Ever since the introduction of the internet to the general public, email has proven itself, from time to time, to be the primary form of communication.
Over the years, advancement in marketing strategies have led to different types of advertising,email marketing is still, to date, one of the most effective way to give that much-needed boost to your business.
It is the process of sending an electronic message, commercial in nature, usually to a group of people.
How is email marketing still relevant?
Withstanding the wrath of time, email marketing has evolved itself catering to the needs of the users. In its early days, a list of people who used email was created, and an email containing advertisement was sent to everyone.
As internet advertising became more and more relevant, this strategy witnessed a lot of changes. Though the approach isn’t as powerful as advertising on social media and messaging, it can still prove beneficial if used correctly.
There are over 4 million people who use email on a daily basis, and every dollar spent on an email generates $38, which amounts to a staggering 3,800% return on the initial investment.
It allows a business to reach even people who you cannot contact using the ever-growing social media or other advertising platforms while enabling you to build a personal relationship with your customers.
The perks of Email Marketing
Every form of marketing has its associated perks and cons. Email Marketing commonly referred to as E-Marketing has a pretty poor reputation, but can get the job done if you know how to use it correctly.
Incredibly low cost
Almost everyone who has access to the internet has at least one email address. This is what makes the e-marketing so popular and successful.
Every business, whether big or small, uses email for the promotion of their website and products. The average ROI when using this is nearly 3700%.
Small businesses can start with using Gmail to boost their sales, and when they attain the required capital to invest further, can make the jump to commercial services such as MailChimp.
Flexibility and automation
Email provides the best way to deliver your content to people irrespective of their geographical location, allowing you to customize your message just like you want it to.
You can send images, attach files, and even videos in addition to plain text formatting. It doesn’t matter if your mail list is small or huge, email can handle it all quickly.
Suppose you sent an email titled “How to get rich.” If someone in your mailing list opens and reads it, you can automatically send more emails afterward similar to his/her areas of interest.
Easiest customer acquisition method
Researchers have garnered few stats about e-marketing which prove that it is one of the most effective methods when you want to promote a startup or business.
About 66% of customers had made a purchase when an email was delivered directly to their inbox. Email is 40x more effective than Facebook and Twitter when it comes to the acquisition of customers, although retention is an entirely different story.
Brand promotion and awareness
E-marketing can prove to be a big boon in the brand promotion process if used correctly. Just like videos and photos posted on social media, emails can also be shared with other people in just a click. This helps you reach even more customers, who might have a genuine interest in the product or the service you are offering.
Increase in web traffic
By reaching out to new people and gaining knowledge of what a customer needs or is interested in, you can send them an email reminding them there is a product available they might be interested in or offer content to their liking.
One of the best examples is Amazon, who send out emails to customers, sometimes reminding them there is a new deal or discount available on the things or services they wanted to buy.
Lead Generation
With every mail you send to someone, your goal should be to generate more leads. It is simple and complex at the same time.
One can argue that generating leads is as simple as sending more emails to people who have clicked on the link enclosed or bought a product but it’s not.
A process critical to successfully market your product via e-marketing is segmentation. It is the process of breaking down your mailing list into sub-categories which represent your customer’s interests, preferences and other characteristics such as geographical location or willingness to spend.
That being said, if the segmentation process is carried out correctly, one can easily help generate more leads which can drive the sales of a company.
Personalization
If you have a large subscriber base, you might already have segmented your mailing list depending on the various factors discussed above. We must understand that everyone has varying needs and that a generalized email won’t cut it.
Depending on what your customer is interested in, emails should be personalized accordingly. It has been observed that emails which are customized have a 26% higher rate of opening, and 14% more click rate when compared to a generalized email.
Most of the email marketing softwares offer the functionality which provides some tokens helping you to personalize an email, making your lead feel special.
An example to make your email personalized and appealing is to include a personal signature, from a human, not a company.
Choosing the right Email Service Provider (ESP)
Not everyone business needs an ESP. But when you have reached a point where your list has grown too big, you might consider making the switch. When choosing a service provider, one has to keep certain things in mind.
Some of the features essential to e-marketing include a CRM platform with segmentation capabilities, automation, ability to split emails, built-in analytics tools and most importantly, a good reputation as an ESP.
Conclusion:
While there are many factors to take into account when sending a marketing email, the most important thing to remember is to put yourself into your customer’s shoes and design an email which you will likely respond to. Most people unknowingly, engage with e-marketing.
Interestingly, more than 72% of people want to receive promotional content over email rather than getting disturbed on social media.
Because of this very reason, you need to make sure that the people who have actively subscribed should get their content to the point and that you are not filling their inbox to the point where they dont want to be on your list anymore.
