By: Michael Keenan
Introduction
Email marketing is considered the fastest way to enhance your business in the retail sector. It’s the best way to encourage sales, showcase your products, and build relationships with new and existing customers that pay off in the long run.
However, email marketing is not just about sending out regular newsletters. It includes newsletters, electronic receipts, segmentation, tracking, automation applications, and more.
With greater access to data than ever before, it has become increasingly important for retailers to optimize their use of email. This guide will walk you through how to start using email in your retail business today.
What is an Email Marketing Strategy?
An email marketing strategy refers to the action plan that a business follows to reach potential customers and convert them into paying customers through email. An email marketing strategy includes customer acquisition and retention tactics to sell, educate, and build loyalty with a subscriber list.
Retailers can use email marketing for the following:
- Staying in touch with customers
- Providing information about new products
- Sending post-purchase messages, such as receipts
- Collecting feedback from shoppers
Retailers can leverage email marketing and achieve real results through automation, personalization, interactive messaging, and more. Additionally, email is one of the most profitable channels for retailers. According to data from Emarsys, 81% of small businesses rely on email as their primary customer acquisition channel, and 80% for customer retention.
There may be a lot of hype around social media, likes, and shares, but research shows that email tops the list compared to social media and organic search. This doesn’t mean that Instagram is not important for your business, but if you want a straightforward and easy way to reach people, email should be your go-to strategy.
Benefits of Email Marketing for Retailers
There’s no doubt that email is effective for any type of business, but here’s why it is beneficial for retailers:
- Increased sales and return on investment (ROI): It’s expected that the number of marketing emails will reach 4.3 billion users in 2023, compared to 3.9 billion in 2019. This means that email marketing is not an opportunity to overlook. Given the popularity of email, the return on investment (ROI) is quite significant. For every dollar spent on email marketing, an average of $42 is generated in ROI.
- Stronger relationship building: Social media networks and search engines can help customers find your business online, but email is the best way to nurture and enhance long-term relationships. It provides you with a direct communication channel with your customer base, open 24/7, 365 days a year. The better the customer experience, the happier they are.
- Owned marketing channel: Email is a digital marketing channel that you own. This means you control the content and distribution. There is no central entity that can modify an algorithm and undermine your strategy. Organic reach on social platforms like Facebook and Instagram continues to decline, according to the latest statistics. It’s also becoming more challenging to rank in search results, with increases in no-click searches and ads. Simply put, if your content is not supported by ads on those channels, fewer people will see it.
- Connecting with customers via email: Email gives you the ability to nurture relationships with customers through features like personalized communication, automation applications, and customer loyalty programs. Additionally, email plays a significant role in encouraging customers to shop more with you. Repeat customers are more profitable, meaning you’ll spend less on acquisition and more on growing your business.
Types
Email Campaigns
Now that we know the benefits of email for stores, let’s take a look at the types of email campaigns you can send:
- Newsletters
- Welcome messages
- Product announcements
- Offers and discounts
- Post-purchase messages
- Abandoned cart
- Event promotions
- Seasonal campaigns
- Birthdays and special occasions
Tips to Improve Email Marketing Campaigns
To make the most of email marketing, you should consider the following tips:
- Run automated campaigns
- Use customer segmentation
- Utilize personalization
- Track engagement
- Make emails mobile-friendly
- Make the unsubscribe process easy
Examples of Email Marketing for Stores
Now that you are familiar with the tips and tricks, let’s look at some examples of retail emails to inspire your next campaign:
- Methodical Coffee
- Victoria’s Secret
- Sephora
- Tracksmith
- Buck Mason
Getting Started with Email Marketing for Your Store
To fully leverage the potential of email marketing, you will need an email list. Fortunately, it’s easier to convince someone to provide an email address than to make them purchase a product from you.
Let’s look at some ways to grow your email list, even if you have no subscribers:
- Include an email subscription pop-up on your website
- Encourage in-store customers to sign up for email
- Offer digital receipts
- Run exclusive email promotional campaigns
Optimizing Email Marketing Campaigns
Clearly, having a plan for email marketing is not just a nice-to-have. Retailers need email to help them achieve their business goals, whether it’s generating leads, increasing traffic, or encouraging sales.
Start testing the email campaigns above today to ensure you are not leaving money on the table. Your marketing efforts will be put to good use and will increase your profits in the long run.
Source: https://www.shopify.com/retail/drip-campaigns-email-marketing
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