Touchpoints: The Truth About Converting Leads and How Email Marketing Helps

January 15, 2025

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Touchpoints: The Truth About Converting Leads and How Email Marketing Simplifies It In marketing, it’s important to know how often your audience needs to connect with your brand before they decide to purchase. These connections, called touchpoints, include anything from seeing your ad on Instagram to getting a welcome email from you. In this blog post, we’ll look at how many touchpoints people usually need, what those interactions can be, and why email marketing can be a powerful tool to help make more sales.

What Are Marketing Touchpoints?

Touchpoints are all the different ways customers interact with your brand. These interactions can happen online or in person and play an important role at various stages of the buyer’s journey – the process people go through when deciding to buy something.

Common digital marketing touchpoints include:

Viewing a social media post 💻
Clicking on a Google ad 🎯
Visiting your website or reading a blog post 🔐
Receiving a follow-up email 📧

For example, a customer might first see your brand’s logo while scrolling through social media. That's their first touchpoint. Later, they might click on a digital ad that takes them to your website—that’s another touchpoint. If they sign up for your newsletter, receive an informative email, or read a blog post you’ve written – these are all considered touchpoints.

Touchpoints can also include physical interactions, like visiting a store, picking up a brochure, or speaking to a sales representative. Each of these moments helps customers form an impression of your brand and influences their decision-making process.

Understanding these touchpoints and how they work together helps you effectively reach your audience and guide them toward making a purchase. The more positive touchpoints you create, the more likely you are to convert potential customers into loyal ones. Each touchpoint builds familiarity, trust, and confidence, guiding customers closer to purchase.

How Many Touchpoints Are Necessary?

Studies show that the number of times a customer needs to interact with your brand before making a purchase depends on how familiar they are with it. Here's a simple breakdown:

Warm Leads: These are people who already know about your brand and are interested. They typically need between 5 to 12 interactions before they buy.
Cold Prospects: These are people who aren’t familiar with your brand. They usually require more interactions—anywhere from 20 to 50—before they feel ready to make a purchase (EmailToolTester).

In short, the more familiar someone is with your brand, the fewer interactions they need to have to become a buyer.

Using Digital Marketing for Potential Customer Interactions

From a digital marketing standpoint, we interact with customers through various platforms and methods, including:

Social Media

Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn (👈🏽 connect with us) are important in raising awareness for your brand. Think of these platforms as modern-day billboards—where you can engage directly with your audience in creative ways.

Utilizing short-form videos is particularly effective because they grab attention quickly and are incredibly shareable, making your message resonate with viewers. Stories are another fantastic tool, allowing you to share behind-the-scenes glimpses or quick updates that foster a deeper connection with your audience.

Don't forget about carousel posts! These allow you to showcase multiple images or messages in a single post, offering an interactive experience that keeps potential customers engaged longer. Use the power of social media not just to sell a product, but to build a community around your brand!

Email Marketing

Email marketing connects you directly with your target audience by using targeted and personalized messaging. Imagine reaching out to your customers even if there are thousands, and each email feels like you wrote directly to each and every single person on your email list. With email, you can share exciting news, exclusive offers, or helpful updates right to their inboxes.

One of the most engaging strategies is the welcome sequence. This is your chance to make a fantastic first impression! When someone signs up for your newsletter or makes their first purchase, a series of thoughtful welcome emails can guide them, provide valuable information, and help them feel excited about being part of your community.

Need a welcome sequence for your business? Sign up below, and we’ll send you one directly to your inbox!

Free Email Welcome Series

When You Sign Up for Our Email Tribe!

First name

Email address

Welcome to Our Email Tribe!

Check your email and move us to your primary inbox. You don't want to miss another email. You're going to love it here.

Another effective tactic is the abandoned cart emails. We all have a never-ending to-do list, and not to mention they are constantly growing. This makes it really easy to get distracted by notifications that are constantly bombarding our phones. So you understand when a potential customer was just about to hit the “checkout cart” button, they got distracted. Your abandoned cart email serves as a friendly reminder to return to their carts, and the added bonus of the possibility of a special discount can help make their buying decision a lot easier.

By implementing these strategies, you keep your audience informed and build a lasting relationship with them.

Website Interactions

Your website is a key touchpoint. Think of it as your business storefront that never closes! Not only are your products and services on display, but your website has a unique opportunity to engage, nurture, and shape the experience of potential leads. For example, potential leads can dive into insightful blogs, explore the unique features of your product pages, or sign up for valuable resources. These interactions shape their experience with your brand.

At Sonay & Co., we understand the importance of making these moments count. We can help you create dope lead magnets—tools that entice website visitors to share their email addresses in exchange for something valuable. This could be an informative eBook, a helpful checklist, or an exclusive discount. Our expertise extends to curating eye-catching email signup forms that seamlessly fit into your website’s design, ensuring maximum engagement without overwhelming your visitors.

