" No news, good news." Really? 🤔
This well-known adage does not always apply in our professional lives governed by digital modes of communication.
If you do not receive news from a prospect or a customer, you will probably have to roll up your sleeves to get back to him… and get what you expect from him.
As a salesperson, you may get lucky and come across a very responsive prospect who will respond to your email within the hour. If so, so much the better!
But as you know, this ideal situation is unfortunately not the norm. Having to manage more and more solicitations, your prospect may never give you feedback, if he was not invited again.
We therefore understand that customer reminders by email are often essential to follow up on a request and optimize your chances of obtaining a result.
So how do you proceed? Here we give you 7 effective techniques and 5 examples to adapt to inspire you and give you a boost in this not-so-obvious exercise. Here we go!
Customer reminder by email: why is it important?
First, what is a reminder email?
The reminder email is a message sent by email to re-contact one or more recipients who have not responded after a first request.
Different scenarios may require this type of message to be sent:
- a follow-up email for a commercial proposal,
- a reminder e-mail for the payment of an invoice,
- an e-mail following up on an application to request a meeting,
- a reminder message to register for an event,
- a prospecting emailing to acquire new customers, etc.
We will focus in particular on customer reminder email, although some techniques can be applied in other contexts.
💡 Note: customer reminders don’t just mean coming back knocking on the door with the same arguments. It is also an opportunity to go further and bring more value to your contact. She therefore calls on your creativity to find new ways to encourage your contact to act (signature, registration, making appointments, etc.).
What is it used for?
In our digitalized professional world, the follow-up email is almost inevitable for your customer, partner or prospect to follow up on your request.
There are many reasons for not responding to:
- a simple oversight,
- lack of time,
- a delay due to leave or another type of prolonged absence of the recipient,
- a long internal decision-making process,
- disagree with the proposal,
- no interest in the service or product offered,
- the recipient is not the right interlocutor, etc.
But what is the real objective behind all this? We do not restart an email like a bottle in the sea (no, no).
The purpose of recovery is not to get an answer at all costs. It is above all a question of establishing a commercial relationship of trust with your prospect or customer, of taking care of the customer experience and of activating the first levers of customer loyalty. All of it! Do not doubt the power of email which, if used well, can pay off big. 😉
Writing a reminder email is not necessarily easy, nor your cup of tea (we can understand it!). This exercise can even be uncomfortable, even intimidating, and not bear fruit if you have not integrated some good practices. We offer you just some of them below!
How do I follow up with a customer by email? 7 techniques
#1: Capture your recipient’s attention
Let’s start with the basics: the subject of your email is the first element to take care of to attract the attention and arouse the interest of your recipient.
First, the subject must allow him to perceive the usefulness of the content of your email. For example, in the context of B2B prospecting emails:
- The 5 most common mistakes in SEO
- 11 Pro Tips for Your Social Media Strategy
- This will revolutionize e-commerce in 2023
So you show him right away what you can bring useful for his activity.
Another possibility, an effective object can also pique the curiosity of your customer or prospect, who will absolutely want to discover the content of the email.
You can play on the intriguing aspect of your wording to trigger the desire to open your email. For instance:
- What my biggest failure taught me
- Incredible news!
- The big launch is now
That said, using these types of lines in email subject lines can cause the opposite effect and indifference. For best results, an approach combining both utility and curiosity will be advised, such as this example in the context of a relaunch:
- Here is my best offer and it is for you!
As part of an exchange with an already qualified customer or prospect, you can reply from your last email. Depending on the context, it remains a good practice to keep past email exchanges to recall previous discussions, so that your interlocutor does not have to look for information in other emails. That said, you can edit the object, and remove the automatic mentions “TR:” or “FW:”.
#2: Be direct and concise
The conciseness of your email, once opened, will be your ally. Assume that the other person, regardless of their role, won’t have much time to spend reading your email. A long block of argued text will probably not (at all) have the desired effect.
Even if it sounds somewhat directive, announce the color without beating around the bush. In other words, specify from the outset what you are proposing and what you expect from your recipient, i.e. the action he will have to perform.
