Ever been to a farmhouse or just visited any farm which utilized the process of Drip Irrigation?
It’s a process of sprinkling water on the field in small quantities.
The ‘Drip’ in ‘Drip Marketing’ is taken from this process.
Basically, Drip Marketing is a technique used by marketers to communicate their message in smaller bits over a period of time.
So instead of ‘Hey, buy my laptop!’ it’s more like ‘Hey, how are you?’ then ‘Are you currently using a laptop?’ then ‘Have you checked out my brand?’.
Watch the YouTube Video
Make it easier, please?
Let’s look at story
One rainy afternoon, Emily finally had some time to herself after working day in day out on a campaign release scheduled for two days later.
She decided to indulge in her favorite pastime, Shopping!
She came across this really pretty phone case she wanted since a very long time, it also fits her budget.
She added that to her shopping cart and just then she got a call from her boss about some additional work.
She minimized her shopping site window and started working till early evening when she decided to take a break for tea.
She shut down her laptop, made tea, and the moment she sat on the couch with the cup of tea in her hand, she saw an email notification on her personal id.
Well, it was from the same shopping site ‘Hey Emily, we still have your phone case in the cart’!
Emily logged in and bought the phone case.
This was the marketer (Shopping site) using Drip Marketing (emailing) to ensure the conversion of sales.
Importance?
a) Relevance
If you are using Drip Marketing, you already have your consumers interested in you. Emily was already using the website, all she needed was a push.
It’s relevant to your customers and there is a very low chance of waste of efforts
b) Personalization
It’s unique.
That itself is proof that you have won your battle already.
Consumers love feeling special, and your Drip Marketing efforts ensure just that.
As a brand, the message I sent to Emily cannot be sent to anyone else.
c) Automation
It must be obvious by now that Drip Marketing is automated, you cannot make someone sit in an office day in day out figuring out who should we target, we let the computers do the work for us.
Brand Examples?
It all boils down to who is actually using this method.
From my own experience, I get these messages very often from apps on my phone like Swiggy, Amazon, Flipkart, etc.
I am sure you must be getting them too, however, it’s now that you know what it’s called in marketing terms.
But is Drip Marketing restricted to online purchases?
Well to some extent, yes.
And there’s a reason for that, online presence ensures that you as a consumer leave behind a track that marketers can later use to communicate, this is not possible with an offline store.
However, how many times have you been asked to register for a loyalty card while shopping at, say, a Food Bazaar, they ask for your number and communicate any offers, that’s a form of Drip Marketing in the offline segment.
This is a very important concept, that we as marketers need to use, more so in this fast-paced shopping environment where your competitor is just around the corner.