Email marketing is the most effective way to increase sales, improve service, and keep customers coming back. Getting the most out of email campaigns requires an integrated strategy that crosses channels and motivates people to act. “The Integrated Email” provides realistic solutions and best practices for navigating the land mines of spam filters, short attention spans and increasing competition that marketers face today.
Debra Ellis is a seasoned direct marketer specializing in using integrated strategies to keep customers coming back and buying more. She is the author of several marketing guides and the Multichannel Magic blog. She can be reached via email (below), on Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and Facebook.
YouTube is currently the second largest search engine on the Internet. With 1 billion unique monthly visitors watching YouTube videos,...
Most people know Web 2.0 is simply the evolution of the Internet into an environment of interactivity, reader participation and...
I often get super excited when I see other businesses doing cool and innovative things in mobile. You read an...
In my years following the direct marketing field, one of the resources I've most appreciated is the Direct Marketing Association's...
If it costs five times more to acquire a new customer than to keep one, why do brands continue to...
In the April issue of Target Marketing, I wrote about 26 verbs that sometimes get in our way when we're building brands...
This year's hot trend in fashion is computers. Whether at SXSW or in the tech and media hubs on the...
Is generating leads with LinkedIn proving frustrating and difficult? Probably because you're failing at tempting prospects to click more deeply...
E-commerce opportunity is evolving fast, but only 25 percent of B-to-B marketers are taking advantage of it, according to a...
I live in a relatively small, rural town of 50,000 residents spread over 61 square miles. My specific neighborhood still...
Instagram announced the company will soon begin using your content to sell targeted advertising products to the highest bidder. Does...
It finally happened. Politicians' idiotic email practices had a measurable negative effect. "Maine Republican Party chairman Charlie Webster has admitted...
Trouble is, the Internet is rife with misinformation and if you get caught advertently or inadvertently propagating this nonsense in...
Wondering about a SEO content strategy that offers the biggest impact in the shortest time? Try tweaking your page titles....
|
The multichannel marketplace has blurred the line between service and sales. People expect to get answers to their questions while they are shopping and on-demand after an order is placed. Redirecting them to another channel or platform for pre-sale and post-order information has a negative effect on the buying experience and long-term loyalty.
Unfortunately, technology has changed faster than the corporate organizational chart has adapted. Marketing and operational departments aren't integrated enough to provide the seamless shopping and service experience that people want. It's time to make the shift to integrated messaging across all channels, platforms and departments. The email program is the best place to start, because changes are quick and easy.
Transactional emails tend to be matter of fact announcements of order receipt, shipment and issues. They serve the operational side of the business well but do little to directly improve sales. Branding is minimal and the messages are rarely in the same voice used for promotional information. Failure to include marketing service messages is a lost opportunity.
Marketing is a service when it solves people's problems. Transactional emails are one to one communication. The right combination of marketing and service messages benefit customers by helping them maximize the return from their investments. The key to successful execution is having the correct processes, careful planning, and good application of business rules. When done well, they keep customers informed and motivate them to buy more.
For example, the order confirmation email should thank the customer for the business, provide specific purchase information, and suggest other items that complement the original products.
An email for an order of earrings could offer a matching necklace or an order for a vacuum cleaner might suggest bags and filters. If the operational process allows combining the orders at the same shipping rate, the suggestion to do so creates a sense of urgency. The only catch is that business rules have to be accurate with personal messaging to optimize the return.
Inserting product images with a brief description will bump sales a bit, but it doesn't have the same effect as: "Thank you for your order of the super suction vacuum cleaner. It will ship tomorrow. Please remember that the filter needs to be changed every month. Add one on to your order by clicking this link before midnight tonight and there will not be an extra shipping charge." Of course your copy team will do a better job than me, but you get the idea.
Almost every transactional email sent to customers should include a marketing message. The exceptions to this rule are issue-related emails. Following "your item is out of stock until next month" with "buy this to go with your item" won't win customer loyalty.
To get started with integrated marketing and service emails:
 |
|
|
