If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we all need to be adaptable. Now is the time to start thinking about how to reach more of your customers and how to keep your current customers loyal.
Email marketing can be a more powerful tool to keep your customers informed on what is new for your business, build brand loyalty and be a great way to stay top of mind than ever before.
Follow these steps to reach more customers with email
1. Keep Loyalty
Many people are having to shift priorities and try new brands due to availability, businesses not being open at full capacity, convenience, or simply a lack of funds. This shift in priorities makes it even more important that your customers know that you are empathetic to their situations and are ready to support them. They need to be reminded of their value to you and the efforts you are willing to take to keep them loyal. Rethink how you can make your subscribers feel comfortable buying from you or supporting you. Do not be afraid to adapt or shift your priorities to better match those of your customers.
Ask yourself these questions:
- What do my customers need most right now?
- What do my customers value the most?
- What products or services do I have that could help my customers most during these times?
- What have my customers done to help me stay afloat / What am I most grateful for?
- What steps do I need my customers to take that is different than before the pandemic?
- How easy is it for people to find you online?
- Is there an easy way to sign up for emails on my website?
- How well do I encourage new and repeat business?
2. Stand Out
Email volume is up right now since it has become the easiest way for companies to communicate with their customers. This means reader engagement is at an all time high. Whether sending emails about precautions taken to ensure safety or how customers can now shop for items no longer available to buy in person, you should use emails to your advantage. Shopping habits have dramatically had to change with the pandemic lasting longer than expected, which means that many of these new habits will be staying longer than expected as well. Now is the time to get out in front of these new habits.
Set up your emails correctly to get noticed, look professional and improve your sending reputation. Focus on the header and pre-header areas. The From name is the most important, even more important than the subject line. It should be your company name with your own domain name if possible. Don’t use a person’s name, instead use a more generalized email such as [email protected]…., [email protected]…., or [email protected]…. so that if the person would leave, the messages will still be clear who they are from and their importance. People only want to spend their time opening emails that they trust, so it is very important that your company email does not look like Spam. Use the Subject line to entice readers to why they should open the email and use the Preheader text to give them supporting information. Those three lines are the only opportunity you have to grab your readers attention enough to get them to open the email. Focus on what your customers want from you and what you could offer them that could get them to open this email.
3. Keep it Simple
Over 2.5 billion people own a Smart phone and over 60% of all emails are being opened on a mobile device. That means that your emails need to stay as clean and easy to follow as possible in order to be really seen, especially on a mobile device.
Keep your emails short and sweet. Photos help bring your email to life and attract attention, so every email should have a supporting image that ties to the message. Natural or realistic images work the best. Try to include images of people enjoying your products or services, or using your products or services to create the most interest. Keep images around 600×800 pixels in size for the best quality.
Your email should answer these main questions:
- Headline: What are you offering or trying to accomplish?
- Message: How will it help the reader or why should they care? (Use 3-5 sentences)
- Call To Action: What should the reader do next or how can the reader get involved? (Use a button to link to an exact location, not just the home page of your website)
Take time to set up company branded, reusable master templates for each type of communication you are sending. Keep the look and feel the same, and only change the 5 areas shown above for each email. (The Header, Preheader, Image, Message body and Call to action.) This will allow the reader to have brand recognition and to find the new information easily. Limit your fonts to 1-2 fonts per email so that it is not distracting from the message of the email.
For more information on how to set up your email templates, see Create an Engaging Email.
4. Use Email Marketing To Its Fullest
Email marketing allows you to easily stay top of mind with your customers. It is important to use consistent emails to build loyalty by reminding your customers that you are here to help them get what they need in the easiest and most reliable way. Take the uncertainty away for them, and let them know they can trust you to help them get what they need, when they need it.
Use email marketing for the following:
- Message of Thanks
- Offers or Promotions
- Business changes / updated business hours
- Remind them why your business is the best choice for them
- Inspirational message or how your products/business can help in troubling times
- Provide resources
- Timely events or Event updates
At Vivid Image we are proud to partner with Constant Contact and are ready to help you find the right fit for your Email Marketing strategy. From Newsletters and Publications to Surveys and Social Campaigns we are here to help you get started, achieve better results and find the perfect fit. Contact your Account Director or (320) 587-8974 with your Email Marketing or Constant Contact questions or visit Constant Contact for a FREE Trial.
