As the year comes to an end, businesses need to be putting in their best marketing efforts to not only maximize revenues in 2016, but position themselves to hit the ground running in 2017. Customer retention and prospect attraction are no easy tasks, nor are they only important to consider around this time of the year. Rather, these are year-round activities that need to be consistent and persistent to truly maximize engagement, conversions and loyalty.
Let’s look at a few ways in which companies can end the year strong with their email marketing strategies.
Holiday-specific notes
Practical Ecommerce recently listed some of the more common mistakes email marketers make around the holidays that could hinder their performances through the end of the year, and then cause problems that will become apparent in January. According to the news provider, email marketers should remain consistent with their frequency of sending out ads, rather than going completely off-the-wall and sending too many around the holidays. When sending schedules are not set and consistent, the chances of coming across as “spam” will be inherently higher.
Interestingly, the source also pointed out that segmentation is certainly necessary, but many email marketers will go a bit too far in these endeavors around this time of the year, which will then make it virtually impossible to conduct the activities properly. Instead, consider sticking to the general segmentation strategy and not changing the script too much despite the holiday season, as this will ensure consistency and the ability to properly analyze performance across the various customer frameworks that have been established.
Furthermore, Practical Ecommerce urged email marketers to be especially vigilant when responding to customers or reaching out to those who have been inactive for a while, and being sure that delivery deadlines promised in the ads are fulfilled 100 percent of the time.
Brand positioning
Internet Retailer stated that several goals shared among virtually all companies are achievable with the right email marketing strategy. For example, the news provider explained that email ads can be extremely effective in making individuals take the jump from a new customer who only makes one purchase to a loyal client who consistently buys items from the business. The biggest element of achieving this objective is to ensure that the first purchase is used as a foundation for the second, and that the email ad campaign specifically works to close another sale as soon as possible. According to the source, two-time buyers are far more loyal than one-time clientele.
With respect to the fight to improve profit margins, Internet Retailer recommended being especially aggressive and intelligent with email marketing efforts targeted at long-time customers, personalizing the ads whenever possible and giving each recipient the type of information that will most consistently lead to a purchase. Finally, because the holiday shopping season is so busy for retailers and other businesses, it is a great time to try to re-connect with customers who might have stopped being active months or more ago. Reach out and ensure that they know they are missed, and provide an incentive for them to once again become regular clientele.
When marketers handle their email campaigns with care around the holidays, customers will be far more likely to come back and make a purchase once the new year rolls around.
