Want to optimize your email marketing? I’ve got a little marketing trick for you – something you can use not only in your email marketing, but on your website, your product pages + even on social media.
If there’s any episode that you’re going to take immediate action from, this is the one!
Overcoming objections is an essential part of marketing, not only for your emails but in your product descriptions, on your website and anywhere else you’re sharing your marketing message.
Most of my podcast episodes and blog posts are designed to be super actionable and this is definitely one of those topics that you will want to implement ASAP.
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Why should you be overcoming objections?
There are two main reasons:
- It will help you sell your product to the right people
- It will actually lessen your customer service inquiries and save you time, it’s a win-win!
I mean, who doesn’t want to sell more products and save time?
Speaking of saving time, have you heard episode 9 of the podcast, how to get more done in less time? It’s an oldie, but a goodie.
How do you know what these objections are?
Ask yourself this VERY important question: why would someone NOT buy from you?
This week I want to go deeper in managing the objections portion and where and how to incorporate this messaging.
When you’re answering this, start with whatever you already know right off the top of your head and then you can dig a little deeper. Look at your product reviews, see what customer service inquiries you get, what questions customers asking on social media. Ask your team as well because they may have a fresh perspective or talk more one on one with your customers than you do.
What makes you stand out from your competitors?
This is another way to approach objection handling. Knowing what makes you different is especially important if you created a better version of something. A lot of products are created out of someone’s frustration with everything else that’s on the market.
If you had that frustration, there are likely a lot of other people who have that frustration too, right? When a potential customer first discovers you, they may have some preconceived notions about a product like yours that you have to overcome.
In episode 42, I used the dollar store eye makeup example—it may be perfectly safe, but because I have preconceived notions about where the dollar store gets their product and because it’s going on my face… I’m probably not going to buy that without some smart marketing by them.
You might already have some of these in your frequently asked questions, but that doesn’t mean your customers actually read them. I know you’ve heard me say it before — but it doesn’t hurt to say it again. You can’t repeat yourself too much!
People don’t hear things every time you say them. It takes 7-10 touches before something clicks and you’ve got new people coming into your orbit all the time!
What are some objections you should know the answer to?
Common objections include:
- What if I change my mind, can I return or exchange it?
- How long will it take to get here?
- And, of course, the ever so popular price objection.
- How long will this last?
- Will it be hard to use?
- Is this right for me?
- Is it really the solution to my problem?
Sometimes, an objection is less about your product and more about the customer talking themselves out of a purchase — should I be buying this for myself right now? I talk myself out of purchases this way ALL. THE. TIME. Especially since being in quarantine. But sometimes it’s a mom who always puts herself last or an entrepreneur who puts their business first. Sometimes we need to connect with them on an emotional level and remind them it’s OKAY to treat themselves once in a while.
Jumping the hurdle of objections
In episode 42, I used the example of a client I worked with who sold DIY nail polish kits. You get all the ingredients necessary to mix your own custom nail polish color. Super cool, right?! But the biggest hurdle to getting that first purchase was, “What if I mess it up?”
They were hesitant to try it because they weren’t confident they could actually do it well. Now, she already included recipes and guides in the kits, but we highlighted that message in the necessary emails and strategized a plan for what other content she needed to create in order to educate her existing customers on how easy it really could be.
Another example I mentioned is CBD. A lot of people don’t really understand CBD and wonder if it will get them high.
For your customer, they might wonder if you use ethical manufacturing processes, or if you produce in the US, or do they even really need your product at all. This last one might be especially true if your product is super innovative because let’s be serious, there’s a lot of stuff we have today that people get along just fine without before.
Ooh, another great example of this is Nivea’s in-shower body lotion. If you remember episode 40 where I spoke to brand strategist Maureen Mwangi, who talked about her experience launching this product.
It’s hard to get people to change habits. With this particular product what they realized was they actually needed to target an entirely new customer, which isn’t really the conversation we’re having here today — but I wanted to mention it because it speaks to the fact that sometimes the reason they wouldn’t buy it is that they’re already loyal to another brand or they don’t quite see how it’s going to fit into their existing routine.
