While marketing enables businesses to acquire new clients, it also allows them to reconnect and engage with their loyal customers. When conducting retention campaigns, businesses are able to choose from a wide variety of marketing platforms. However, even as new technology has been introduced and the marketing landscape has drastically changed, email marketing has managed to maintain its relevance while also remaining an incredibly affordable option unlike its competing marketing platforms which include television, print, and internet channels. Therefore, email marketing campaigns allow a business to reach the widest audience for the lowest cost.
While attracting new customers is important for expanding a business, researchers have revealed that loyal and solidified customers actually generate the most revenue. Research conducted by Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company show that by increasing a business’s customer retention rates by just 5%, they will see profits increase by 25%-95% on average. Loyal and established customers generally spend 67% more than new customers, and therefore can more positively impact a company’s profit margins. Email marketing retention campaigns are a great way to interact with a business’s customer base, lower churn rates, and increase profits.
Here are six simple tips for crafting a successful email marketing campaign:
1. Focused Target Audience
Email can be an invaluable tool because it allows a business to reach a broad and diverse group of people with very little expense. However, even though email can reach a wide array of people it is still important to tailor email campaigns by customers’ interests, demographics, and buying habits. If a department store was promoting a deal on women’s shoes it would not be beneficial to email their entire customer email list because it would likely include men and children who would not be interested in the sale. Therefore, it is important to think of which clients would benefit most from the information or deal, and target that specific group. Email marketing campaigns should always be tailored to each customer.
2. Clear Subject Line
The subject line is the first step in convincing your audience to open the email. It is impossible to convince the audience to engage with your business if they do not open the email. Subject lines should relate to the contents of the email. If consumers do not immediately find the information they expect they will likely click off or delete the email. When crafting a subject line try personalizing it with the recipient’s name. Research conducted by graduate students at Stanford University shows that people are 20% more likely to open emails if their name appears in the subject line. In addition, subject lines can serve different purposes such as announcements, announcing an upcoming deal or new product, or to notifying of a scarcity in products.
For example:
Personal: Sarah, check out your fitness progress for the week
Announcement: Introducing Kolau’s new marketing features
Scarcity: Only 10 tickets left. Buy now!
The subject line is the first thing that a customer will see and determines whether or not he will open the email so spend time creating an attention grabbing subject line.
3. Stick to the Point
According to a study by Microsoft Corporation, the average attention span of a human has decreased since the year 2000 which is widely considered to be the beginning of the mobile revolution. Before the year 2000 the average person had an attention span of 12 seconds. Now, researchers have found that the average attention span has decreased to about 8 seconds. Therefore, an email’s content and format should take into account a person’s shortened attention span.
Content should be:
–clear and easy to scan: Use bullet points, place important information at the top, get straight to the point, and keep it short.
-Visual: Humans are able to process images 60,000 times faster than they are able to process text. Therefore, utilizing images in a marketing campaign can be a powerful tool because a person can process an image in 13 milliseconds. Images are able to grab a reader’s attention. According to a study done by Vero, campaigns that contained images had a 42% higher click through rate than campaigns without images.
4. Follow CAN-SPAM Act Regulations
In 2003 the CAN-SPAM Act was created to regulate and establish guidelines for commercial emails and messages. Before creating an email marketing campaign review the CAN-SPAM rules to make sure that you do not violate any rules or regulations. Violating CAN-SPAM can be extremely costly and each email found in violation of the Act can receive a monetary penalty of up to $16,000. The Act forbids using false and misleading information, deceptive subject lines, and protects a consumer’s right to opt-out or unsubscribe from mailing lists. Therefore, when sending marketing emails always include an unsubscribe button at the bottom of every email. The unsubscribe button must work for at least 30 days after the email is sent and opt-out requests must be processed and placed into effect within 10 business day. As an advertiser, pay attention to where subscribers are located because businesses are required to follow all international laws that apply to subscribers, not just the laws for where the business is based. For more information about the CAN-SPAM Act visit The Federal Trade Commission’s website.
5. Avoid Spam Filters
Marketers and consumers often interpret the word “spam” differently. While companies spend time crafting emails that do not violate the CAN-SPAM Act and receive permission to send emails to subscribers, consumers often use “spam” as a broad term to describe any unwanted or irrelevant emails they receive even if they have give the company permission to send them emails. Therefore, legitimate marketing emails can often end up in spam folders.
Often times a person’s email will automatically flag emails that it believes to be spam. Spam filters look at several aspects of an email to determine whether the email will be sent to a person’s inbox or to the spam folder. Even if an email is sent from a legitimate company there is still a chance that it can end up in a spam folder. According to MailChimp only about 79% of marketing emails, that have received permission from the recipient, actually reach the person’s inbox.
Businesses can follow these steps to avoid landing in the spam filter:
-IP address: Some spam filters will examine the IP address that an email is sent from and will flag the email if spam has been sent from that address in the past.
-Content and formatting: Spam filters will often be triggered by certain content or images that an email contains. Try to market a campaign that is clear, concise, and stays with the brand’s image and design.
-Don’t include attachments in emails: Marketing emails with attachments will likely be marketed as spam. Instead place the content on the company’s website and put the link in the email. This way you avoid spam filters while also driving more traffic to the company’s website.
-Avoid spam trigger words: Spam trigger words have been identified by email servers as frequently used words in spam mail. These words can include “Clearance,” “Buy Direct,” and “cash bonus.” Get creative with the subject line and the email’s content. For more information on common spam trigger words check out “The Ultimate List of Email SPAM Trigger Words.”
6. Mobile Friendly
With increases in technology, email is no longer confined to our desktop computers. With the proliferation of mobile technology, it is estimated that over half of all emails are opened on mobile devices. According to Litmus, 54% of emails are opened on mobile devices. With consumers primarily checking their emails from mobile devices it is imperative that all email marketing campaigns are designed to be viewed on mobile devices as well as traditional computer browsers.
When designing emails for mobile viewing utilize:
–shorter subject lines
–larger font size/smaller image size
–a clear call to action
Send out test emails before sending the email to the target audience. A test email will ensure that the email is compatible with mobile devices, desktops, and that the content and graphics are working. Most people will immediately delete emails if the content is not loading properly.
Conclusion
Email marketing campaigns allow businesses to reach a wide variety of consumers at a fraction of the cost of other marketing channels and platforms. Combining email marketing and retention campaigns is a surefire way of revitalizing your business and increasing profits.
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