Aroview Case Study: Making Outbound 30% Faster with Hunter.io

The power of effective cold outreach lies in its ability to bridge the gap between unfamiliar parties, turning strangers into potential allies or clients. When executed with precision, it transcends the typical 'cold' connotation, warming up conversations and building trust from the first interaction.

At Aroview, we embarked on a journey spanning four transformative months to master the art of effective outreach. Our mission was clear: getting better at connecting with the right businesses and forging enduring partnerships.

This case study aims to demonstrate strategies my team and I used over four months and the effectiveness of the results with and without the aid of Hunter.

Background

At Aroview, we specialize in creating strategic partnerships that help forge lasting business relationships. We build valuable connections and achieve our clients' marketing goals through highly effective co-marketing initiatives.

In the realm of co-marketing, forging meaningful connections is paramount. This is where our adeptness in cold outreach comes into play, as that’s how we initiate and nurture these invaluable relationships.

Back in May, we rolled up our sleeves and took a hard look at how we did business. We wanted to grow but also ditch the grunt work slowing us down.

The question was- How do we supercharge our outreach without working crazy hours or expanding our team?

How we worked without Hunter

Our outreach strategies at Aroview in the days before using Hunter.io relied heavily on manual methods. We'd spend hours meticulously researching and handpicking potential contacts through extensive research across websites, social media, and industry directories.

Our response rates were great (note- negative responses refer to interactions that don't result in immediate conversions. These interactions help nurture relationships, even if there isn't an immediate outcome.) - but only for the emails that actually reached their recipients. Emails often bounced. Our bounce rates fluctuated between 30%-50%. We became wary of the ‘Address not Found’ emails.

After hours of research and the effort put into personalization, knowing that the email didn’t reach an inbox was harsh. This, in turn, affected our sender reputation. (Nothing kills morale like wasted effort.)

Our commitment to quality had its merits, but it had its challenges, too.

Manual outreach challenges

• Hours spent on painstaking research to uncover potential contacts.
• Identifying high-quality, relevant sources in our target industry (also time-consuming)
• The constant juggling between quality relationships and the need to scale up outreach.
• Messy manually updated spreadsheets with missing data and low ease of use.
  

Accuracy issues

• Running into outdated or incorrect contact information during manual searches.
• Dealing with frustrating bounce-backs and disappointing deliverability rates in our outreach campaigns.

Scaling limitations

• As our client list expanded, managing outreach became an uphill battle. It was time-consuming and laborious.
• Balancing quality relationships with outreach scalability was getting more difficult.

How it changed with Hunter

The demands of our expanding client base necessitated a more efficient and accurate approach to our outreach strategies. Clearly, we needed a comprehensive solution that could streamline our processes and enhance our outreach capabilities.

That’s where Hunter came in.

Streamlined Email Finding

Hunter.io's Domain Search and Email Finder features became our newfound allies. They sliced through the time we spent hunting down email addresses, letting us access contact information swiftly. Suddenly, we had more time for strategic tasks.

Enhanced Accuracy

Hunter.io's Email Verifier was our go-to for accuracy. It ensured that email addresses were not just accurate but up-to-date. The result? We saw a reduced bounce rate, and our outreach campaigns became remarkably more effective.

Bulk Operations and Scalability

Hunter.io's bulk tasks and CSV export capabilities were another game-changer. They allowed us to easily manage large volumes of data, making scalability a reality.

Hunter lets us bulk upload our contact list and filter the departments we need contact information from. Our primary Points of Contact are the people in the Marketing and Writing Departments.

No more scaling struggles.

API Integration

Integrating Hunter.io's API into our existing systems improved workflow and provided many benefits. It automated many outreach tasks and cut down on the manual grind.

Here's what changed:

• Seamless data synchronization: Automatic updates between Hunter.io and our CRM, ensuring current, accurate contact data.
• Automated email verification: Real-time email verification improved campaign deliverability.
• Custom workflow creation: Tailored workflows enhanced communication relevance and timing.
• Enhanced personalization: Personalized emails at scale, improving engagement.
• Efficient lead scoring and segmentation: Better lead prioritization based on interaction data.
• Analytics and reporting: In-depth campaign performance insights for strategy refinement.
• Reduced human error: Automation minimized errors, increasing overall campaign efficiency.

For example, while we heavily personalize the first email, follow-up emails are pretty standard. Automating a standard follow-up for if we don’t get a response within a week, became easier with Hunter. We have a template automatically customized with the recipient's name and a reference to our initial message. This ensures that our follow-ups feel personal yet require minimal manual intervention.

Hunter's system tracks the response status and triggers the follow-up email, ensuring timely engagement without the need for constant manual monitoring. This automation streamlines our process and maintains a consistent communication flow, increasing the chances of a response.

The efficiency gained from this approach allows our team to focus more on strategic tasks and less on administrative ones, significantly enhancing our overall outreach productivity.

Comparative analysis

Over the past few months, we monitored our efficiency and accuracy metrics, and the results were strikingly positive.

The time taken for our end-to-end process, from initial contact research to email deployment and cold outreach, saw a remarkable reduction of over 30%.

Examining the graphs leaves no room for doubt – the rate of bounced emails significantly declined, and there was a noticeable uptick in successful email deliveries to contacts.

This overall enhancement in performance also translated into a substantial increase in our overall output.

This meant that our messages (more messages than before) were now reaching the right inboxes and creating more opportunities for engagement and partnerships.

Similar use cases for Hunter

While Aroview's case study highlights the transformative impact of Hunter.io in the realm of strategic partnerships and co-marketing, the versatility of this email-finding tool extends to various other business scenarios.

Consider the example of an online course business. For such ventures, building an effective sales funnel and expanding the customer base is crucial. Hunter.io can be pivotal in reaching out to potential partners, affiliates, or even guest instructors.

By swiftly and accurately finding contact information, businesses in the online course industry can establish collaborations that lead to broader course offerings and increased revenue.

Let’s take another example, say an e-commerce business.  In the context of e-commerce businesses aiming to optimize their sales funnels, Hunter.io can assist in connecting with suppliers, distributors, or complementary product vendors, ultimately enhancing product offerings and streamlining supply chain operations.

Hunter.io's versatility makes it a valuable asset for businesses seeking to expand their networks and build meaningful relationships, regardless of industry.

Conclusion

To recap:

• In the initial phase, our manual outreach methods faced challenges such as high bounce rates and inefficient scaling.
• The introduction of Hunter.io streamlined our processes, reducing turnaround time and significantly improving accuracy.
• Bounce rates dwindled, successful email deliveries soared, and our overall output witnessed substantial growth.
  

Cold outreach, in its essence, is about reaching out to the right people, with the right message, at the right time. Achieving this level of precision at scale is a challenge that would be significantly less effective without tools that augment repetitive manual effort. Tools like Hunter.