Learn more about our done-for-you email marketing services and how we can help transform your website into an interactive space helping increase your customer touchpoints with ease.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) helps enhance your online presence, making it easier for potential customers to find you. It combines two key strategies: Google Ads and organic SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

Google Ads: Think of this as renting a prime spot on the internet. When you run a Google Ads campaign, your business can appear at the top of search results when potential customers are actively searching for your products or services. This can quickly attract new business!
Organic SEO: Unlike ads, SEO is about creating lasting visibility. By optimizing your website with relevant keywords and quality content, you can improve your rankings over time. For instance, a blog post on baking tips can draw in customers looking for helpful information, even if they're not specifically searching for your products.

Whether potential leads are just browsing or ready to buy, investing in SEM is an effective way to connect with the right audience and grow your business. Google ads and organic SEO efforts increase your visibility, capturing customers at various stages of their journey (SearchEngineJournal).

Content Marketing

Content marketing is like having a helpful friend who shares valuable advice, helping you build trust and credibility in your niche. By creating engaging blogs, informative guides, and entertaining videos, you position yourself as an expert and a go-to resource.

For warm leads—those already familiar with your brand—great content reinforces their interest. They might read a blog that addresses their concerns or watch a video that shows how your product solves a problem. For cold leads—those who don’t know you yet—high-quality content acts as an introduction, sparking curiosity and inviting them to learn more about what you offer.

Storytelling is also powerful in content marketing. Sharing success stories or challenges can resonate emotionally, making your brand feel more relatable. Plus, valuable content boosts your online visibility, encouraging shares and improving SEO, making it easier for potential customers to find you.

Every piece of content you create educates, entertains, and builds connections with your audience, guiding them along their buying journey and turning them into loyal customers who trust your expertise.

Why Email Marketing Is the MVP of Touchpoints

Email marketing truly shines as one of the most powerful tools available in how it helps your business connect with leads. It’s more than sending messages; it’s about building relationships and guiding people on their journey to make informed decisions. Here’s what makes email marketing so effective:

Personalization

Ever opened your inbox and read an email that felt like it was written just for you?! That’s the power of personalization! By adjusting emails to fit the interests and preferences of the recipient, you create a stronger connection. In fact, using personalized subject lines can make your emails 26% more likely to be opened! (HubSpot).

Personalization helps your message stand out in a crowded inbox, making your audience feel valued and understood. It's all about creating an experience that resonates!

Automation

Need a way to keep your brand top-of-mind without requiring constant manual effort? Email sequences, like drip campaigns or automated follow-ups, work like a series of friendly nudges that keep your brand fresh in their minds. They help maintain those connections effortlessly, ensuring you stay relevant without the need for constant hands-on effort. It's a smart way to engage with your audience while you focus on what you do best!

High ROI

Email marketing offers a return of $42 for every $1 spent, making it one of the most cost-effective channels available (Litmus).

It is highly effective because it provides a direct line of communication with potential customers. Not only are you not competing with an algorithm in the inbox, but subscribers must opt-in to begin receiving your emails. This increases engagement, as by opting in, they have already taken the first step in showing interest in your business.

Actionable Tips for Maximizing Touchpoints

Create a Consistent Presence

Stay active on social media (posting & stories) and send out consistent email campaigns to ensure your brand remains top-of-mind for your audience. This keeps your brand visible. And even when it seems like people are not paying attention – just know they are, even if your engagement is not what you expected.

Optimize Your Website

To enhance your website's effectiveness and attract organic traffic, prioritize user-friendliness and SEO optimization. Strategically place email sign-up forms in the footer, header, pop-ups, or exit-intent prompts to capture your visitors' email addresses. Additionally, include social media links to foster ongoing connections with your audience. Finally, optimize your blog posts to encourage readers to save them to their Pinterest boards, which can further enhance your site's visibility and engagement.

Invest in Email Marketing Tools

Leverage tools like Mailchimp or Klaviyo to automate and personalize your email campaigns.

Utilize platforms such as Mailchimp, Flodesk, or Klaviyo to streamline and customize your email marketing campaigns, enhancing both automation and personalization for a more engaging audience experience. In addition to using them for email campaigns and popup forms, leverage them to create standalone email signup landing pages. These pages can encourage signups off your website – such as linking them directly on social media platforms, in the footer of your professional emails, and using them with QR codes.

Leverage Analytics

Monitor engagement across various touchpoints to pinpoint what truly resonates with your audience. This data will empower you to refine your strategies and enhance your marketing efforts.

Feeling Touchy?

Understanding and optimizing touchpoints is the key to establishing trust and boosting conversions in your small business. While warm leads typically require 5 to 12 interactions, cold prospects may need as many as 50 to feel comfortable making a purchase. By harnessing the power of digital marketing—especially email marketing—you can create meaningful connections that effectively guide your audience through their buying journey.

Are you ready to elevate your touchpoint strategy? At Sonay & Co., we specialize in helping women-owned small businesses build email marketing strategies that deliver results. It’s time to make every interaction count.

Contact us today, and let’s get started! Schedule your discovery call here.