When it comes to commercial messages, email marketing is considered the most important means of communication. The importance of email marketing relies heavily on its ability to reach a wide audience using large databases.
It is not uncommon for brands to use email marketing either as a way to retain consumers, to attract consumers, or as a way to share exclusive content with already loyal consumers. As a result, each type of email might have a different objective, depending on the type of consumer: to build loyalty (if the consumer is already retained), to build trust (if the consumer is new), or to increase brand awareness (if the consumer is not even using the brand's products or services).
The great thing about email marketing is that it comes in many forms, mostly consisting of a mix of self-promotion, with fun information and informative content that keeps people engaged.
According to Statista, the use of email marketing as a tool dates back to the 1970s when it first became popular. Since then, it has evolved significantly and it has become one of the most effective ways to reach customers and increase sales. According to Wikipedia, email marketing has evolved with the growth of 21st century technology. So it's clear that all of these new platforms with multiple options have had a positive impact on people and brands becoming interested in this approach.
Considering the number of email users worldwide at the moment of 4,14 billion, and the number of emails sent and received per day at 319.6 billion, it is clear that email marketing should be used by all brands as a promotional tool. Email marketing revenues worldwide total 8.49 billion USD.
In February 2020, according to Statista's report, email marketing has reached the 3rd spot on the list of digital channels used by marketers for online marketing strategies, with 82% of the share, while websites and social media publishing have a little more than 88% and 83% respectively, so it's obvious why marketers should incorporate this type of marketing tool into their campaigns.
As we can see from the statistics provided, email marketing represents a powerful tool not only when it comes to marketing your brand to new consumers, but also to keep your existing ones loyal, as it provides with a strong return on investment, that’s why it has become so popular in recent years. Taking a look at Oberlo (study by Omnised), the average expected ROI for email marketing has been found to be 40$ for every dollar you spend - and that is a pretty good number.
Plus, it convinces people to make purchases - according to a recent survey, 59% of respondents said that marketing emails influenced their purchasing decisions, with half of them buying from emails at least once a month. The same effect can be seen in the abandonment chart, with 45% of abandoned cart emails being opened, 21% of which were clicked, and half of those who clicked also completed a purchase.
👉 What are the best ways to use email marketing for client retention?
1️⃣. Write a catchy subject line paying attention to the following details:
Aligning with the brand's voice;
Avoiding click-bait;
Avoiding sounding spammy;
Creating a link between the subject line and preview text - a continuous experience is the best;
2️⃣. Only send emails to the database of your company, which means:
Emails should not be sent to people who have no connection to your brand;
You should avoid buying online mass-email databases, because they are not reliable and might cause you problems;
Collecting as many email addresses from your consumers as possible through contests, strategic campaigns, etc.
3️⃣. Choose the best times to send your emails:
If you send a weekly newsletter, pick one day per week and send it on that day every week (this will make people look forward to receiving your email and will make them associate that particular day with your newsletter);
Be mindful of your customers' timezones (if you have a database of people from all over the world, make sure you send your emails at times that work for all timezones).
Do not send it late at night or early in the morning. No one wants to read a newsletter first thing in the morning or before bed.
Do not send on Sundays. The recipient's inbox is usually full and cluttered with emails that have been sent over the weekend and there are pretty high chances to receive a low open-rate on your emails.
4️⃣. Choose a reputable email marketing platform:
From your database, choose a platform that benefits your numbers of users (check if the cost per batch is reasonable).
Choose a platform that allows you to customize your email (or do it yourself with HTML, JAVA and CSS).
Choose a platform with good tech support – (Just in case your email bounces multiple times, goes to the spam folder, or is flagged for some reason).
5️⃣. Keep your emails as short and memorable as possible:
Don't send 5-page emails (people are usually reading about half a page before losing attention).
Don't send emails overloaded with plain text only. Make it colorful, bold, fun, add links, buttons, etc.
Add images related to your content. Help people understand what you are saying before they read the text.
👉 Some great examples of email marketing:
Using data analysis to provide accurate content 🎯
By using information from your profile, Airbnb offers personalized recommendations that are highly relevant. As a result, their content is 10 times more valuable, as it doesn't spam you with irrelevant information that doesn't pertain to your interests.
Offering deals and other benefits for client loyalty 💰
The happy hour promotion provides exclusive deals to customers who have provided their email address to the company or use the Starbucks app. The promotion offers a variety of discounts beyond just Frappuccino beverages.
Using gamification and entertaining methods for promotion 🎮
McDonald's is encouraging the use of its Happy Meal app by inviting users to scan the smile on the Happy Meal box, which unlocks an exciting augmented reality experience and a range of interactive storybooks and other engaging activities, serving as a source of entertainment and distraction for children.
Loyalty & membership benefits 📝
VSCO divides its users into two categories: free/basic users with limited features and members who have access to presets, editing tools, inspiring content from the global community, and tips and tricks from the VSCO team. VSCO positions the membership as the starting point for users' creative journey, as stated in the introductory email copy. By segmenting their fan base and offering different solutions to each group, VSCO aims to cater to their users' diverse needs and preferences and pressure their users into this kind of a loyalty program.
In conclusion, email marketing is a powerful tool that helps businesses retain customers and increase sales. With high open and conversion rates, email marketing has proven to be one of the most effective ways to reach and engage customers.