Overcoming objections in email marketing
Now that you’ve got a handle on what those objections are, you can start working them into your marketing.
If you think about the entire customer journey and the email automations you’re going to have in place (listen to episode 3 if you’re not sure) there are 3 key places you’re going to want to focus on overcoming these objections.
Do you know what they are?
Don’t worry, I’ll tell ya! It’s the welcome series and your abandonment emails — like browse and checkout abandonment.
In terms of email specifically, that makes perfect sense because these are the emails that are speaking to your customer before they make a purchase with you.
So how do we actually implement this?
In many situations, it’s as easy as calling out your value propositions in your email. Whether that’s by adding icons that call out your free shipping and easy returns, a link that sends them to the page on your website to get the answers, or a section that encourages them to reach out to your customer service team for more help.
Another great way to do this is by putting customer reviews into the emails themselves. Depending on your product and business you may want to just put some general reviews in there or you can get super fancy and use dynamic content to show specific reviews on the products they’re shopping for.
Depending on the level of the objection, you may even want to make it more of a focus in your email by putting it in the main body of the message, the top of the email, or even in the subject line. It really just depends on your particular situation.
Overcoming objections outside email marketing
Now I know, I put email marketing in the title of this episode, but there are more places you want to make sure you’re hitting these points with your customer, like on your website, your product pages, and even on your social media.
How to overcome objections on your website
For your general website messaging, you want to make sure you’ve got it on your customer service & FAQ pages. If you offer free shipping, highlight that in your hello bar, and depending on your business, you may even want to answer those non-product specific objections on your cart page.
Any objections that are product specific, you need to handle on your individual product pages.
Depending on your product assortment, this might be something that makes sense on all your products, like the CBD and nail polish kit examples I gave you. If that’s the case, having a link on the product page that either pops up in a modal or sends them to another page of your website works well. This is likely something that you can add in your theme settings.
Overcome objections in your product descriptions
If it’s not universal across your product, then you’re better off just working that into your product descriptions.
Let me give you an example from my own business. One of the first services I offered and that I still offer is a
So when I’m talking about this service, I point out a few main points.
- It’s best if you have the time or a team to implement my recommendations, and
- That I give you a prioritized action plan
So yes, you’re getting a list of things to do but I’m prioritizing those items for you so you know which ones to focus on first based on the return you’re likely to see. I’m already answering those objections before you can have them.
You can do the same thing in your product descriptions.
I have another client I work with who sells nursing sports bras. One of the biggest issues women face is finding a supportive bra that lets them easily nurse their newborn and fits well with their changing body.
Not only did she create a product to solve this problem, but these points above are all a focus in the product description letting the customer know that yes, I know this is an issue for you, and here’s how we fixed it.
At the end of the day, your goal isn’t necessarily to convince someone to buy your product, it’s really to help them decide whether or not it’s the best product for them. And the way that you do that is by understanding those objections and giving them not just the answer they want to hear, but the right answer.
How to update your existing email marketing with objection management
Okay, so now that you’re ready to implement this there’s one quick thing I want you to do first and that is to make note of where you are right now so you can check your data for improvement after you make these updates.
For example — you want to update your cart abandonment emails with product reviews. Take note of your click rate and conversion rate on those emails before you had the product reviews in there. Then make the updates and let the flow run for 30, 60 or 90 days depending on how many people are running through them, try to get at least 100 people through there before you look back at the metrics and then see if your click rate and conversion rate improved.
The same can be done with your add to cart rate. Take note of your add to cart rate before and after you make the updates to your product page and see what impact it had. This is the way I would approach any testing, by the way, but that’s an episode for another day.
Like I said at the beginning of this episode, don’t wait to implement this because it has the potential to have a very positive impact on your business. I can’t wait for you to try it and then tell me how it went! I’ll be watching my Instagram DMs for your results.
Listen to the Episode
Episodes Mentioned
EP. 9. How to Get More Done In Less Time
Ep. 40. How to Uncap Your Growth & Increase Your Product Sales
