With the development and popularity of social media and other modern marketing techniques, people may have thought that email marketing is dying. However, researches have demonstrated that old-fashioned email is actually a far more effective way to acquire and attract customers to your business online. Throughout this article, Egluu explains why today’s marketing shouldn’t be all and only about social media.
According to Compete PRO, email is the second most popular incoming traffic source for most shopping sites after search engines. In addition, 40.6% of people choose email as a tool when they shop, compared to only 27.3% for social networking sites. Social media are almost insignificant as customer channels. Don’t get us wrong, they represent valuable tools to encourage customers engagement, but they are not the best way to drive sale. Therefore “if you have just one bullet left in your gun to sell something, email should always be that bullet”, says Simms Jenkins, CEO of BrightWave Marketing.
One of the reasons why email marketing is still an effective means of communication between brands and their customers is because it’s permission based. Indeed, unless you have bought database lists, the people that appear on your email list have given you the permission to send them messages. They are consequently more receptive and, with the prevalence of smartphones and tablets, they are always listening. Indeed, people check their emails constantly. This enables brands to stay connected with their audiences, wherever they are. In fact, according to recent findings, more email is read on mobile than on a computer. Optimizing email for mobile is therefore something that brands should be focusing on in order to provide the best experience to their customers. Emails must be coded to be attractive on a phone screen, powerful enough to grab attention, and personalized.
Nowadays, retailers use different content to target different types of consumers. Based on short questionnaires or customers’ purchase histories, marketers design specific content that involves and engages their audience. However, it is not only about the content, but also about the tone. Indeed, emails require a different tone than social media channels. On email people want offers and the tone is generally more formal, while on social media consumers expect breaking news and updates using a more familiar tone. Finally, to make sure that your emails are not spamming your audience, you should allow them to decide when they receive your emails. To do so, set up a preference centre where users can adjust their email options.
