
#LITMUSLIVE #AUTOMATE
Can you...
1. Map your customer journey?
2. Accelerate the customer journey?
3. Link triggers, rules and content?

66. #LITMUSLIVE #AUTOMATE
Thank you!
Ros Hodgekiss, Campaign Monitor
@yarrcat / @campaignmonitor