Why Is Email Marketing Important for E-Commerce?
Email marketing is the original digital marketing channel. It has been around for a long, long time, which is why some people relegate it to ‘a thing of the past’.
Are you one of those people? Think again!
There are 4 billion email users worldwide, and tapping into that pool is an opportunity you should not miss.
Email marketing is part of a good inbound marketing strategy: one which will increase brand awareness, ensure a loyal customer base, and increase online sales.
A good inbound marketing strategy will drive traffic to your website and products. It will also help you stay aware of the needs of your customers. Inbound leads cost 61% less than outbound leads, making it cheaper to invest in a sound inbound marketing strategy.
Despite the introduction of social media platforms and websites, nearly 81% of B2B marketers prefer email marketing. Ever wondered why? Read on to find out why focusing on email marketing could be the decision that will turn around your e-commerce business.
Why Email Marketing Is Most Suitable for E-commerce
Better ROI
Marketing budgets have always been high. So, ROI is the first thing any marketer looks at when evaluating a marketing channel. If you compare email marketing with any other channel, the gap in ROI is dramatic.
Email marketing has an estimated ROI of $42 per dollar spent, while PPC returns $2 for every dollar spent. In the case of social media marketing, it can often be difficult to even quantify ROI.
Email marketing is generally inexpensive, while other platforms, such as PPC and social media need more investment to get a good outreach. This is because the businesses behind such platforms make their money from advertising. This drives the difference in ROI, one of the biggest reasons to invest in email marketing.
Better Engagement
Sure, nowadays many of us spend our time scrolling through social media or surfing the web. But how many posts do we actually stop and engage with? Probably not very many.
Sites like Facebook and Instagram only share 10% of your content, or show your post to 10% of your followers. Only 8% of paid online ads are paid any attention.
But people regularly check their emails while at work. The graph below shows the top reasons why recipients open emails. Thus, crafting a great email strategy is quite advantageous for marketers across industry.
Ecommerce (retail) emails have an average open rate of 18.77%, which increases the chances of the desired message being sent across to the target audience. That is nearly double the average engagement rate for social media and PPC content.
It’s clear that email is the best platform for maximizing e-commerce consumer engagement. Why would they use other platforms if they could receive promotions and updates straight to their inbox?
More personal – Email versus Social Media
Social media and websites are universal platforms; anyone in the target audience can view them. The downside of this ubiquity is that the content in these platforms is generic, undifferentiated by any demographic parameters. While this kind of content may boost brand awareness, it likely will not go any further than that, especially in the e-commerce realm.
To continue qualifying your leads, it is important to build a meaningful relationship with them. Over 60 percent of people across all ages say that email is the best way to communicate with brands. That number can be even higher!
90% of individuals are willing to receive promotional emails from businesses they work with.
Veteran e-commerce business owners also know how important (and easy) it is to customize emails to reach out to a particular segment.
Whether it’s an email to people who are interested in limited edition products, the first email about a new product, or simply information about a clearance sale, customized emails can reach a more refined target audience.
Moreover, they are far more effective than other marketing channels and drive conversions. Personalizing just the subject line of business emails boosts the open rate by 50%.
More Control
Email newsletters give the target audience a sense of familiarity with your business and boost brand loyalty. In fact, consistent newsletters form the backbone of content marketing.
However, newsletters are meant for a broader audience. Using them exclusively would undermine the personal touch that email marketing is known for. With email marketing, you have more control.
Instead of newsletters, choose to run campaigns for a specific audience or a particular group of high-spending individuals. Or, take the middle path and try to find a balanced email plan which serves your purpose.
Access to the Full Buyer Journey
Emails are usually sent to people who-
-Are completely unaware of your business
-Have visited your website
-Have already purchased from your website
-Are regular customers.
They are ubiquitous, and customization allows them to reach and connect with people at every step of the buyer journey. Emails are conversational by nature, which makes them great for greeting people who are new to your business. Due to that nature, it is also easy to set CTAs into emails which push people down the buyer journey.
This makes email marketing an optimal channel for e-commerce marketing efforts.
