How To Send a Follow‑Up Email to Customers

A follow-up email is sent to a recipient after an initial interaction or communication, typically to continue the conversation, provide additional information, or guide them through the following steps. 

Follow-up emails are commonly used in sales, customer service, networking, and marketing to nurture relationships, address inquiries, and move prospects through the sales funnel.

Here are follow-up email examples to help you understand how they work: 

• A sales rep might send a follow-up email to a prospect after an initial sales call to recap key points discussed, offer further assistance or information, or address pain points.
• In customer service, follow-up emails are often used to ensure customer satisfaction after a purchase or service interaction, seek additional feedback, and address concerns. 
• In marketing, follow-up emails can be part of a lead nurturing campaign. They deliver targeted content or offers to prospects based on their previous interactions or interests, ultimately guiding them toward conversion. 

These emails serve as a way to maintain communication and engagement with contacts, whether they're existing customers, leads, or business associates. 

Many businesses use a follow-up email template to streamline the process of crafting these messages, ensuring consistency and effectiveness in their communication efforts. You can maintain strong customer relationships by mastering these emails and knowing the right subject line and what to say. 

Why are follow-up emails important in marketing?

The customer journey is different for everyone, but follow-up emails are critical no matter where contacts are in the sales funnel. Many businesses are hesitant to send emails because they don't want to waste their time if the recipient isn't going to purchase anything from them. On the other hand, just because you heard a customer say no or never received a response, doesn't mean you shouldn't try again.

Sales follow-up statistics show that approximately 60% of customers say no to something 4 times before they say yes. Ultimately, winning your customer over might take a while, so you need to be persistent, follow up regularly, and think carefully about how you want to execute your strategy. That way, you can increase your chances of getting your customer to say yes.

Follow-up emails allow sales representatives to maintain momentum and engagement with potential customers after initial interactions, ensuring that leads don't go cold.

By following up, sales professionals can reinforce the value proposition discussed during the initial contact and address any lingering questions or concerns the prospect might have.

Additionally, a sales follow-up email provides an opportunity to build rapport and trust with existing customers and prospects by demonstrating attentiveness and a commitment to meeting their needs.

Follow-up emails also serve as gentle reminders to prospects of the product or service's benefits and how it addresses their pain point, helping keep the sales conversation in mind.

How to send a follow-up email

With so many marketing automation tools available, you might be wondering how to send and write a follow-up email. Keep in mind that these emails come in many forms, so different options are available.

If you want to maximize the results of your follow-up email, there are a few steps to keep in mind. They include:

Identify your goals

First, you need to figure out your goals. Of course, you would like the customer to reach out to you, but what's the intended purpose of the email? For example, are you interested in getting a customer to restart their subscription? Or are you trying to invite a potential client to join a brief phone call and discuss signing up for a demo? You might also be trying to get a customer to provide you with their payment information so you can finalize their order.

You must figure out the specific goals of your emails before you can start writing them. The end objective will dictate the verbiage of each message.

Determine when to follow-up with customers

Next, you need to consider when you want to follow up with your customers. How long do you want to give your contacts before you follow up with them? Are there any triggering events in the customer journey that call for a follow-up message?

The answer to these questions may differ depending on an email's purpose. For example, you might want a customer to provide a response after trying out a software demo. Or, you might be waiting for a customer to supply you with payment information so you can ship a specific product to their front door.

Keep in mind that too many follow ups can annoy people, so think about how long you want to wait before you follow up with your contacts.

Craft your email

Now, it's time for you to craft the email. Whether you're sending a transactional email or a gentle reminder, you need to think carefully about the information you include. The email subject line is often the first thing recipients will see, so they have to make a good impression.

Then, you need to consider how much information you want to include in the body. You need to have enough information to communicate the point of your email, but you don't want to overwhelm the reader with a wall of text. Don't forget the overall goal of your message. It's also best practice to include a call to action. If you don't have a CTA, the recipient might not move to the next step in the customer journey.

You might have several emails you need to send. Even though you can write them individually, this might not be the best approach. Fortunately, there are tools available that can automate the process using a trigger event, making it easier for you to distribute emails to your audience.

Follow-up email templates

Discover effective follow-up email templates tailored to various business scenarios, designed to help you nurture relationships, address inquiries, and guide prospects through the sales funnel.

Suppose you've recently communicated with a sales rep or signed up for marketing communications from your favorite brands. In that case, you can find a follow-up email example anywhere online and even in your inbox. Use these as a guide, looking at subject line examples and body copy to inspire your follow-up emails. 

In addition to looking at examples, here are a few more tips to help you craft follow-up emails that work: 

Use personalized messaging

Tailor your follow-up emails to each recipient by addressing them by name and referencing previous interactions or discussions. This personalized approach demonstrates that you value their needs and strengthens the connection between you and the recipient. You can also reference an earlier email to continue a meaningful conversation. 

Of course, to use personalization, you must ensure you're contacting the appropriate person. If it has been a while since your last communication, your message might ask them if they're the right person within an organization to contact. 

Capture the recipient's attention with engaging and relevant subject lines that entice them to open the email. Incorporate words that resonate with their interests or needs and highlight the value or benefit they can expect from reading the email. 

Keep emails simple

Your emails don't need to be complicated. Simple is always better. 

Refrain from cluttering your follow-up email with unnecessary details that may distract or confuse recipients. Instead, prioritize clarity and provide only the information needed to convey your message effectively. Here are a few more ideas for keeping your follow-up email simple:

• Use white space, bullet points, and short paragraphs to break up the text and make your follow-up emails more visually appealing.
• Keep your language clear and straightforward, avoiding jargon or technical terms that may confuse recipients. 

Send at the right time & to the right person

Consider the day and time you sent your emails. Experiment with different send times to identify when your audience is most active and likely to engage with your emails. 

Strike a balance between staying at the forefront of your recipient's mind and overwhelming them with excessive emails. Space out your follow-up emails by a few days to a week and avoid bombarding recipients with multiple messages within a short timeframe. 

In addition to figuring out when to send emails, you should ensure your emails are going to the right person. Emailing the wrong person won't get you anywhere, so take the time to research and verify the contact information of the person you want to email to ensure accuracy. 

Include a CTA

Including a CTA with your emails is always best because it can help guide recipients to complete a specific action. Do you want them to call you? Do you want them to click on the link? Be clear when adding a CTA to your email, but avoid being too pushy.

Be professional

Always be professional. Even though you want to use personalized messaging, you still want the email to have a professional feel. You might want someone else to look at the email before you send it out to ensure it's as professional as possible.

Provide value

Your emails should offer something of significance or benefit to the recipient rather than solely focusing on your own agenda. One way to provide value is by offering relevant and helpful information that addresses the recipient's needs or interests. This could be sharing insights, tips, or resources to help them solve problems or achieve their goals.

You can also provide value by offering deals, discounts, or promotions tailored to their preferences or past interactions with your brand.

Ultimately, the key to providing value in your follow-up email is to put the recipient's needs first and focus on how you can genuinely help them.

Create follow-up emails with Mailchimp

If you want to start sending follow-up emails, you must think carefully about how you craft your campaign. Follow-up messages are important for helping you maintain strong relationships with your customer base. Advanced tools can help you expedite the process while increasing your conversion rate.

At Mailchimp, we have various tools to ensure you get the most out of your follow-up campaigns. Whether you want to automate your emails or find the best time to contact your audience, we're here to help.

Did you enjoy our follow-up email templates?

Use them today with your Mailchimp account to create compelling follow-up emails that engage your audience and drive results. Our customizable email follow-up templates can streamline your sales process and deliver targeted messages to your contacts with ease.