With the constant clutter of inboxes, you may be hesitant to send out emails to market your brand or services. But don’t give up on this valuable customer acquisition tool. According to eMarketers’ summary of DMA’s 2016 Response Rate Report, email has a median ROI of 122%. Utilize the following checklist to optimize email marketing for e-commerce, and increase your audience and sales.
Personalize It
Personalization increases engagement, but it effectively involves more than inserting your customer’s name throughout the email. Consider implementing:
- Browsing and Purchasing Habits: Analyzing purchase and browsing histories gives you insight as to your customer’s interests. They’re likely to buy complementary or similar products in the future, and recommend the items to others. Encourage them to recall those interests, through an explicit “because you bought this…” or simply a message displaying related items.
- Previous Email Actions: As with customer search histories, email responses are also worthy of data mining and can help your business. You may have to adjust the frequency and/or the context of messages to certain customers, based upon their click rates.
Reward Customers for Reviews
Typically, people leave reviews only if they feel passionate one way or another about a product. But how to engage customers who didn’t love or hate something, just liked it? Encourage reviews by sending automated, personalized emails a few days after customers receive their products. Popular incentives include free shipping, 20% off next purchase, and BOGO specials.
Be Honest About Email Frequency
Another way to optimize email marketing for e-commerce is to be honest about the frequency of messages. If your messages vary such as with weekly, weekend, or monthly recaps, let customers choose what’s best for them. Additionally, always include an “unsubscribe” option, along with the option for customers to relay why they’re leaving. Although losing customers isn’t appealing, these metrics support the benefits of marketing automation and adapting A-B testing.
Reward Your Loyal Customers
In Experian’s 2014 case study of Howard’s Storage World, the company earned more than $250,00 from a reward campaign. Keep your loyal customers coming back, by acknowledging their patronage, and showing appreciation through exclusive discounts, coupons, and events.
Optimize Email Marketing for E-Commerce with Milestone Campaigns
Who doesn’t enjoy receiving a personalized birthday email with a special offer? In MarketingLand’s March 2018 summary of Yes Lifecycle Marketing’s benchmark report, birthday and anniversary emails provoked a 17% open rate. At an average 8& conversion rate, that’s almost double the non-trigger rate of 4.8%. Just because promotions and possible sales occur online, doesn’t mean they still shouldn’t have that “human touch.”
Incorporate Social Media Integration
Almost everyone is on social media, and many prefer to engage with brands that way rather than through email. Integrate social media with your email marketing campaign through:
- Incentives: Give your audience a reason to connect with you on social media. In addition to providing engaging content, offer opportunities such as the chance to be featured on your page.
- Ask for Followers through Emails: Adding a Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram icon is not enough. Ask your audience to connect with you at the beginning of the email, so they won’t miss the chance.
- Promote Opt-ins: Even with a growing social media presence, you can still use that platform to promote email opt-ins. Again, incentivize email opt-ins with enticing features and valuable information.
Utilize Lead Magnets
Lead magnets are something that subscribers receive as appreciation for their contact information. It’s a valuable incentive that also allows you to exhibit your area of expertise. Whether a free PDF checklist, instructional video, white paper, or eBook, it should:
- Have a specific purpose
- Provide a solution
- Be easily understood
- Deliver realistically achievable results
Take a closer look at your marketing techniques, and how they adhere to the dos and don’ts of email campaigns. Use these tips to optimize email marketing for e-commerce, and increase sales!
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