At each stage of the customer journey, a touch of hybrid marketing!

Hybrid marketing can be used at every stage of sales cycle, to move your potential buyers forward in the shopping tunnel.

We detail you three use cases in which these campaigns are beneficial, as well as examples of shipments possible at each of these stages.

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Capturing attention

If only it was enough to speak to be listened to, or to write to be read! Unfortunately, this is not always the case and regardless of the quality of your product, it can be difficult to capture the attention of your potential buyers.

Sending a small gift is a great way to create a positive association with your brand in your prospect, so you can finally get the attention you deserve.

Attention economy The attention economy is a branch of economic and management sciences, which problematizes the functioning of markets in which the supply is abundant (and therefore economically devalued), and the scarce resource becomes the time and attention of consumers. The challenge for companies is then no longer to produce, but to put their offer in the hands of consumers, by stopping their attention, by fixing it on the product offered.

• Establishing your brand and its values Send content related to your brand, commitments, and industry to explain to your prospects what you do, and how you do it. We are not talking here about goodies in your colors, but rather about objects that carry a message, values.
• For example: Do as PayPlug, which exclusively offers gifts made by its customers: it is a great way to illustrate the attention they pay to their community.
• Increase your response and appointment rates By integrating a mailing into your marketing automation scenarios, you stand out from your competitors and arouse the curiosity of your prospect. A simple handwritten card can make a difference at this stage.
• For example: If your goal is to encourage prospects from targeted accounts to book a demo, consider sending them a handwritten note introducing your brand, followed by an email to schedule a demo. The personal touch of a handwritten note will encourage them to open your email.
• Educating your prospects Hybrid marketing is easier to understand and more memorable than digital media. It requires 21% less cognitive effort¹ to be processed and elicits a much higher brand recall rate.
• For example: Did a prospect download one of your content, but the timing wasn't right and didn't follow up? Send him a paper version of your new e-book to resume the discussion. Perhaps the time will be better! Our tip: don't just send the book, send something to snack on, or a tea bag, too, so that your prospect can read it in the best conditions!

¹ Canada Post - A bias for action

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Convert

You have qualified your prospect. Your objective? Turn him into a customer!

The decision cycle can be long, involve many decision makers within your target account. At this stage, hybrid marketing allows you to gain visibility within the targeted account, but also to stay in the minds of your buyers.

• Driving the prospect forward after a demo You conducted the demo brilliantly, your prospect is interested, and should talk to his manager about it. This is a crucial discussion, but you don't want to sound too pushy. Thank your prospect for their time by sending them a nice card: it will arrive a few days later, in a more pleasant way than a follow-up email. To go further, you could even send him a small gift to share with his manager, such as homemade cookies, accompanied by a note telling him that these cookies will make the discussion more pleasant.
• Trigger discussions Your prospect is your ambassador within their company. Help him fulfill his mission! The gift we really like to give in this situation: a gift for our whole team. For example, a breakfast, a king cake, a game or a team building activity. Such gifts inevitably trigger a discussion about your offer, you can be sure of that.
• Increase the value of the deal It is common for a customer to keep several suppliers for the same category of products or services. One day, he selects you for a solution that your existing competitor does not offer, without transferring everything. For the rest, it will take time... Hybrid marketing will be a valuable ally in developing a special relationship and tipping the balance much more quickly on your side.
• Increase webinar attendance Most BtoB companies organize webinars. But how many of them send a personalized invitation, in paper version? You can stand out by making your webinars events in their own right.

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Retain

That's it, your prospect has become a customer: congratulations!

You must now offer them a structured customer experience in order to make them discover everything that your product can offer, but also make them want to continue working with you. If you succeed, up-sell, cross-sell and loyalty are key!

From a loyalty perspective, the main advantage of hybrid campaigns is their emotional impact: a small shipment values its recipient enormously. Your customers will feel appreciated and their trust in your brand will grow.

• Onboarding Welcome your new customers warmly, and give them all the keys to start using your product. Why not send them a nice illustrated quick start checklist with a word of welcome and a pretty plant or object in your brand colors?
• Celebrating key milestones Encourage your customers to discover your product, in order to encourage them to use it in depth. Do you have a recruitment site? Send them a small gift for their 10th, 50th, 100th recruitment thanks to you! They will want to go even further to discover the gift of the 1000th recruitment;)
• Compensate for disappointing experiences Has one of your customers had a disappointing experience? Take the lead, and send him a small gift apologising for the problem, before he even asks for financial compensation. For example, when a customer encounters a bug that you didn't identify, you can send them a candle with a note saying, “Thank you for bringing this issue to light.” This reassures your customer, who knows that they have been heard, and that their feedback is taken into account.
• Increase the renewal rate A few days before the anniversary of the contract, tell your customers that you can't wait to spend another year with them! The great classics (champagne, flowers, chocolate) lend themselves well to this occasion, but you can also be more original.
• Create ambassadors Your product and customer experience are top notch, and you're winning recommendations. Remember to thank these customers who recommend you so that they don't stop there, and turn them into real ambassadors of your brand!

In short!

• Get the attention by generating more leads and amplifying the reach of your message. Gifting complements your digital strategies to capture the attention of your VIP prospects, identified as promising.
• Convert your prospects by accelerating the sales cycle and increasing the value of deals by creating a thoughtful and differentiating sales experience that generates the trust of your prospects.
• Build loyalty to welcome and educate your new customers, generate more upsells, limit your churn,... Hybrid marketing allows you to create an exceptional customer experience, which will transform you into a true Love Brand.

Are you tempted by hybrid campaigns? ? So we invite you to read the whole of our white paper which will give you lots of secrets about integrating hybrid campaigns into your sales channel as well as best practices for using them effectively.