EMAIL MARKETING: 5 CREATIVE STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
The year is 2016, and the Digital Age has taken the world by storm. We find ourselves in an era where every single aspect of life is run and operated by some sort of digitalized technology. And the field of Marketing is no exception. The digital side of the Marketing world has become more and more prominent in recent years, and is undoubtedly the future of the field.
Email Marketing is an extremely effective tool which can be used to reach large numbers of people very inexpensively and in a short period of time. These benefits have helped make Email Marketing one of the most widely used tools to reach customers. In fact, there are nearly 150 billion emails being sent every single day. The challenge that marketers face is to find a way to make their emails stand out from the crowd and prompt their target audience to engage the email instead of disregarding and deleting it. After researching what characteristics in an email generate customer interaction, we have compiled a list of 5 strategies to take emails from trash to cash for you and your company.
STRATEGY 1: BE GENEROUS
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Perhaps the most widely used clich? in the course of human history is: ?It is better to give than to receive.? This concept holds true in the realm of digital marketing. Studies have indicated that the absolute most effective way to get customers to interact with your email campaigns is by giving away free items in your email. Whether it be free coupons, free templates, free eBooks, or free programs, the best way to reach your customers and expose them to your content is with some good old-fashioned bribery. Customers are always asking, ?What?s in it for me?? Well, the most effective way to earn their interest and engagement is by answering that question with some free digital goodies. So get to giving, and you will get to getting! This is why you need to make sure you meet the needs of all of your customers, both satisfied and dissatisfied in order to keep a strong base of customers. To do this you should visit a site like https://www.salesforce.com/products/service-cloud/what-is-customer-service/ to find out all about how to keep your customers satisfied!
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STRATEGY 2: BE TIMELY
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Another major key in helping your email stand out in the crowd is by selecting a time to send it during which your customer is most likely to interact with it. A simple way to do this is by sending your email at a time where the customer?s inbox will not be flooded. The less emails yours will have to compete against will greatly increase its chances of being opened and read. A lengthy experiment performed by Experian Marketing Services revealed that the best time during the work week to send emails is between the hours of 8:00 and Midnight. Saturday and Sunday are also great times to utilize some email marketing as often times the inboxes will be much less crowded during the weekend. This is a great example of working smarter, not harder. If you choose the best times to send your emails, your content can see an exponential increase in customer engagement without having to change it at all.
STRATEGY 3: BE MOBILE FRIENDLY!
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70% of Americans use smartphones. And as a result of that 50% of all emails opened are opened via mobile devices. So one of the best ways to ensure your content is being seen is to make sure your content is easily accessible on a wide array of devices. Some easy ways to go about doing this are to
- Increase Font Size
- Reduce Number of Columns (Preferably to 1)
- Adhere to iOS Guidelines and Suggestions
Making your content mobile friendly is a great way to increase the number of people who can and will engage your post. On top of that, one of the main criteria Google and other search engines use in their algorithms is how mobile friendly your website and content is. So ensuring all of your content is mobile friendly is a great way to increase the number of customer interactions your marketing campaigns recieve, all while simultaneously increasing your SEO.
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STRATEGY 4: BE PERSONAL BUT NOT OVERBEARING
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There is no denying that one of the best ways to attract consumers is by making them feel important by learning about them and by trying to establish a relationship. The feelings of community and trust that accompany such interaction helps get clients through the door, and often leads to customer loyalty.
Many companies have tried to imbed these feelings into Email Marketing by addressing the customer by his or her first name, and by using other personal information about the customer throughout the course of the email. In theory this sounds good, it seems to make the customer feel as though the company cares about him or her and that this is a trust worthy company seeking to establish relationship. However, research suggests the complete opposite is true. In reality, the use of such personal information actually scares the customer off. We live in a society rampant with identity theft and fraud, and, as such, many customers instantly delete any email with their personal information on it for fear it might be a scam. So the trick is to be personal and relational without scaring the customer away.
The best way to do this is to focus on the customer?s personal interests instead of their personal information. The same study referenced earlier uncovered that a whopping 98% of customers interacted with emails tailored specifically to their interests?which can be learned and utilized by referencing the client?s purchasing history or demographic?as opposed to their personal information.
So, the moral of this story is to strive for personalization in your online marketing, but do so without giving off scammy vibes.
STRATEGY 5: BE YOURSELF
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At the end of the day, what draws in business and what draws in customers is the ability to be genuine. The thing that will separate your email from the billions of other emails, is the same thing that sets your company apart from all of its competitors. And this is the personality and the values of you and your company. And the best way to way to get that across to your customers in a digital platform is to pursue authenticity. Find your own voice and what your best selling points are, and attempt to capture that with your email marketing. Stay true to who you are, and to what you and your company stands for, and the customers will come in droves.
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So, to recap all of the strategies that will strengthen your Email Marketing Campaigns:
- Be Generous
- Be Timely
- Be Mobile Friendly
- Be Personal
- Be Yourself
If you employ these Email Marketing Strategies, the strength of your digital campaign will increase and your Emails will stand out above the crowd. This will lead to an increase in customer engagement, which will lead to an increase in revenue, which will lead to a happier you!
By Michael Owens
