Get smart with your email automations

The world of email marketing is a big one. When it comes to opportunities, automations, and segmentation, where do you begin?

Most emails sent by online retailers are universal and undifferentiated; the same message is sent to everyone, more or less. With the majority of digital marketing channels having very low variable costs (it doesn’t cost much more to send 1000 emails than to send 1), this approach – of spamming subscribers and customers – used to be considered a ‘can’t lose’ strategy. In short, this really isn’t the case.

There are a number of campaigns and strategies that can be executed in order to target subscribers at any stage of the customer journey. We are going to talk you through a few of our favourites…

Triggered campaigns

Personalising the customer journey.

Triggering personalised emails by an event in the customer journey is a must. Whether it’s a welcome email or a first purchase response or incentive, these types of emails have some of the highest open rates out there (above 50% according to Econsultancy).

Welcome emails are your chance to introduce your company to your new subscribers. Tell them what they can expect from your future communications. These emails will help to build some really great foundations for brand loyalty and trust, and they offer the perfect opportunity to push your companies USPs.

Lead generation / one-off promotions

Are you looking to produce timely emails that promote a specific event, sale or webinar? Ask yourself, how can you use your customer insights to tailor the message you’re sending? You’ll be able to increase leads and sales by using behavioural targeting strategies. And remember – the more data you collect, the more accurate you can be with your messages.
Sale email

Lead nurturing campaigns

Forrester recently reported that email marketing is known for generating 50% more sales-ready leads – need we say more?

We all want more leads, and we all want them as hot as possible. Lead nurturing campaigns can help provide you with a list of contacts that have been warmed up through a series of dedicated triggered emails. The emails your leads receive are decided upon by actions they take throughout the programme. You’ll also gain valuable insights about them and their pain points as a result. It’s a win/win.

Re-engagement campaigns

Keeping on top of your email data is a must. But before you clean out those old, stagnant subscribers, send them one last campaign that could win them back. Think of it as your last chance to find a way to connect.

Play around with your subject line, for example, “We miss you”, “Is this goodbye?” Test content; what will entice your inactive contacts to reconnect? Is it a discount, a competition or the opportunity to opt back in? This will help you figure out what makes these vacant folks tick. The main thing to remember is to keep these emails short and sweet. These are the people who don’t usually react to your regular marketing campaigns, so be clear, concise and distraction-free.

At Cobb, we eat, breathe and sleep email and love nothing more than developing strategies that work for our clients. If you’re looking to develop and implement some really tactical and strategically laid out email automations, give us a call or pop in for a coffee and a chat.