The Power of Automation
Automated emails are one of the most important and often overlooked parts of email marketing. Such emails include onboarding emails, cart reminders, and ones with subject lines like ‘just 6 hours left to get this deal at $99.99!’. This can also be used creatively.
Notice how Birchbox managed to draw attention to its promotional offers with an automated follow-up email.
Automated emails can save you a lot of time and effort while increasing your potential revenue by moving leads down the funnel.
Who doesn’t appreciate a well-timed reminder? Especially, when it has to do with latent retail therapy.
What You Need to Succeed with Email Marketing
Regardless of whether you’re just starting out or have been using email marketing for a while now, there are some things you should always keep in mind.
A Well-Defined Funnel
Email marketing can help with nearly all stages of the e-commerce funnel. There are various types of emails which align with stages of the funnel. For example, onboarding emails, FAQ style emails, and emails based on a broader perspective of your business help with TOFU (top of the funnel) objectives. Here is a great example of an onboarding email from Vinomofo.
Content marketing emails help keep the attention of potential customers in the middle of the funnel. Email reminders about the closing of a sale or a limited edition item help with BOFU (bottom of the funnel) objectives. These are the emails which drive revenue for your business, but the others are equally important. In case you are not sure how to go about building your funnel, here is a guide to help you.
Buyer Personas and Mailing Lists
Making a list of buyer personas will help you customize emails, saving you time and effort in the long run. If you’re stuck, tools like HubSpot’s Make My Persona can help you narrow it down. Some factors used while making a persona are personal/demographic details, company details and purchase history. Check out how HubSpot’s Make My Persona tool can help with creating the perfect buyer persona for your business.
Some examples of buyer personas are existing or potential customers, discount seekers, people who only buy from a particular product category etc. Creating mailing lists based on these personas will help you save money. For example, you wouldn’t need to send emails about discounts to those who wouldn’t care about them. Not only would you save money on each transaction but also optimize the process of sending emails to your audience.
An Email Sequence
Selling to existing customers is easier than focusing on customer acquisition. Both customer retention and acquisition require different kinds of content. Once you have brought a customer on board, you should send them a prepared sequence of emails. Here is a basic example from Salesmate.
For example, the Kewl Shop has a sequence of nearly 50 weekly emails. This sequence allows them to monitor customer interaction for nearly a year. The list doesn’t comprise nearly as many sales emails as you think! There are many emails focusing on content marketing and the customer experience.
Major tools used by B2B Email Marketers
MailChimp
MailChimp is an all-in-one easy to use email marketing tool which incorporates automated email marketing. The tool is specifically designed and optimized for online businesses looking to ace email marketing. Using this tool, you can create, manage, and automate email campaigns. Moreover, you can create custom email templates and mailing lists, and have all the automated emails linked to actions on your e-commerce website.
Drip
Drip is known as the best email marketing tool for e-commerce. Its list segmentation and sophisticated use of drip marketing are suited for businesses of all types.
Drip’s use of workflows is helpful in building automated email campaigns. Here is an example.
Drip is designed to provide the best user experience for your customers. It has excellent customer support service. Subscribers receive emails tailored to their shopping behaviors and follow-ups depending on their interaction with your previous emails.
HubSpot
With an automated email calendar and other exclusive tools, HubSpot is one of the best providers of email marketing solutions. It is a significant part of its complete digital marketing suite.
Lead forms and integration with HubSpot’s CRM are two good reasons to consider using this tool. If you’re planning to have email marketing as part of a larger e-commerce marketing strategy, you should try HubSpot.
The Takeaway
Email marketing is here to stay! It offers excellent returns; hence, it should be an essential part of the marketing strategy of a successful e-commerce business.
Compared to other channels, email offers better ROI and engagement. It is also customizable and better suited to building long-term, meaningful relationships with potential and existing customers.
Most importantly for e-commerce, email spans the complete buyer journey and helps move leads from one stage to the next. That is why email marketing is highly relevant for e-commerce businesses.
We are sure by now you are convinced that email is an effective channel for e-commerce. Use the information and tactics shared in this post to take your venture to the next level.
