All businesses have their competitors to fight. And if you add to that the fact that a competitor can be a larger-than-life brand as well as a small business that’s just around the corner, it’s more than obvious that you’ll need all arrows in your quiver, in order to beat the enemy.
And your best, fastest arrow is an email marketing and automation strategy that will help you make the most out of your revenue. But first of all, you’ll need to make sure you’ve picked out the proper email marketing software, like Moosend (which is a great MailChimp alternative, by the way).
Email marketing is the single most cost-effective way, that can help you with your endeavors, with increasing your sales and reaching your KPIs.
You see, for every dollar invested in an email campaign, there is a return of $38, or an ROI of 3800%. There is no other more profitable technique than that one, not even social media marketing – which, by the way, uses emails to communicate various news, notifications, etc.
The problem with all that is the fact that some of the emails will need to be automated. But this doesn’t, in any way, mean that it’s okay for them to look like they’ve been written and sent out by robots!
So, read on to see what kind of email marketing automation techniques you really need, in order to boost your business.
1. Data and Segmentation First
The very very first step is selecting an email marketing and automation platform from the dizzying number of email marketing services that are currently available. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to move onto data, segmentation and their importance.
Data is the basis around which everything is built, pretty much. So, make sure that your data is up to date, otherwise you’ll be in for the unpleasant surprise called undelivered and/or marked-as-spam emails, not to mention the high unsubscribe rate.
Now, undelivered emails, being marked as spam and the unsubscribers can harm your deliverability rates, make your email provider penalize you and so on and so forth, but also, it can harm your reputation among your subscribers, which means that your open rates will be low. Too low
Data will also be the be-all-end-all when it comes to the second point of this step: segmentation.
You cannot segment without having proper data, it would be kind of like trying to eat food that is burnt to a crisp.
Once you make sure your data is valid, begin sorting them into different segments.
Some of your subscribers will need to see different offers and benefits than others, based on their location, their age but other factors like educational and marital status could be taken into account as well.
Oh, and remember: some of your subscribers are deeper down the sales funnel, more so than others. These subscribers need a different type of approach and different offers to choose from.
Segmenting your data can only be good for you, seeing as it can, and will, be of huge benefit down the line. Just take a look at the numbers:
21% of the people asked, said that the reason they unsubscribe from mailing lists is irrelevant emails. Imagine losing one-fifth of your email list just because you didn’t segment.
2. Say Hello
By segmenting your list, you’ll see how many of your subscribers are new, how many are old, how many have bought a product or a service from you and so on.
Now, your new subscribers are right there at the top of the funnel. You need to nudge them downwards, don’t you? Of course you do.
And what better way to do it than a welcome email? You see, welcome emails are a norm, they’re expected, even. So, when your prospects sign up, let them know that you’re grateful for that by sending them an email.
Better yet, send them a welcome email with a small discount, in order to encourage them to make their first purchase. Like that one:
Simple, easy and has a little incentive to encourage purchase and lead a user further down the funnel. What’s not to like?
3. Cart Abandonment
The welcome email worked, the subscriber logged in, they put some products in their cart and just… Left it there.
Don’t worry, this is called cart abandonment and all businesses, no matter how big or small, have been there. So, in this case, you’ll need to send out cart abandonment emails in order to tackle this issue.
The prospect found value in your product, went online, saw things he or she liked, they were ready to convert, you were so close, but still… Something happened, something that lead the user to abandon their cart.
If you leave that cart be, you’ll be leaving money on the table, hands down. This is why cart abandonment emails are a necessity when it comes to email marketing automation techniques.
And don’t be afraid to send more than one. You may need a couple, in order to help your prospect convert, but it’ll be worth the effort.
Oh and while we’re at it, go ahead and include products in your cart that a customer will be able to use along with the ones they’ve added in their cart. For example, if they’ve added a shirt, try and recommend a jacket-and maybe a discount.
4. The “Missed You” Email
Aiming to let the prospect know that they haven’t interacted with the brand in a while, these emails are supposed to be used in order to touch-base with your customers and give your brand (and your employees and campaigns) a more human approach.
Old salespeople would do the same thing in a brick-an-mortar store if they saw a person who used to go in, browse and then leave the store. So, why not use the same tactic, but with the contemporary twist?
This one’s from my personal email and it did grab my attention at first, not going to lie. It’s a very friendly approach, almost like a text one would receive from an old friend they haven’t spoken to in a while.
This is also from my own personal email. It was sent to me when I stopped interacting with the brand and it gave me two options, as you can see: Either remain on the mailing list or unsubscribe.
I found this example to be fantastic, seeing as it does provide the user with a valid option, showing that the brand does care about its reputation and its customers.
And how can anyone unsubscribe after that?
Takeaway
There is a lot – and I do mean a lot – of ways to capture someone’s attention with email marketing automation techniques and they’re all great, provided you follow a strategic plan that will give you long-term results.
I decided to stick with the four classics, for you that need that little push to get started.
But what do you think? Are there any techniques you would’ve liked better?
Leave me a comment to let me know… and don’t forget to share the knowledge!
About the Author
Téa is a content writer working for email marketing software company Moosend and an obsessive writer in general. In her free time, she tries to find new ways to stuff more books in her bookcase and content ideas-and cats-to play with.
