Competition in the marketplace is fierce, and some consumers are growing tired of the constant messages from brands, but there are a few email marketing trends making waves in retail communications.
We wanted to know what strategies work best for connecting brands with email subscribers in this unique moment, so we went straight to an expert. We spoke with Jordan Rolf, Senior Marketing Executive at Epos Now, a cloud-based software provider centered around the design and manufacture of electronic point of sale. Epos Now works with over 47,000 retail businesses across the world — and Rolf’s favorite way to reach out, educate, and engage with retailers is through email marketing.
Why is this? Email marketing is a staple marketing tool that still has some pull with consumers who prefer the classic communication forum. These trends tend to work best with them: personalized emails, mobile optimization and video content.
Read more of our conversation below:
Personalized email marketing content
Your subscribers likely have a good idea of what your brand is. But how well do you really know your email subscribers?
Well-structured personalized email content is a result of brands taking the time to thoroughly understand their subscribers and providing them with relevant information. It’s a great way to showcase brand credibility and avoid sending certain messages to consumers who may not find them useful.
Rolf says this marketing trend is picking up steam due to the benefits it offers consumers. Personalized content is tailored content, meaning it can refer customers to products or services they might enjoy, ultimately creating an easier shopping experience.
“Retailers are increasingly using personalized content in their email marketing campaigns to create a more relevant and engaging experience for their customers. This can include things like customized product recommendations or targeted ads,” said Rolf. “For example, you might receive an email with a product recommendation based on items you've recently viewed on the retailer's website. Or, if you've left an item in your shopping cart but haven't completed the purchase, you might receive an email reminder with a special offer to incentivize you to buy.”
Mobile optimization for emails
Consumers love their phones (which means you should too.)
It’s essential for you to meet your customers where they are if you want to take advantage of marketing trends. Mobile optimization is growing in popularity, and experts say consumers’ love of technology has something to do with it.
“With more and more people using their smartphones and tablets to shop online, it's essential that retailers optimize their email marketing campaigns for mobile devices. This means ensuring that all elements of the campaign — including the email itself, images and click-through buttons — are easy to view and use on a smaller screen,” said Rolf.
(Here’s a resource if you’re looking for more information on how to optimize your email marketing content and conversions.)
Videos within emails
Jumping on marketing trends before consumers have moved onto something else can seem difficult, especially when there’s so many to choose from. If only you could tackle multiple trends at once…videos might be just what you need.
“Including videos in email marketing campaigns can be a great way to engage customers and boost conversions. Videos can help explain products or services in more detail, show off your brand's personality, or simply promote a special offer. Plus, they're more likely to be watched than traditional text-based emails. Some great content that could be highlighted in videos instead of words is behind-the-scenes footage of your company or employees, product demonstrations, customer testimonials and case studies,” said Rolf.
Depending on the specific goal you’re trying to achieve, your video content can be tailored to your customers' personal needs, be optimized for mobile devices, promote brand humanization or align with any other marketing objectives you have in mind.
Email marketing trends in retail are worth paying attention to, especially when your subscribers are. These three trends can be beneficial for your brand and the customers you serve.
