Email marketing isn’t always about firing off newsletters or promotional offers. In fact, as the digital landscape evolves into a more complex and interconnected marketplace, making way for new and creative ways to reach out via the inbox not only becomes considerably easier, but also substantially more effective. To keep you on the cutting edge of inbox outreach, let’s spend a few moments talking about how an approach guided by behavioral marketing tactics can redefine the relationship you have with the shoppers on the other side of the screen.
Always Ask, “Why?”
While most emails ask the consumer to stop by your digital storefront with enticing offers and deals, Jimmy Daly of Entrepreneur magazine suggests that asking why these shoppers abandon a cart after a visit is potentially even more important to the health of your business. Considering that 68.07 percent off all carts end up abandoned, it’s easy to see why failing to curtail this behavior can put your brand in a tough spot.In order to shift the balance back in favor of completed orders, start by collecting email addresses early on in the checkout process. Once you’ve acquired these contact list members, your brand can then offer up feedback requests, inactivity reminders, and even special deals aimed exclusively at converting these shoppers who are still sitting on the fence regarding a purchase.
Go Beyond the Basic Welcome
The concept of the welcome email is far from revolutionary, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use your knowledge of behavioral traits within your contact list to refine and optimize this stalwart member of your email toolbox. For instance, Daly explains that when the team behind Twitter’s email marketing branch fires off a welcome email, these experts always include a prompt to have the busy new subscriber finish filling out his or her profile. This method shows that maximizing your welcome email impact based on consumer activity doesn’t require a complete overhaul of your content, just a willingness to understand a little more about what’s going on with the people who make up your inbox audience.
Renew and Remind
Additionally, if you’re offering up an essential product or service that requires regular replenishment on the consumer side of the sales equation, Daly goes on to note that a friendly reminder from time to time goes a long way with your audience. Naturally, figuring out the frequency of these renewal and reminder messages is key, otherwise you’ll come off as “spammy” or invasive.A good rule of thumb on this front is to focus on being in the inbox when your brand is needed by the consumer. By zeroing in on the time between purchases when these shoppers begin to consider restocking, you’ll find that your business shows up at a convenient and attractive position during the normal sales cycle – a position that’s enviable in virtually any industry.
Offering up Email Receipts
The last tip coming from Daly tackles the idea of setting up a sale after your targeted customer makes a purchase. Obviously this sounds a little counterintuitive considering the constant emphasis on avoiding spam tactics, but the process behind this approach leaves behind other heavy handed methods and instead focuses on subtlety and lasting connections.By including referral codes for interested friends, discounts or special offerings pertaining to future purchases, and even simple links back to your social media accounts or blog, your brand can transform the growing demand for paperless receipts into a valuable and efficient outreach platform that strengthens your relationship with this audience significantly.
Leveraging Other Platforms
Finally, if you’re looking to move beyond basic email blasts and truly tap into the power of behavioral marketing, Direct Marketing News’ Ginger Conlon points out that few overarching strategies work as well as this one across multiple channels. Whether you’re looking to garner insight into prime posting times on Facebook – and subsequent tethered marketed messages related to these posts – or your brand is simply trying to keep a finger on the pulse of its audience for future blog offerings, putting your contact list data and behavioral trends to good use throughout the rest of your marketing endeavors can help extract even more value out of this approach.Of course, these are just a few ways your brand can find a spot for behavioral marketing in the inbox. As you grow and develop this portion of your email operations, you’ll naturally find new and creative ways to enhance these interaction opportunities. The key here is to always stay flexible and let the needs and desires of your audience dictate your brand’s response.
