With the advent of video, beautifully designed websites, and other promotional tools, you could be forgiven for thinking that email marketing was a thing of the past. Still, you would be making a huge error of judgment. Email marketing is as profitable today as it ever was. Ask yourself how often you check your email? Well, over 90% of people check their email at least once a day, EVERY day, with the majority of people using it much, much more. Let’s examine the ROI that email marketing provides, which might make you even more excited. The average ROI is $44.25 back for every $1 spent. That is a stunning rate, and one that is hard to match with most other forms of marketing. Those statistics might surprise you that many e-commerce businesses have given up on email as a strategy. This is a serious mistake, as they are literally throwing away sales, revenue, and information.
If you own or work for a business that has let its email marketing campaigns wither and die, you need to read the rest of this article immediately!
Reasons Why Email Marketing Just Plain Works
1. Using Email Helps To Increase Your Sales
Building a list of email addresses is one of the best ways to increase your sales volume anywhere in the region by about 25%. Very few business owners can afford to throw away a quarter of their sales, so you need to ensure your email strategy is perfected immediately. Every time you launch a new product or promotion, you should email your previous customers. Otherwise, you simply rely on them to remember your company and visit your site randomly. This is not a good strategy, and the chances of them regularly visiting your site are relatively slim. With email marketing, you are in control; that list belongs to you; you are not battling with a Facebook algorithm or search engine decisions. Any email you send lands directly in your customer’s inbox; email is the perfect marketing tool, so use it sensibly and deliberately.
2. Email Marketing Reduces Cart Abandonment
Cart Abandonment is one of the most frustrating challenges facing online retailers today. You have managed to get a customer to your site, convinced them to place items in the cart, and then when the time comes to pay for the items, they leave the site without completing the sale for reasons unknown to you. If that potential customer was a one-time visitor to your site, you have no way of connecting with them again to do some follow-up. That sale is as good as lost unless they are on your email list and were logged in at the time. A quick email to a customer who has abandoned their cart might prompt them to return and complete the purchase; it also provides the retailer with the perfect opportunity to deliver outstanding customer service. This tip alone could easily save 50 percent of your lost sales, and potentially if your customer service is good enough to increase sales in the future.
3. Email Gives You Unprecedented Access To Your Customers For Market Research
Imagine if you could conduct research with your customers before spending a lot of money on your inventory. Perhaps you could ask them which colors they preferred, maybe show them ten different items, and ask them to rank them in their preferred order. Before the internet, this would have been a long, expensive, and cumbersome experience. Now, due to the brilliance of email, you can conduct that research with your customers virtually free of charge. And what is even more exciting is that the customers are telling you what they want before you order, which should reduce the amount of wasted inventory you have to buy. Many customers also enjoy this process and feel a part of the store community, where their opinions are valued and respected. Once the new stock arrives in-store, email your customers, who may then be even more impressed and likely to respond. Any of the reasons above have the potential to increase your business, but all of them put together can make a significant difference to your bottom line.
