The product is the first channel for progress in PLG. In actual fact, that’s the very definition of the idea. However different channels additionally assist speed up progress. And e mail advertising and marketing is among the finest for product-led companies as a result of it:
- Has a excessive return on funding (ROI) ($36 for each $1 spent)
- Reaches the manager sponsor who doesn’t spend a whole lot of time utilizing the product
- Is efficient in bringing again disengaged, distracted, and churned customers
- Permits the communication at scale required for top-of-funnel PLG ways
- Delivers personalization at scale
E-mail enhances your PLG technique at each stage of your buyer journey.
Get able to be impressed by these seven product-led e mail campaigns you possibly can run utilizing Amplitude information, together with an e mail supplier that ingests CDP occasions like Inflection.io.
1. Onboarding emails
The highest issue that distinguishes an important onboarding e mail from others is and at all times has been personalization. Loom is a good case examine on the best way to use personalised onboarding emails to drive PLG.
Loom personalizes the primary e mail customers obtain with choices to hitch an present workspace, create a brand new workspace, or use the product for a private venture. (The non-public venture customers don’t obtain the primary e mail proven right here.)
The subsequent onboarding emails share tips about how customers can document their first video, have a good time that milestone, and share it with the world, with insights concerning the views within the subsequent e mail. Customers’ product exercise triggers the related emails.
Loom additionally personalizes the topic line based mostly on what the consumer signed up for.
Because the customers get near the trial finish date, Loom sends well timed reminders with a straightforward hyperlink so as to add their fee particulars. From right here, transformed customers are diverted to a distinct observe.
Relying on the place your customers are in your onboarding course of, the size of the trial interval, and utilization limitations within the freemium mannequin, you possibly can craft comparable emails based mostly on Amplitude information to enrich and expedite the onboarding expertise.
2. Milestone emails
Milestone emails are triggered when customers cross or want a nudge to succeed in an vital “aha” second in product utilization.
Some standard milestone emails are triggered upon completion of onboarding or clients’ wins. Some information customers towards their subsequent milestone or as a part of a gamified buyer journey. These emails assist cut back exercise churn with well timed intervention.
Canva’s milestone emails are an important instance.
Canva makes use of badges to indicate its continued appreciation of customers at every milestone.
The consumer will get bragging rights, and Canva will get its loyalty and word-of-mouth advertising and marketing. Win, win! They ship these wonderful badges in emails with a mild push to take the following steps.
The objective right here is to create sticky customers and preserve them on the trail to conversion with a whole lot of cheering. Gamifying the client journey to encourage extra product utilization is clearly working for the extremely profitable Canva. The corporate additionally nudges customers to take the following step utilizing the product.
3. Recap emails
Recap emails might be the final word software for driving product engagement for a product-led progress (PLG) firm. Reminding customers of the worth they’re getting with the product is one other alternative to enhance retention and cut back churn.
The recognition of recap emails is mirrored in all these Spotify Wrapped-inspired efforts. Which is a good concept in idea. However to chop by a whole lot of such emails, it is advisable to ship worth that appeals to your customers and personalization is the best way to nail it.
Personalize the insights, bulletins, and round-ups based mostly on the consumer’s exercise within the product and their function. For instance, sending the identical insights to a person contributor utilizing your product for a private venture and an admin consumer who primarily coordinates cross-functional work between two groups isn’t impactful for one or each forms of customers.
Right here’s an instance. Stack Moxie makes use of Inflection.io to ship to their customers an automated QBR e mail that includes success metrics based mostly on a mix of the customers’ product exercise and CRM information.
When achieved proper, these emails can create sticky customers, re-engage inactive customers, and assist the Gross sales and Success groups to safe extra conversions and account expansions.
4. Reactivation emails
A reactivation technique must be a part of each PLG firm’s progress technique to make sure that churn isn’t everlasting. And product-led reactivation campaigns are well worth the funding.
Reactivating a misplaced buyer is certainly more durable than changing a trial consumer. As a result of, they already checked out the product and have been unimpressed with the expertise or worse, annoyed. Convincing such clients to take a second likelihood requires the proper technique and incentive.
The important thing lies in personalizing the reactivation marketing campaign for the PLG buyer.
Gathering intel from an off-boarding survey can undoubtedly assist in segmenting misplaced clients by their motive for churn. However not all clients take an exit survey. If you happen to don’t have the precise motive for churn, look into the previous buyer’s product exercise for clues. Traceback steps and work out the friction factors alongside their product journey that led them to go away.
When you determine the explanation/s for churn, you possibly can add many dimensions to your automated product-led reactivation campaigns to make them really personalised for each misplaced buyer.
Use a mix of the off-boarding survey response, the previous customers’ product conduct, and firmographic elements like org measurement to orchestrate the proper PLG reactivation e mail marketing campaign.
Listed here are a few examples. Avocode and Asana clearly state what improved of their merchandise. Avocado goes a bit additional to steer customers with a reduction.
