If you attended InfusionCon this year, you know the Gleasons were finalists in our 2011 Ultimate Marketer contest. In fact, Jeanette Gleason?s presentation received a standing ovation. They didn?t earn this prestigious title sitting down. In a matter of months, marketing automation helped the Gleasons turn their four-year old business around by plugging the leaks in their marketing and sales funnel. And this tax season, the Gleasons were booked solid.
A $10K Marketing Campaign Drives Zero Leads
When you?re a new business, every penny counts. You can?t afford to waste a single dollar when it comes to your marketing. The survival of a business depends on having a sound marketing and sales strategy?and early on, Gleason Tax Advisory Group wasn?t getting the right ROI.
During the first two years of business, Gleason Tax Advisory Group spent its marketing budget on direct mail that pushed to a monthly event to drive new leads. Conversions were mediocre, but it helped the new business stay afloat for a few years.
Then in 2007, the holes in the Gleason?s marketing strategy became glaringly obvious. A $10K direct mail campaign generated zero leads. This was a big loss for the business. ?This marketing plan was failing us, so badly that we ended up deep in debt and facing the possibility of foreclosure and bankruptcy,? says Jeanette Gleason.
With bankruptcy looking the Gleasons straight in the eye, they decided to take a stab at email marketing.
New Way to Drive Leads
The first email campaign the Gleasons sent out to prospects and customers was well received. It wasn?t a sales pitch, but instead a helpful suggestion from the Gleasons about a tax savings program airing on PBS. One prospect received the email, tuned into the program and then came to the Gleason?s office to become a customer. The Gleasons were sold that email marketing was an efficient and affordable way to get the attention of prospects and customers. From there, with a taste for the power of email marketing and a recommendation from a friend, they began using Infusionsoft?s marketing automation software to take their marketing and sales process to the next level.
Attractive Lead Magnets
To capture leads online, the Gleasons created ?The Ultimate Tax Planning Guide?. Without a lead magnet, web visitors might leave without giving their contact information or permission to follow up?and the Gleasons would be missing out on a potential sale.
There?s a webform that lives on the homepage of the Gleason?s website that captures the prospects? information. In return, the web visitor gets this tax planning report. Now that the Gleasons have the prospects in their sales funnel, they nurture them using automated emails that deliver valuable information moving them through the funnel. Once the prospect is at a certain point in the follow-up sequence of emails, the call-to-action is to meet in person and present the prospect with a plan.
Nurture with Education
Infusionsoft is helping the Gleasons stay in front of prospects and customers so when they are ready to buy, they buy from them.
?We?ve automated a ton of processes that we used to do manually, especially around prospect education and customer follow-up,? says Jeanette Gleason. ?It?s been huge for us.?
Using Infusionsoft, the Gleasons are deepening relationships with prospects and customers by sending consistent, valuable information through video clips, newsletters, tax updates and information, articles, e-books, reports and guides.
Upsell and Ask for Referrals
Most marketers know that it?s significantly cheaper to resell a new product to an existing customer than finding and selling to a new prospect, but too often they aren?t systematic enough about offering additional products to customers who?ve already bought. The Gleasons do a great job at marketing to existing clients. They educate clients on the additional financial services they offer using flyers, workshops and email marketing campaigns. Using email reminders right before tax season helps them get repeat business and upsell existing customers on additional services.
This tax season, they launched a client referral program. Anyone that refers a new tax client receives a $10 gas card for each new couple they send to the Gleasons (up to $40 limit). Tax clients automatically get an email as part of their customer follow-up sequence describing this program which includes a referral coupon. This program has doubled the Gleason?s referrals.
That is it for this week?s Marketing Automation Success stories. Keep checking the blog each week for more.
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