Look around. You’re surrounded by logos. You can probably count at least 25 different branded messages around you right now. Go ahead and count, I’ll wait…
The average person sees 30,000 branded marketing messages every day. And they receive at least 45 email marketing messages daily – most of which they signed up to receive, a few of which they might actually remember signing up for and still want.
Email provides a direct, personal connection to your customers. And while it might be tempting to blast out all of your company news to everyone on your list, remember this: your email campaigns aren’t about you, they’re about the customer. Stop talking about yourself and start communicating the messages each customer wants to hear. You can do that with email.
How? By segmenting customers by past purchase data – not just by categories or brands, but by actual SKUs, amount spent, number of purchases, etc. Looking at a customer’s purchase history as a whole helps you accurately predict future purchases. That, in turn, lets you send highly relevant and timely messages to each customer.
Let’s say you sell pet supplies online, and I frequently spend $75 a month with you on dog food and chew toys for our office dog. Then my sister adopts a kitten, and I add a scratching post and kitty condo to my regular order, spending an extra $150 one month.
Do you:
A. Do nothing – Keep sending me weekly emails about pet supplies, because keeping your brand in front of me should be reminder enough when it’s time to reorder dog food
B. Start sending me emails with cat-related images and promotions – I bought cat supplies once, so I might do it again
C. Send me reminders when it’s time to reorder dog food – Once I’m online, I’ll see the menu item for cat supplies, so I can purchase something else if I want to
D. All of the above – The more emails, the better!
Before you answer D, keep this in mind: Return Path found that eNewsletters make up 29% of a consumer’s inbox, yet account for an astonishing 70% of spam complaints and 60% of all spam trap hits, meaning real spammers are doing a better job than some email marketers. Ouch!
You will keep my business and keep me happy just by sending me a reminder when it’s time to reorder. If you want to send me the occasional email offer or announcement, that’s fine too, as long as it’s the exception and not the rule. Over-sending is one of the quickest ways to turn off your customers. They’ll stop listening – and BUYING – and even report you as a spammer, hurting your reputation and deliverability. You will be most likely to get my sale by sending me the messages that are most targeted to my needs.
Remember, as my favorite online pet supplies retailer, you know much more about me than just the brand of dog food I order. You know how frequently I order and how much I usually spend. You also know I haven’t purchased a new dog bed in over a year, at least not from your site. And as a regular customer, you can easily assume that if I’m ordering dog food from you, I’m probably not stopping at the pet store after work for other dog supplies.
Knowing all that, if you send me an email featuring dog beds in the $100-$150 area – which is close to my average order value and in line with what I spent on the cat condo - there is a good possibility that I’ll buy one. The message will stand out from the 30,000 others received that day and you’ll keep me engaged with your brand.
That’s email marketing at its finest.
We recently released a whitepaper on segmentation so you can get more details here. I’m also available to answer any questions.
That is really and definitely email marketing at its finest! Thanks for sharing this with us Roos! Learn a lot from this article.