Are you like the many clients I deal with who are small to medium businesses who have woken up to the fact they need to move beyond blast newsletters in their email marketing, but are not sure quite where to go next?
Does all the talk about automation, big data and behavioural targeting scare you off moving forward because of the leap in technical integration and budgets required?
For small and mid sized businesses there are still a number of options you can do to move you in the right direction, whilst refining, testing and optimising as you go along.
The DMA’s recent email tracking report found that 63% of consumers agreed or strongly agreed with the following statement: “Most of the marketing emails I receive include no content or offers that are of interest to me”.
“So how can I provide content and offers that are of interest to recipients, without spending thousands on expensive integrations?” asked a client recently. Here are 8 possible options for you…
- Split your database into customers and prospects and look at offer vs value led content (this can be as simple as having a data field ‘client’ you populate with a Y when someone has signed up).
- Collect location (it need not be full address unless you are delivering products to clients) and send communications relevant to that area (be as broad or as specific as you like).
- Ask! My mum used to say if you don’t ask, you wont get. A simple radio button form or check box enables you to send offers vs events or content related to specific product or service areas.
- Demographics such as age or gender can help you offer relevant content (a gym could target men with weight and cardio related content and women with classes and cardio unless recipients have indicated otherwise which brings me on to my next point…)
- Look at previous email behaviour. Most ESPs will let you see who has opened/clicked recent emails and use this as a starting point. Consider re-sending an email to non openers with a different style of subject line a few days later.
- Use relevant hooks to encourage sign up – this will help you understand a key area of interest. An HR consultancy may offer whitepapers on disciplinary procedures, performance management and recruitment. What entices someone to sign up gives you an indication of their pain points and potential interest areas.
- Run a welcome series with content based on the initial area of interest or product purchased that will help you deliver relevant information.
- Look at anniversaries you can utilise such as a simple birthday gift, or a reminder service which can trigger emails easily based on a date field (e.g. Your MOT is due this month! Free bottle of wine in June to celebrate your birthday.).
These are just a few ideas which you can use or adapt hopefully. (Looking for more? Call me on 01707 258 959 to book a WOW workshop)
Remember, if you are asking for data make sure you are use it and make it fast for people to complete online forms!