Email marketing is a technique that businesses look past from time to time in fear of emails traveling directly to the recycling bin or not drawing attention from customers. However, a recent report conducted by Strongmail shows that email marketing is more effective than ever, if used properly.
Strongmail focused on the use of email marketing by Groupon, Living Social, Zulily and other Daily Deal sites. These services use email marketing through email and mobile applications to reach customers. Every day the services send alerts of sales from local shops, restaurants, museums, boutiques and more. Customers then click the link, purchase the deal, print it off (or present the link on their mobile device) to use the special. For example, recently Living Social offered $20 worth of groceries for $10 at Whole Foods. The Internet went ablaze as people shared the deal over social networks w friends and family.
The recent report showed that there’s four main components that make this form of email marketing successful.
1. The email alerts should not be sent just at the beginning of the sales. It’s most important to make customers panic that the sale is ending soon. More people will rush to buy it. This means, word the email to make people “act fast” or send alerts as the sale is nearly over.
2. The content is key to making people talk about the sale. For example, Whole Foods is a national, popular grocery chain people visit daily. Saving $10 is a lot of money to most people. They see the sale, but it and “share” over social networks. They are likely to also share the information with anyone they talk to that day who may also be interested.
3. Allow users to choose how often they receive alerts. Some users may want to sign up for the service, but want a weekly digest of sales instead of daily. Let the customer be in control for customer satisfaction.
4. Be willing to adapt with technology for success. Email marketing goes beyond email as technology improves. To build a loyal brand following you must incorporate other forms of media such as mobile apps or mobile alerts.
Services like Groupon and Living Social recognize the importance of these ideas, and that’s why Strongmail feels these services have successful email marketing campaigns.
“The intense competition in the daily deal industry is forcing email marketers to forge new ground when it comes to the relevancy and timing of their daily sales alert messages,” said Kara Trivunovic, Sr. director of Strategic Services, StrongMail via press release. “By showcasing the tactics that are driving revenue and repeat customers – as well as those that could be improved – this report provides email marketers with a valuable resource for improving the performance of their programs, whether they’re in the daily deal industry or not.”