Unlocking Potential: Leveraging Trigger Marketing in Your Strategy
“Trigger marketing” is a powerful automated customer communications tool that sends personalized messages to customers throughout their journey.
4 mins to read
A modern digital business must engage and connect with its audience. Triggers that leverage simple if-then logic to activate automated responses make that happen.
“Trigger marketing” is a powerful automated customer communications tool that sends personalized messages to customers throughout their journey. The early investment keeps customers happier and boosts brand engagement. It even saves time and money.
Trigger marketing uses automated tools to target certain customers based on sales funnel position and demographic information. It emphasizes relevance, not volume.
To get started, the marketer must identify the customer, their feelings about the company, its relationship to them, and what their customer wants. Preprogrammed triggers identify those factors and respond appropriately:
No matter the situation, trigger marketing sends tailored messages determined by customer action. It then directs them to the most mutually beneficial next steps so everyone wins.
Trigger marketing distinguishes itself from manual messaging by cost. Few businesses can afford the staff to craft and send so many tailored communications. The preplaced human touch, trigger marketing shows customers a proactive company knew their needs and met them before the customer knew to ask.
A successful trigger marketing campaign builds a new reputation as a savvy, on-the-ball business that cares about its customers.
Trigger-based strategies are worth the investment. The positive impact makes the brand stick out in the customers’ minds. Brand awareness goes up, as does enthusiastic engagement with future communications.
It also leads to higher conversion and retention rates. Follow-ups reduce cart abandonment, and special efforts bring customers back for a second shopping round. Special-occasion discounts and flash sales leverage FOMO, but also make the customer feel good about being kept in the know. A happy customer is a loyal customer.
Most customers who experience trigger marketing feel the company appreciates their business. Everyone appreciates extra effort on their behalf…even though they know it’s automated. Technicians and marketers took the time to gather information about their customers, sort it, and use it. They miss out on undesirable spam. Instead, they get personalized content at the perfect time.
Well-timed triggers give customers what they want before they want it. Webpage pop-ups could give them a free coupon code right before they buy—a special thank-you for their business. A coupon on their birthday or a notification about a holiday sale means more than an arbitrary date. An emailed receipt with a thank-you message moments after the purchase mimics the in-person retail shopping experience and cultivates approval.
Don’t use “you may also like” site banners to push excess inventory on every customer. Instead, show products that “customers like you also bought…” pulled from accurate demographic information and buying habits. Happier customers buy more.
All triggers operate on an “if X happens, then do Y” basis. Marketers choose from many different “ifs,” each with corresponding “whens.” Many triggers reward customer engagement, while others respond to certain actions, target certain emotions, or activate at a predetermined time.
Many triggers apply to multiple triggers. A personalized message for a customer’s birthday appeals to their emotions but also occurs at a particular time. An engagement trigger for account registration expresses gratitude—again targeting their feelings. A holiday sale targets a set time and exploits FOMO to encourage a purchase before the sale disappears.
Engagement triggers reward customers who interact with their business, such as welcome letters with thank-yous and confirmations inside reward newsletters, signups, or account creation. An email could notify customers when someone replies to their comments or reviews so they can return and continue the conversation.
Behavior triggers recognize one action and encourage another. Personalized recommendations based on prior buying behavior direct customers to buy again on a return visit. Abandoned cart reminders (with added discounts or incentives) direct customers to buy again. Purchase confirmations tell customers the business received their order and give them the peace of mind they need after buying.
Most triggers target customer emotions. Gratitude and pleasant surprises work best—shock a customer who never realized a company would remember their birthday, let alone get them a gift. Special offers on birthdays make people feel special, as do membership milestones. Emotional triggers can also target FOMO or desperation—notices that only a few products they might want remain in inventory work well.
Everyone hates spam. Curated and well-timed notices show a personal touch that mass emails lack. A discount for holidays and birthdays or a simple show of appreciation for milestones like account anniversaries work well.
Timing triggers also give customers helpful information. If a credit card on file declines or expires soon, a quick reminder to update keeps the customer experience intact and hassle-free.
Businesses need a target before they pull the trigger on trigger marketing. Marketers decide what they want to accomplish and thus make a plan on how to reach their target customers. Then, they choose the if-thens: “If X customer takes Y action, the CRM will do Z.” The possibilities from there are endless.
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