A pioneering wonder in digital communication, email has proven itself as a powerful marketing tool. But has it outlived its usefulness in this modern and disruptive era? Not yet! SIMON DELL explains why.
Despite the overwhelming urge for brands to embrace ever-changing software and technology, email remains the top choice for one-on-one communication.
It’s a powerful and easy to use marketing tool right at your fingertips!
While social media is great for keeping customers updated with brand news, emails reign supreme when it comes to promoting limited offers and gaining impulse clicks. Social media content is filtered — it’s a crude shotgun approach that doesn’t effectively target your most loyal customers. This is where e-mail marketing is most powerful: personalisation.
In 2020, 87 per cent of marketers believe email was increasingly effective for messaging customers. Today, we still send out newsletters, promotions, and leadretention emails because these continue to draw customers’ attention. Simple, yet emotionally evocative language is what does the trick.
Emails are a direct and informative way to contact key people within businesses. A well-written subject line will work wonders — you need to balance intrigue with a habit of cutting to the chase when acknowledging buyer intent.
Also, remember to include no more than one call-to-action (CTA) in the email body when dealing with businesses.
High response rate
Tired of ads and social media posts that generate zero attention? Emails can be tailored to customers and businesses and you’re more likely to receive a response from your target audience.
The most common metric for assessing email marketing success is the click-toopen (CTO) metric.
This rate measures opened emails against the number of clicks on your CTA link. More than 13 per cent of marketing emails on average result in a click. That’s comparable to a successful social media post from a large campaign while being far more affordable.
Aim for a 10 per cent CTO rate to gauge the success of your email marketing campaign when starting. Don’t be afraid to experiment with layouts, action-based CTA and images to increase your rate.
SalesHandy and RightInbox are excellent stand-alone mail-tracking tools, allowing you to view link clicks and number of sent emails opened.
A direct CTA
Emails provide an excellent opportunity to connect with your target demographic. The formality of your language, the nature of your graphics and images – even your text colour and font affect customers’ receptiveness to your message.
It’s important to start or end your email with a subject line consistent with your CTA. One formula for writing an email is to ask questions (such as potential problems or queries) and frame your CTA as the solution.
Questions should be coloured with emotive language that provokes a response. As an example, “Stressing about which mattress to buy?” An appropriate CTA would be: “We make choosing a mattress easy. Start shopping.”
This simple formula may not be effective for B2B sales. Instead, your ability to convey value information concisely comes into play. Entice your prospect to respond by stating the undeniable value of your service or again, by asking questions they need answered.
Don’t shy away from being proactive about setting meetings and suggesting timeframes. Ensure the ball is always in the clients’ court.
Automated, but still personal
Let’s talk about mail marketing clients. Mail marketing software like MailChimp, HubSpot and Drip provide you with email statistics and can also send out emails to leads and current customers based on their behaviour.
Consider the journey a potential client takes from signing up or registering interest to purchasing. Lifecycle emails can be customised according to which step a prospective may be on this journey.
Your email software may automatically send an e-mail to users who have closed a browser window containing their virtual shopping cart. You can automate email vouchers or discounts to inactive clients, rekindling cold leads.
The possibilities of further categorising and targeting niches within your client base are endless and depend on the nature of your business.
Not going away anytime soon
Email marketing has an ROI of $US44 ($AU61.77) for each dollar spent. That’s without mentioning a massive B2C audience – 90 per cent of customers enjoy receiving coupons and sales promotions from companies.
Email marketing is a fantastic way to attract and retain customers, no matter the size of your business, and it’s an approach that’s here to stay.