No need to wrap your message in flowery formulas or take side roads. The intention behind your email must be grasped quickly!
#3: Avoid tracing the history of your contact attempts
You might want to start your follow-up email by alluding to your previous (and unsuccessful) contact attempts. Our advice: do not go back on the silence of your interlocutor.
By starting your follow-up with a formula such as “I sent you an email last Thursday, but still haven’t heard from you” or “I tried to reach you yesterday afternoon, but you didn’t come back to me”, the approach could be guilt-inducing for your prospect. His way to avoid this potential embarrassment? Extend the silence.
So, to hope for a response from your prospect or customer, do not dwell on the previous times you tried to reach him without success. Instead, think of each reminder as an independent interaction from other exchanges, and with a warm and engaging message, your recipient will be more likely to follow up on you.
#4: remember the benefits of your offer
To increase your response rate, here’s another tip. Include a standard line in your dunning templates reminding you of the merits of your product or service.
Without dwelling on the detailed presentation of your company, remind your prospect or customer of the benefits of your offer for his activity. You suggest the good reasons to answer you, and why he should take action.
#5: Vary your approaches
If your prospect or customer does not respond to several requests, it may be wise to rethink your approach: is it appropriate? Could you try another one?
As a salesperson, you interact with your recipient to lead him to perform a (more or less) engaging action, such as: downloading a white paper, registering for an event, scheduling an interview, making a product presentation or providing information… These different incentives are part of the success of the business process.
To maximize your chances of receiving a response, ask yourself if making the same request over and over again takes into account your recipient’s need, even through different channels. For instance:
- propose by e-mail to make a telephone appointment,
- propose the same telephone exchange by message on answering machine,
- go through LinkedIn to formulate the same proposal, etc.
After repeated silence, you might see that a blockage is probably present, so let’s make way for your plan B! Instead of asking for the opportunity to talk to the other person, try to get more general information.
For example: “I would like to better understand your organization. Who can I contact to find out more about [this project, this team, etc.] ?”
By varying your requests, you open new doors and find that your prospect may be more inclined to engage in one way than another.
#6: Choose the right timing
To get the most out of your customer reminders and not lose sales opportunities, your emails must be divided judiciously over time.
The whole question is to find a subtle balance between a regular sending frequency so that your business does not fall into oblivion, and a controlled spacing to avoid being too intrusive.
Here are some best practices for keeping the timing right:
- A maximum of 5 follow-up emails over a period of 30 to 45 days.
- No more than 10 days elapsed between two follow-up emails
- In BtoB, no emails on weekends, on weekdays rather from Tuesday to Thursday.
- For schedules, you can try several strategies, to see which one best suits the habits of your target.
💡 Tip: the best timing is still that of your prospect or customer. Take an interest in him and agree on a date that will suit him for his decision or to send you a response. For your part, commit not to relaunch it before this date.
#7: Don’t give an ultimatum
After several reminders remained unanswered, you may be tempted to play the card of the “last time”. Thinking that this notion of urgency could inspire your prospect or customer to take action.
Except that it would be a shame to ruin your beginning of commercial relationship by being yourself at the origin of the break of the link, while you are addressing a qualified prospect.
Instead of writing a formula such as: “It seems that you do not give interest to what I propose to you. So this is my last attempt to try to convince you”; Instead, try wording along these lines: “My offer doesn’t seem to me to be suitable for your needs at this time. I do not wish to solicit you further if it is not useful to you. I will follow up in a few months to assess whether our respective objectives allow us to move forward together.”
Thus, you do not close a door permanently on your relationship (or on a sale that could happen in the near future!). You take into consideration the timing of your prospect, while remaining assertive and fitting into the action.
💡 Tip: It is sometimes very effective to announce a deadline, in order to speed up decision-making and trigger the action desired by your prospect. For example, your rates will increase after a certain date, so your interlocutor would avoid paying more if he bought your offer before the increase.
