The product is the first channel for development in PLG. The truth is, that’s the very definition of the idea. However different channels additionally assist speed up development. And e-mail advertising and marketing is likely one of the greatest 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 numerous 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
Electronic 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 may 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 awesome onboarding e-mail from others is and at all times has been personalization. Loom is a good case examine on the way to use personalised onboarding emails to drive PLG.
Loom personalizes the primary e-mail customers obtain with choices to affix an current workspace, create a brand new workspace, or use the product for a private challenge. (The non-public challenge customers don’t obtain the primary e-mail proven right here.)
The following onboarding emails share recommendations on how customers can report their first video, rejoice 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 primarily based 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 monitor.
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 may craft comparable emails primarily based 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 achieve an necessary “aha” second in product utilization.
Some widespread milestone emails are triggered upon completion of onboarding or prospects’ 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 awesome instance.
Canva makes use of badges to point out 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 superb badges in emails with a delicate push to take the subsequent steps.
The purpose right here is to create sticky customers and maintain them on the trail to conversion with numerous 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 subsequent step utilizing the product.
3. Recap emails
Recap emails may be the last word device for driving product engagement for a product-led development (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 thought in principle. However to chop via a whole bunch of such emails, you have to ship worth that appeals to your customers and personalization is the way in which to nail it.
Personalize the insights, bulletins, and round-ups primarily based on the consumer’s exercise within the product and their position. For instance, sending the identical insights to a person contributor utilizing your product for a private challenge and an admin consumer who primarily coordinates cross-functional work between two groups just isn’t impactful for one or each kinds 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 primarily based on a mixture of the customers’ product exercise and CRM information.
When completed proper, these emails can create sticky customers, re-engage inactive customers, and help the Gross sales and Success groups to safe extra conversions and account expansions.
4. Reactivation emails
A reactivation technique needs to be a part of each PLG firm’s development technique to make sure that churn just isn’t everlasting. And product-led reactivation campaigns are well worth the funding.
Reactivating a misplaced buyer is unquestionably tougher than changing a trial consumer. As a result of, they already checked out the product and have been unimpressed with the expertise or worse, pissed off. Convincing such prospects to take a second probability requires the appropriate 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 positively assist in segmenting misplaced prospects by their cause for churn. However not all prospects take an exit survey. If you happen to don’t have the precise cause 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 may add many dimensions to your automated product-led reactivation campaigns to make them really personalised for each misplaced buyer.
Use a mixture of the off-boarding survey response, the previous customers’ product conduct, and firmographic elements like org dimension to orchestrate the appropriate PLG reactivation e-mail marketing campaign.
Listed below 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 may ship comparable focused emails with product expertise enhancements to the checklist of misplaced prospects who gave suggestions about friction within the product or consumer expertise. Present them proof of enchancment and win again their belief.
You can too supply a limited-time trial to reactivate their account and encourage making an attempt out the brand new and improved options. For instance, a consumer churned through the onboarding course of may be supplied an prolonged trial decide up the place they left off.
5. Share or invite emails
A consumer’s constructive product expertise and a private advice to their workforce or associates can set off a self-sustaining and perpetual PLG development loop for your corporation. However ready for natural phrase of mouth to catch on may maintain you ready for some time.
Share or invite emails are probably the most efficient methods to encourage your blissful prospects to unfold constructive 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 similar to asking prospects to ask their workforce to strive a brand new restricted entry function, a brand new product’s beta model, be part of the product’s consumer neighborhood, and so forth. Listed below are some examples from high PLG corporations.
You can too leverage e-mail to remind the sender if the invitation just isn’t accepted but. Asana drives it residence with emails like this one.
You can too incentivize referrals for some additional motivation. In PLG, a referral needn’t supply a reduction or reward coupon; it could possibly additionally imply unlocking new product utilization limits or premium options for the referrer and in addition for the referred. Listed below are some examples.
A customized PLG share or invite e-mail delivered with the appropriate context and proper incentives will help spark your prospects’ curiosity to share their constructive experiences.
6. Upsell and cross-sell emails
The widespread problem for PLG corporations in increasing accounts is that in terms of upgrades, oftentimes your consumer just isn’t the choice maker or purchaser. And, the client needn’t be an energetic consumer. So, your PLG go-to-market workforce must make use of a communication channel apart from the product itself to pitch an upsell to the appropriate 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 just isn’t a person consumer, however a workforce or enterprise account then you definately want a bit extra to get the acquisition intent proper. Product Certified Accounts (PQAs) are a mixture of product indicators and firmographic info similar to workforce and firm dimension, buyer’s position within the org, and so forth. Figuring out and optimizing PQAs is essential for the growth marketing campaign to be more practical.
Let’s say you need to upsell the annual subscription goal account of 50-100 workforce members on a month-to-month billing cycle when they’re over 80% of the product utilization quota with a couple of week remaining. You may arrange the PQA to set off an inner alert to Gross sales when all the standards are met. And on the identical time, you can even automate emails just like the one beneath.
And the e-mail that goes to the client’s e-mail may 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 will help PLG corporations to forge a greater shopping for relationship with the goal buyer. Your emails may also encourage scheduling a name. When the workforce has all of the related info 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 appropriate product exercise and CRM information boosts marketing campaign effectivity. Your upsell and cross-selling campaigns are routinely efficient once they converse on to the purchasers’ wants.
7. Deserted cart emails
It’s a widespread situation in PLG companies that the essential tiers of the product are bought by way of a comparatively easy on-line transaction just like an e-commerce web site. This comparable procuring expertise means a standard menace in each enterprise varieties: deserted carts.
Customers could not full checkout because of many causes like distractions, indecisiveness, and even technical points. Deserted cart emails may 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 purple button to finish the transaction. They ship a reminder promptly two days after to comply with up.
The marketing campaign has been an enormous success, producing a whole bunch of 1000’s in new ARR every year.
An awesome 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 appropriate info and motivation to finish the acquisition.
In abstract
Your product is the first channel for development however you must leverage emails to achieve out to distracted and disengaged prospects at scale. You may need seen that personalization is a recurring theme on this submit. That’s as a result of it’s the spine of an awesome product-led development marketing campaign.
The success of your PLG comms significantly depends upon personalised communication at scale. And tailoring buyer expertise with the appropriate message on the proper time is how one can construct a sustainable product-led enterprise.
Try our contributions in Amplitude’s newest Product-Led Progress Information Quantity 1: What Is PLG?
