We’ve come a long way since the advent of email marketing, uncovering best practices and no-no’s along the way. From buying email lists, to spamming entire customer lists - many once commonplace techniques are now frowned upon.
In 2018, you can learn more about every single one of your customers than ever before, so there’s no need to use hacky or backdoor techniques to market to them. Between the data collection tools and advanced email marketing technology available, the world is at your fingertips when creating an email marketing strategy. It’s easier than ever to send subscribers messages that they actually want to receive.
Your goal should be creating segments that you know how to tailor messaging towards, and delivering emails to them at the right time. Fortunately, creating segments and setting up automated journeys doesn’t take much extra effort and it’s far more effective - there’s no reason not to incorporate these techniques into your strategy! Here are three reasons why you should start sending more personalized campaigns:
1. It’s easier to be relevant with automation
In Accenture’s 2017 Consumer Study, they found that 81% of consumers want brands to get to know them so they have a better understanding of when it’s appropriate to contact them, and when it’s not. Subscribers are looking for timely, personalized messages that are relevant to them in the moment. Imagine receiving an email with a list of products you like based on your browsing history, or a discount when you’ve abandoned a cart - the more relevant, the more impactful.
This is where automation comes into play - according to Lenskold Group, companies that use automation are 133% more likely to send relevant emails that coincide with their customers’ buying cycle. Set up automations that you regularly check in on - testing subject lines, content, and placement of CTAs to improve your automation strategy over time.
Not sure where to get started? This post lists key automations that are simple to set up: 4 Key Automated Email Campaigns to Add to Your Ecommerce Customer Journey.
2. Personalization and segmentation just work
The more brands personalize their emails, the better their campaigns perform. And there are so many stats to back this up:
- According to Experian, personalized emails have 6 times higher transaction rates.
- Aberdeen found that personalized emails improve CTR by 14% and conversions by 10%
- Econsultancy reports 74% of marketers say targeted personalization increases customer engagement.
- And according to the Direct Marketing Association, segmented and targeted emails generate 58% of all revenue
Email personalization can be simple - like including the recipient’s first name in the message, or more complex: sending product recommendations based on purchase history, interests, or personas. The first step is starting to organize your CRM with different segments or tags based on common customer traits or lifecycles. This post offers advice on how to get started: Email List Segmentation Tips for Ecommerce.
3. A smarter strategy lets you build brand love
Your number one priority as a brand is likely figuring out how to sell more stuff. But what if I told you that the best way to sell more stuff over time is to build loyalty? Finding new customers is much harder than getting existing customers to return - and in today’s competitive ecommerce landscape, you need to stand out to keep your customers engaged. The good news is it’s not that complicated to create these relationships - you can use automation to keep your customers updated on your rewards or VIP programs.
As repeat customers make up 40% of the average ecommerce store’s revenue, you can’t afford not to incentivize your customers to come back. Need some inspiration on rewarding your most valuable customers? Check out this post: How to Keep Your High Value Customers Engaged with Email.
Taking that extra time to customize your email marketing strategy to send messages that delight your customers is well worth it - the proof is in the numbers. The next time you’re thinking of sending a new email campaign to all of your contacts, press pause and take some time to think about relevant segments, or what you could be automating to make things feel genuine.