What is the most effective way to get the most out of your email? You've just spent all this money and time on the most up-to-date and ground breaking technology, but you're still not seeing a marginal increase.
Maybe the data's wrong, or the technology isn't as powerful as you first thought? Or perhaps your email just isn't that good? Here are some handy tips to take into consideration when you are building your next email campaign.
True personalisation
This should go without saying in the modern world of marketing, but it's a point that stands clear and strong. True personalisation is going further than industry standards, and keeping your marketing messages in context. By this I mean real-time – using previous shopping history, geolocation data etc.
The stats show that personalisation and contextualisation work and have a huge impact, and customers do expect this from today's marketer. According to research conducted by Smartfocus, 'the Entertainer increased their returning customers from 14% to 60% in 12 months by offering personalised recommendations.'
Micromanage your data
Okay, now you have all this data on your customer base. You need to use it and make the most of it. By micromanaging your data (by micromanaging I mean literally using every bit of it) you are able to build your email specifically for the segments you have created, and avoid looking like another 'Batch & Blast' piece of marketing.
According to CMO.com, personalised emails deliver six times higher transaction rates, but 70% of brands fail to use them.
Subject line
Some people may argue this is the most important part of an email. The most effective subject lines seem to have a few things in common; so keep them short, keep them relevant, keep them personalised and keep them localised.
The use of emojis within subject lines has crept up in recent times and is proving to be effective, provided that they are used within the right context. They can be useful when trying to convey an emotion which will help to make sure your messages stand out from the mass of emails that are in a consumer's inbox.
Tone of voice
Econsultancy recommends that the trick with copywriting is to employ a tone of voice that fits the brand values.
The best practice for this is to read your email text aloud and picture yourself in the mind of the consumer reading the email. Think "how would I feel if I received this content?" Ultimately we are all consumers of some brands, so you know what works.
Images and layout
With email service/marketing cloud providers becoming more and more powerful, the images that you use and the layout of the email is becoming more important. The way that the consumer should be reading the email should flow easily, as well as being aesthetically pleasing.
A lot of email providers still won't show images within emails (at least without giving permission first). So, although the use of images are important and should be kept relevant to what the email is promoting, don't have it as your main way of conveying the message, as there is a strong chance that it can go unnoticed.
Personalise yourself
Sending a marketing message, from the whole company or department just seems so impersonal. People don't want to be treated as if they're just another name on your screen.
One of the main objectives marketers fail to realise is that in order to have a successful customer retention rate, customers are going to need to have trust in that brand, and having a 'familiar-face' emailing them instils this more than a blank computer screen.
Here is an email that I was recently sent from the company 'VideoBlocks' who I feel use this technique particularly well.
Keep it relevant!
Content is king, although context is worthless without relevancy. No matter what the message is, if it doesn't apply to a customer, they will not be interested. This is why companies collect data, so we can bring together all elements of personalization, contextualization and other aspects of our consumer data.
Contextualisation is the bridge marketers have been waiting for; it is the connection between the customer's online and physical world. Every purchase matters when it comes to the consumer. Identifying and reacting upon this is vital in order to maintain relationships with the customer.
"From a personalized / contextualized recommendation engine, Peak Performance were able to increase Average Order Value (AOV) by 50%" – Source: SmartFocus.
SmartFocus is an innovator in messaging and communications, enabling the world's largest brands – including Nestlé, Mercedes-Benz and House of Fraser – to understand and connect more closely with today's connected consumers; whether that be via web, mobile, email or social channels.
Through The Message Cloud solution, SmartFocus genuinely listens to and learns from customers using patented algorithms and unique location-based marketing tools. Using The Message Cloud, SmartFocus customers have the rich data, intelligence and the tools for contextually unique engagements, through any digital channel.
by James Iredale, Marketing Advisor at SmartFocus
PrivSec Conferences will bring together leading speakers and experts from privacy and security to deliver compelling content via solo presentations, panel discussions, debates, roundtables and workshops.
For more information on upcoming events, visit the website.
comments powered by Disqus