Although the medium has changed over the years, moving from the printed word to digital screens, one thing never changes – great marketing campaigns always evoke a powerful response from the audience. Naturally, the days of an eye-catching ad in the newspaper doing the trick are long gone. However, that doesn’t mean that your brand still can’t create a “customer journey” that truly connects with and inspires members of your contact list. To learn more about this concept and how to help your consumers get the most out of this process, let’s dig a little deeper into what the customer journey means in today’s online setting.
What Exactly Is the Customer Journey?
The customer journey encompasses everything that happens from the moment shoppers find out about your brand to when these individuals check out from your online storefront. While that might seem a little too “big picture” from some brands, you can also think of it as more of a mindset regarding the customer experience. Essentially, when they think of your brand and what it takes to learn about your products and services, as well as making a purchase, is it enough to make these shoppers come back for more? If your quick internal audit sends back an answer that is anything less than an overwhelming yes, there’s definitely some work to be done when it comes to your brand’s customer journey.
The Role of Email Marketing In the Process
So where does email marketing fit into this process? For all the military history buffs out there, this portion of your brand awareness initiatives serves as the vanguard – paving the way for the rest of your marketed material. In other words, a great marketing email acts as an open invitation to the viewers to take a journey with your brand. Naturally, for portions of your contact list, this journey has already started to some degree, considering that they have signed up for promotional emails in-store or online.However, only a few tools in your marketing bag of tricks are as effective at adapting to the situation. With just one message, you can bring all of these separate individuals along the path, heading toward a continued relationship and some well-deserved conversions. The key is making the most out of this first impression. As tired and worn out as this cliché is, it still rings true in the digital marketing world; you only get one first impression, so you had better make the most of it.
Potential Bumps In the Road
Unfortunately, there are plenty of hazards along this road. If your brand isn’t careful, these missteps can turn what should be a strong point in your customer journey into a glaring weakness in no time. First up is a promotional email that’s full of design errors and sloppy layout choices. While your text content might be second to none, having an email that looks like it went through a digital blender before hitting the inbox is no way to start your customer journey.As for the body of the email itself, think of this portion as the directions for the trip. If you offer up something that’s irrelevant or unclear, don’t expect much from an audience that doesn’t have time to read between the lines and figure out where to go. Additionally, if you’re firing off messages far too often like a GPS in overdrive, don’t expect a warm reception from customers who need a little break between emails.
Creating the Perfect Journey for Your Customers
To create the perfect customer journey for your email contact list, you’ll need to focus on making a great first impression, as well as guiding them with valuable content once things start shifting into high gear. One of the best ways to get started on the right foot is with a welcome email. This message can be just a short, friendly greeting, thanking the user for signing up and offering a few teasers for what’s to come if they stay subscribed. Not only is this polite, it helps set the tone for a friendly, warm relationship between your brand and the audience.From here, don’t be afraid to branch out into related topics to keep your content fresh and exciting. For instance, reviewing safety tips and best practices for shopping on your site – and around the web – is not only useful, it helps give the audience the confidence to make a purchase if they were dealing with any concerns about Internet security prior to the email. Additionally, this approach also shows that not everything you offer will be sales related, giving your contact list plenty of reasons to stick around for the long haul as you continue to make this journey a great one with valuable email content that goes beyond the thinly veiled fluff offered by the competition.