Example of a customer reminder email
Subject : Which marketing tool will meet your needs?
Hello Sidonie,
I get back in touch with you following our first exchange about your marketing tools needs.
Many marketing professionals, like you, are hesitant about the plethora of software on the market.
I think {name of product/service} could meet your need, because {added value}.
Would you be available this Thursday at 2pm to discuss it?
Thank you for your response.
Excellent week,
Armel
{Signature}
🌟 Writing tips:
- The subject is clearly identifiable: 1 email = 1 subject.
- The message is personalized: we do not perceive that it is a template or an email sent to - your entire contact base.
- The text should not be too long: ideally between 60 and 80 words.
- The message includes a call-to-action: this takes the form of a direct, clear and engaging question.
5 customer reminder templates by email
Scenario 1: Follow-up after a meeting at a professional event
Subject : Let’s work on {problem encountered by your prospect}!
Hi {First Name},
I’m delighted to have met you at the {event name} last week.
I was particularly interested when we discussed {problem encountered by your prospect that was mentioned during your discussion}.
Would you be available on Wednesday afternoon to discuss it?
Can you please tell me which niche would suit you?
Have a nice day,
{Your signature}
Scenario 2: Follow-up following a call or presentation appointment
Subject: Next steps for {name of project or mission}
Hello {First name},
Thank you for our exchanges last week about {problem encountered by your prospect that was mentioned during your discussion}.
I’d love to start working on {project or assignment you’d like to propose} to help you {solve this problem, bring this benefit}.
If it suits you, you will find attached a form to complete with your information in order to start our collaboration.
The next step will be to {give visibility into the rest of the process in one sentence}.
Thank you in advance for your return!
Excellent day,
{Your signature}
Scenario 3: Follow-up after an email requiring action
Subject : Form for {project or mission name}
Hello {First name},
I hope your week is going well. Have you had a chance to look at the form I sent you last week?
Do you have any questions about this? Do not hesitate to contact me if you need extra time or if you encounter the slightest difficulty.
Thank you,
{Your signature}
Scenario 4: Reminder after sending an invoice that has fallen due
Subject : Invoice due for {project or mission name}
Hello {First name},
I hope you are well. Have you had a chance to look at the invoice I sent you on {invoice dispatch date}? I understand that this is a very busy time for you. Do not hesitate if you need me to send it to you again or if you have any questions about the details of the amount charged.
Thank you,
{Your signature}
Scenario 5: Follow-up after sending a quote
Subject : Quote for {project or mission name}
Hello {First name},
I hope you are well.
Have you had a chance to look at the quote I sent you on the {date you sent your proposal} for the {project or mission reminder}? I look forward to starting our collaboration on {project or service you offer} to bring you {the main benefit your prospect will get from your offer}. I remain at your disposal if you have any questions about the quote.
Thank you,
{Your signature}
Simplify your customer reminder emails with a CRM!
Send the right message to the right recipient at the right time… complicated? Not so much with a suitable tool!
By choosing to use CRM software, you have access to advanced customer relationship management features:
- Follow-up of your contacts and your exchanges with them,
- Indicators and dashboard updated in real time,
- Creation of automatic emailing scenarios, with customization options,
- Email writing tool directly included on the platform, with email templates that you can pre-define, etc.
This is what Corymbus offers you: qualify your prospects and take care of the customer relationship continuously thanks to a software designed for your needs. No more customers are left out, and therefore none will miss your offer!
In conclusion: do not fear customer reminders, dare!
We hope that these few techniques and tips have helped you to play down the exercise of customer reminder. If it is not always comfortable to insist or put yourself forward, keep in mind that customer reminders can also be perceived positively.
With the forms and a cleverly orchestrated timing (thanks to a CRM!), the reminder email reflects your motivation with your interlocutor and your determination to receive an answer: you make you want to work with you, subscribe to your offer or partner with you.
🤝 Once again, the main thing is at stake in the quality of commercial relationship that you are able to weave. It is also the mark of your professionalism. Then… Dare to relaunch!
