We determined that email marketing is not dead. But how do you use it to accomplish your goals?
The challenge: turning trial users into subscribers
An AI-enabled technology platform simplifies and modernizes the way investors and researchers find information about companies around the world. The company had a leading podcast increasing in listeners and guests from around the industry. Team members were gaining positive commentary from trade shows, and their email newsletters were steadily gaining subscribers.
There was one problem: the company’s trial users weren’t converting into subscribers. They needed a way to touch base with users during their trials to provide support and keep the trial top of mind. At the same time, team members were spending valuable hours individually emailing each trial user, instead of focusing on closing deals and other day-to-day tasks.
With a need to streamline communication and replenish time, they turned to LONDONmiddlebury for help.
Turning a manual practice automatic
We are marketers, not experts in their industry, so our collaboration began with our team learning about the work they do and the message they are conveying to their audience. The team told us all of their pain points and objectives, so we were able to begin the email marketing process swiftly with full context of the company.
The first step was mapping out the trial process to identify the key touchpoints where communications from the client would help convert users. We then built a workflow in HubSpot to automate the entire process. When a new user starts a trial, they get enrolled in the workflow, meaning they go through an automated but engaging set of emails to keep them interested. 
The workflow included:
1) Multiple personal emails from the CEO throughout the 2-week trial period.
2) An end-of-trial survey to collect valuable user feedback about the software.
3) Notifications to team members to manually follow up or update settings on the backend.
We also built two features to remove users from the sequence before their trial ends, in the event they purchase a license or respond to a team member’s email. This way, when a user signs up for a paid subscription, they no longer receive promotional emails.
Impact: a streamlined workflow, saving time and increasing contacts
The company’s workflow nurtured hundreds of trials and counting. Every single user receives touchpoint emails throughout their trial period to increase the likelihood that they will turn into a paid subscriber. This not only saved time for the team but also prevented trials from slipping through the cracks.
LONDONmiddlebury is now collecting feedback from users in the post-trial survey, helping us better understand their needs and their price sensitivity. Most importantly, the company recognizes why trial users did or didn’t sign up for a paid subscription, using that information to tailor their services to better fit their prospective clients.
