Even if your current results are less than satisfactory, here are 5 convincing reasons not to give up on email marketing just yet:
1. Email marketing is ideal for targeting your mobile customers.
The smartphone population is steadily growing, and it’s expected that there will be just under 2 billion users worldwide by the end of 2015. Of these smartphone users, a recent report from the Pew Research Center indicated that 52 percent use their phones to access email.
The typical smartphone user carries his phone everywhere–almost as if it is an extension of his own body–making it incredibly convenient to access email on-the-go. With the amount of downtime that we all spend waiting in line, commuting, traveling, etc, email has become a welcome distraction. If you aren’t using email campaigns as a way to connect with your audience, you are missing out on a newly captive audience.
2. It’s a very helpful way to keep your customers informed.
Your audience would likely appreciate a monthly or quarterly update from you about the state of your industry. While this should not be a direct sales pitch for your brand, it will deliver value and help to keep your business top of mind. According to data compiled by Nielsen, 28 percent of US online consumers look forward to receiving emails from their favorite brands to stay informed.
Another way to keep customers informed via email is to share exciting news about your company–a new brick-and-mortar location, the introduction of a new product, or a special event you will be hosting–before this information is released to the public. This exclusivity is one of the biggest reasons why people choose to opt-in to emails from their favorite brands.
3. It’s an effective way to share coupons to drive sales.
Another driving factor to subscribe to brand emails is for coupons and the potential to save money. In the same Nielsen study, 27 percent of US internet shoppers said they subscribe to emails from their favorite brands for coupons and discounts. And apparently, e-coupons are very effective considering that 64 percent of US consumers have printed a coupon from an email that they received.
With the internet becoming an incredibly powerful resource for price shopping, offering a coupon in your marketing email can very much appeal to the growing group of bargain shoppers and help to get them in the door to your business. Just don’t make the mistake of assuming that just because someone subscribed they want to receive a coupon from you daily. They don’t. Test and refine your email sending habits but don’t become a spammer!
4. It can be easily personalized to better captivate your recipient.
Want to know what’s an even more effective personalization tactic than including your customer’s name in the subject line or content? Offering personalized product recommendations. Amazon is an online retailer that does this incredibly well based on products that you’ve previously viewed and purchased. Almost half of today’s online retailers have embraced personal product recommendations. Another savvy personalization tactic is to include shopping cart reminders to help with the conversion process.
5. Email is one of the least expensive ways to reach your audience.
If you are on a budget, email is a very effective way to reach a large audience for a small price. This is especially true when compared to other conventional marketing sources like radio or television. In fact, 85 percent of retailers in the US consider email marketing as one of the top ways to reach an audience.
While there is nothing new and necessarily exciting about email marketing, it’s certainly not something that should be forgotten about. If you’ve already got a content marketing strategy in place, than pairing it with email marketing for delivering that content in a timely and relevant manner will only serve to enhance your efforts and increase the likelihood of success!
