How E-commerce Email Marketing Has Changed
E-commerce email marketing has experienced some big changes in recent months. Between Google’s plan to roll back cookies and Apple’s decision to increase consumer privacy, opt-in email campaigns are what’s keeping healthy commerce alive. Instead of casting a wide net for consumers, effective advertising takes a targeted approach.
The pandemic has also changed the rules of e-commerce marketing. More and more consumers are shopping online, prompting businesses to increase their digital marketing budgets. But unlike social media ads, opt-in emails have a distinct advantage: they’ve cleared the consumer trust hurdle.
So it’s fair to say marketing for e-commerce can make or break a business in today’s economy. Email marketing mistakes are luxuries that most retailers can’t afford.
E-Commerce Email Marketing is Getting Personal
It’s no secret that targeted emails get bigger open rates in the e-commerce email marketing game. Automated email marketing is also a valuable way of staying connected with consumers.
But like any relationship, the quality of communication determines its future. Everybody’s inboxes are groaning with bad messages. For yours to count, it has to contain monetary value or personally helpful news. Otherwise, you risk the permanent breakup of “unsubscribe.”
As a result, more e-commerce marketing revolves around being interactive rather than far-reaching:
- Behavior-based emails
- Automated email campaigns
- High-converting welcome messages
- Browse abandonment notifications
- Personalization
- Birthday messages
- Repeat customer rewards
Effective e-commerce email marketing brings real value to consumers. Knowing what your customers want helps you leverage a single purchase into an ongoing relationship.
It’s More Welcoming
When it comes to e-commerce email marketing, time is of the essence. Right after a subscriber has signed up for your list, they’ll expect a message. Sending a welcome email series can set the tone for a mutually satisfying relationship.
It’s Diversified
Marketing for e-commerce has become a lot more specialized too. Instead of blanketing your entire list with a generic email campaign, target different segments with personalized messages. Split up your list by gender, income, and age. This can dramatically increase the click rates on your automated messages.
Smart e-commerce marketing rewards loyal customers. By segmenting a list of repeat customers, you can thank them with a special discount. This kind of extra attention is quickly becoming the norm—rather than the exception—in the pandemic economy.
It’s Better-Looking
The surge in e-commerce email marketing is quickly dividing automated messages into two camps: awful and appealing. (Make sure yours is the latter.) Simple, streamlined messages with attractive visuals, bulleted lists, and clear calls to action win the day. All others scream “amateur” and get thrown away.
Email Marketing is Now More Nuanced
A good argument can be made that innovations in email marketing won Barack Obama the 2012 election. A simple experiment with split testing—sending two versions of an email with a single change—resulted in a $2.2 million fundraising difference for that campaign. By changing the call to action, subject line, or image in one email, you’ll have a true north for your own future messages.
Solve Abandonment Issues
Previously, abandoned carts were treated as necessary evils of e-commerce email marketing. That’s no longer true, thanks to the advent of abandoned cart emails. By sending automated messages luring customers back to their abandoned carts, savvy businesses have recouped 60% of aborted sales.
Increase Engagement
In an ever-growing digital sales world, reviews are king. Sending follow-up emails asking for feedback is not only an opportunity to improve your performance, but it makes customers feel valued. Now, instead of a courteous extra step, requesting reviews has become the norm for successful businesses.
Email Marketing Is the Only Tracking Tool Left
Due to stricter privacy laws, e-commerce sales have become one of the few reliable ways to track business. Using analytics from your email campaigns, discover how many people are visiting your store, which categories they search, and how shoppers behave.
If you’re not sure how to interpret this data, don’t worry; it’s a big nut to crack. Try starting your research with this article on deciphering email metrics.
Email Marketing for E-Commerce is Truly Helpful
Wildly successful products and services often sell out, which is a problem most e-commerce marketing campaigns are happy to create. Still, the prospect of alienating good customers is a legitimate concern. Today’s automated messages can notify shoppers when items are back in stock, retaining their good will and your sales.
E-commerce email marketing can also take advantage of “wish lists.” Setting up email automations for customers based on their wish lists is a great way to alert them to sales and updates about these products. In a world full of irrelevant marketing emails, these kinds of messages are truly appreciated.
Earn Trust
Using your list to create a referral program is one of the best tools in the e-commerce marketing arsenal. More and more, word-of-mouth recommendations are respected over promotional campaigns. By rewarding loyal customers with referral discounts, you expand your business while enriching existing relationships.
Keep Customers
Marketing for e-commerce should always include a customer retention plan. Rather than sending out more and more automated messages to unlikely prospects, retain the gold you’ve already mined. A clever win-back email campaign is now part and parcel of any savvy online marketing strategy.
Email Marketing Changed Expectations
Now that seasonal sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday are a staple in the consumer calendar, e-commerce email marketing has changed accordingly. Having a yearly schedule of planned discounts can greatly increase profits while satisfying the expectations of seasoned online shoppers.
Adapt to the Unusual Circumstances
Nobody could have predicted the changes this pandemic has brought to the global market. But thanks to the adaptability of e-commerce email marketing, businesses survive and even thrive in these challenging times. If you want help navigating these choppy waters, book an appointment with Email Broadcast. We’ll craft an automated messaging campaign that makes you evolve—rather than go extinct.