You’ll be able to ship comparable focused emails with product expertise enhancements to the listing of misplaced clients who gave suggestions about friction within the product or consumer expertise. Present them proof of enchancment and win again their belief.
You may as well provide a limited-time trial to reactivate their account and encourage attempting out the brand new and improved options. For instance, a consumer churned in the course of the onboarding course of might be provided an prolonged trial decide up the place they left off.
5. Share or invite emails
A consumer’s optimistic product expertise and a private suggestion to their crew or associates can set off a self-sustaining and perpetual PLG progress loop for your enterprise. However ready for natural phrase of mouth to catch on may preserve you ready for some time.
Share or invite emails are some of the efficient methods to encourage your glad clients to unfold optimistic vibes about your product. Let’s see how.
Many B2B SaaS merchandise are constructed to allow or ease collaboration at work. The worth of such merchandise will increase as extra customers begin utilizing them, making a community impact.
Product-led corporations can construct campaigns in different contexts reminiscent of asking clients to ask their crew to attempt a brand new restricted entry characteristic, a brand new product’s beta model, be part of the product’s consumer neighborhood, and so forth. Listed here are some examples from high PLG corporations.
You may as well leverage e mail to remind the sender if the invitation isn’t accepted but. Asana drives it residence with emails like this one.
You may as well incentivize referrals for some additional motivation. In PLG, a referral needn’t provide a reduction or present coupon; it might probably additionally imply unlocking new product utilization limits or premium options for the referrer and likewise for the referred. Listed here are some examples.
A customized PLG share or invite e mail delivered with the proper context and proper incentives can assist spark your clients’ curiosity to share their optimistic experiences.
6. Upsell and cross-sell emails
The widespread problem for PLG corporations in increasing accounts is that on the subject of upgrades, oftentimes your consumer isn’t the choice maker or purchaser. And, the customer needn’t be an lively consumer. So, your PLG go-to-market crew must make use of a communication channel apart from the product itself to pitch an upsell to the proper viewers.
Use product certified leads (PQLs) as a dependable choose of consumer intent to purchase. If you happen to haven’t recognized PQLs already, check out your Amplitude information to determine the product indicators that result in profitable conversions.
In case your goal buyer isn’t a person consumer, however a crew or enterprise account then you definately want a bit extra to get the acquisition intent proper. Product Certified Accounts (PQAs) are a mix of product indicators and firmographic data reminiscent of crew and firm measurement, buyer’s function within the org, and so forth. Figuring out and optimizing PQAs is vital for the growth marketing campaign to be more practical.
Let’s say you wish to upsell the annual subscription goal account of 50-100 crew members on a month-to-month billing cycle when they’re over 80% of the product utilization quota with multiple week remaining. You’ll be able to arrange the PQA to set off an inner alert to Gross sales when all the standards are met. And on the identical time, you may also automate emails just like the one beneath.
And the e-mail that goes to the customer’s e mail might be from the CSM’s e mail handle suggesting an improve to an annual plan with particulars of the advantages for the client.
Roping in Gross sales or Success groups can assist PLG corporations to forge a greater shopping for relationship with the goal buyer. Your emails may encourage scheduling a name. When the crew has all of the related data on the client’s product and CRM exercise, the dialog turns into extra genuine and simpler.
Powering personalised PLG upsell and cross-sell emails with the proper product exercise and CRM information boosts marketing campaign effectivity. Your upsell and cross-selling campaigns are robotically efficient once they communicate on to the shoppers’ wants.
7. Deserted cart emails
It’s a widespread state of affairs in PLG companies that the essential tiers of the product are bought through a comparatively easy on-line transaction just like an e-commerce website. This comparable purchasing expertise means a standard menace in each enterprise sorts: deserted carts.
Customers could not full checkout as a consequence of many causes like distractions, indecisiveness, and even technical points. Deserted cart emails might be only a easy reminder {that a} distracted consumer must get again to the billing web page. Remind them the place they left off and direct them to the billing web page.
Sauce Labs sends their first reminder e mail on the identical day their customers go to the pricing web page. The PLG deserted cart e mail lists the worth of their product as causes to finish the acquisition. Additionally they present the beginning worth, a hyperlink to an in depth pricing web page, and a giant crimson button to finish the transaction. They ship a reminder promptly two days after to observe up.
The marketing campaign has been an enormous success, producing a whole lot of hundreds in new ARR annually.
A fantastic PLG cart abandonment e mail just like the above instance is private and contextual. It’s delivered on the proper time to the PQLs and PQAs with the proper data and motivation to finish the acquisition.
In abstract
Your product is the first channel for progress however it’s best to leverage emails to succeed in out to distracted and disengaged clients at scale. You might need seen that personalization is a recurring theme on this submit. That’s as a result of it’s the spine of an important product-led progress marketing campaign.
The success of your PLG comms significantly will depend on personalised communication at scale. And tailoring buyer expertise with the proper message on the proper time is how one can construct a sustainable product-led enterprise.
Take a look at our contributions in Amplitude’s newest Product-Led Progress Information Quantity 1: What Is PLG?
