What would you say the general consensus on email marketing is today?
If you’ve been a marketer at any point over the last few years, it may be a bit difficult to come up with one clear answer. From a brand perspective, email has tons of benefits: immediate communication with consumers, valuable segmented content, increased conversions…the list goes on. But email marketing has also gotten its fair share of flack for overwhelming consumers with too many messages.
If both things are true, how can you trust that email marketing is worthy of your brand’s time and attention? To get a better understanding of email marketing’s value, we spoke with Angel Martins, a marketing executive at Finsbury Media, a leading digital marketing agency in the United Kingdom.
This is what we discussed:
Email marketing is as strong as ever
For a B2C company like yours, it’s nearly impossible to find anything more important than connecting with your customers. That’s why every marketing channel you focus on must strengthen the relationship you’ve created with your customer base. Martins says email marketing is a great way to keep in touch with your customers and nurture intimacy.
“With email marketing you can take your time composing comprehensive messages, almost as if sending a letter to a friend. Email communication is far more personal than other advertising channels, which makes it perfect for building relationships with customers,” Martins said. “Unlike marketing on social media, emails are great, because with an inbox you can reach users directly where their attention is present instead of sharing a spot on a social media feed.”
Optimizing your email marketing
There are various things Martins says you should always include in your email campaigns to ensure success. One important element is the call-to action, which guides people to your desired action. Another important factor is the ability to track and measure your campaigns performance. This will allow you to not only gauge which emails work best, but also see what types people respond most positively.
“To increase open rates and impressions, it's important that you focus on using your emails strategically. Some of the most successful email campaigns always have a strong opening message, which convey a clear call-to-action and promote engagement. Offer some exclusive content and incentivize emails with resources such as website and social links in between sections of text. Encourage people who might have otherwise ignored you into engaging with every aspect of the email,” said Martins.
Connecting with your customers on a more intimate level can look like creating incentives and sending out emails that offer exclusive discounts and industry events, but that’s not all. Valuable information depends a lot on the industry and audience. The better you know your customer, the more successful your email campaign will be.
“The best way to get a clear picture of what information is valuable is by running various campaigns and reviewing the results. There is a lot of data available today about how people interact online, so it's important for marketers to take advantage of this data when creating an email campaign. The most successful email campaigns will establish meaningful messages that speak directly towards consumers' needs, provide quality information and relevant offers,” said Martins.
Providing value within your email campaign works best when you make it a seamless process for your prospects to interpret your message. The tone and content should be personalized for your audience to ensure it's something they'll appreciate.
“Personalized messages will make your customers feel special, which gives them more of an incentive to open and interact with your emails. To ensure that as a marketer you are doing this, track the results of your campaigns and review the performance data. The results won't lie and will let you know what is working and what is not,” said Martins.
Tailored messages don’t just make your subscribers feel special, they also help you avoid one major marketing pitfall: consumer inundation. While sending message after message might sound like a great way to keep your brand top of mind, it can have the opposite effect.
“Low-quality and spammy content might engage customers briefly, but will lose their attention in the long term, hurt your reputation and deliver poor results. The emails you're sending out should be engaging and informative rather than just trying to sell something at every turn. Avoid wordy or difficult to read text and send only what will engage your customer base without overwhelming them,” said Martins.
Email marketing is far from over, and because of its ability to directly connect you with customers it can be a great channel for building loyalty. These tips will help you make the most of it. 