The field of marketing changes often, with different approaches regularly being tested to determine their usefulness with audiences. The past decade has seen marketers flocking to new forms of engagement, most involving the use of social media and smartphones. This approach, while useful, has seemingly been missing something. Some marketing teams have long overlooked the importance of email marketing.
Email marketing has seen a resurgence in past years. The reasons for this resurgence are both notable and measurable. If you’ve thought about implementing an email marketing strategy, you should consider doing so sooner rather than later. Here are just a few ways in which an email marketing campaign can help you attract and keep customers.
People check their email every day. Why not capitalize on that?
Most people check their email accounts every single day. Whether it’s at work or at home, via their smartphone or their desktop, people can easily access their emails and see what has been sent to them. Sending an email every so often is a great way to remind customers of what’s going on at your company, whether you’re having a deal, releasing a new product, or just want to remind them that you exist.
Increase traffic to your website.
Most customer relationship management (CRM) emails are designed to engage with a customer with the help of a narrative. This often involves providing them with information as follows: Here’s a problem you might have; here’s what causes that problem; we understand the problem; here is our solution to the problem.
That last step—the solution—is usually followed by a hyperlink that leads the customer to your website, where they can learn more about your products and services. Even if it doesn’t lead to a conversion, it’s still an increase in website engagement.
Drive conversions with regular emails.
The best part about email marketing is the ease it offers to increase conversions. By providing recipients with valuable content and calls-to-action (CTA), you can pique their interest and lead them to consider making a purchase.
If you’re using affiliate marketing software to help promote your company, you can provide them with email templates that they can share with their own audience. Furthermore, anyone currently employing an affiliate marketing strategy can benefit from pairing it with email management software to streamline internal integration.
Build a reputation as an industry expert.
You want to make sure you sound like a professional when you speak to your audience. Moreover, you want to remind your customers that you know your industry better than anyone else. Some people may take this as being overzealous, but there’s a way to be confident without gloating.
Be exact when talking with your audience; speak with them eye to eye. You want to let them know that you have complete mastery over your products and services and that everything you do is for the benefit of them. When done in a confident, personable, humble way, you can let customers know that you’re a company that can be trusted— whose business they can believe in.
Improve customer-business relationships.
Not every email has to be about pitching your product. Sometimes you can send emails to customers intended to ask for their feedback. This can include surveys asking for their opinion on past products and services or questions concerning what they’d like to see from you in the future.
In other cases, an email could involve the occasional promo code or specialized deal, wherein you show your appreciation to longtime customers. It’s all toward letting customers know that you value their support, reminding them that they are just as much a part of the business as you are.
Make recipients know that your company is personable.
Gather metrics to see how recipients respond to certain content. Running consistent email marketing campaigns is a smart idea—if not for the expected increase engagement, then for the metrics that will then be at your disposal.
Metrics are your best friend when it comes to crafting a marketing campaign. With the use of a reliable email marketing software, you can effectively collect data on how recipients are interacting with your emails, from how many people open the emails you send to the number who click on an included link within. Furthermore, you can test what time of day is ideal for sending emails, along with so many other metrics. All of these can inform future posts, crafting them to meet the ideal standards of recipients to increase engagement, leads, and conversions.
Reach larger audiences in less time.
Rather than seeking out new customers at all times, you can rely on the people you already have. You can access your subscriber list to send targeted emails to members of your community, keeping them engaged with everything you have to offer. Dependent on the service you’re using, you can easily reach over a thousand past customers with a simple email.
Keep customers excited about what you’re doing.
One of the best characteristics of email marketing is it allows you to regularly interact with your audience. Even if you don’t have anything new going on, it provides you with the possibility to interact with customers past and present, either reminding them of the services you offer or simply informing them of what exciting updates they should patiently wait for.
That expectation factor is a great way to keep your customers excited, leading them to visit your website to engage with whatever it is you have going on. Even if it doesn’t lead to an immediate sale, it’s a perfect way to keep them aware of your company and what you have to offer.
Starting an email marketing campaign is fairly simple. With some forethought and an understanding for your audience, you can effectively create a campaign sure to garner engagement and increase conversions.