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Autoresponder is a killer application in the B2C world. B2C marketers like online retailers have long used autoresponders to engage customers, bring them back, drive sales and increase the value of every customer on an ongoing basis. Some of the tricks that work really well include:

• Send follow-up emails at regular intervals within 21-30 days after the transaction with a logical sequence of order confirmaiton, thank you, new promotions and so on.
• Send a follow-up email every time a shopping cart is abandoned with a few items in it
• Personalize recommendations based on the user’s transactions in the past
• Do not send the follow-up emails from a transaction beyond the 30 day period

As I was reading a related case study earlier this morning, I couldn’t help thinking about how an autoresponder strategy is completely missing or broken in B2B – lead nurturing is the closest to autoresponders, I know but its just no where close to the level of sophistication in B2C. At ReadyContacts, we build a lot of targeted business contact lists, profiles and qualify inbound leads, so I can extrapolate and predict how few B2B marketers are doing systematic lead nurturing today. Here are some ideas to think about:

• Apply the autoresponder strategy to every inbound lead and every website visitor that can be identified
• Follow-up within minutes of the activity with an email
• Trigger an alert to the sales person for that account or geography suggesting it might be a good time to call the lead
• Personalize the reachout based on where the lead came from, what pages on the website did the lead read, and if the lead downloaded any documents. This data must be handy and communicated to everyone involved instantly.
• Schedule a combination of email and phone follow-up loops within 7 days of the activity only.
• If relevant, end the loop with a direct mail trigger which can sit on the lead’s desk as a reminder.
• Then add the lead to your CRM database for reachout via other scheduled initiatives.

These are just a few ideas. I am sure there are a ton more that are common place in B2C that we can learn form. Add your thoughts in the comments and share your B2B autoresponder stories.