When it comes to digital marketing, always remember that retaining your existing customers is way more cost-effective than acquiring new ones! Having a loyal customer base that keeps coming back to you is great for your business and brand image.
Plus it’s been proven that returning customers spend more than new ones. According to Mckinsey & Company, repeat customers spend an average of $52.50 compared to new customers spending an average of $24.50.
So, your best customers are the ones who’ve already purchased from you and this makes complete sense because these are the customers who’ve already gained value from you and trust your brand.
Now, how do you make sure that these customers keep coming back for more?
The secret is Email Marketing!
Your customer’s inbox is that one place where you can market your content to them directly, without being too overbearing or pushy.
Putting your existing customer base on an email list and sending them email newsletters on a monthly or quarterly basis, is a great tactic to keeping their interest in your brand alive.
Through just newsletters, you can keep your customer base updated with the latest news from your company, new products, services, deals and offers.
Now, you’re maybe wondering whether people even open these emails. The truth is, most do while some don’t. But, the fact is that even seeing your brand’s name constantly in their inbox, will make a customer feel valued.
But, you have to keep in mind that most brands already have an email marketing strategy. Hence, your customer’s inbox is probably already flooded with tonnes of emails from brands.
So how do you stand out and stop them from rushing to click that Unsubscribe button?
Remember, it’s not about advertising. Unless your emails are about a specific offer or an irresistible deal, stay away from hard-selling. Provide your customers with valuable insights on news in your industry, technological advances or any other information that your customer can relate to. Of course, you can add in relevant links to your company’s pages, but that’s it.
Your company’s message should be the heart of every communication that you send out.
The bottom line is, build trust with regular communication through emails just by providing value and not by selling. By building this relationship, your customer is more likely to purchase from you again, when you do feel the need to sell.
So, what are the types of emails you can send out?
- Reward Programs: Invite your customer to rewards program, via email. Offer them reward points per purchase, or double or triple purchase points to make them feel extra special. But get them hooked to the rewards program.
- Promotional Code: Offer your customers promotional codes via email on their first purchase and give them a discount for their next purchases. If your offer is good enough, rest assured, your future mails will not be left on unread.
- Contests: Hosting online contests is a great way to drive engagement. The best part is, you can get a lot of additional information from them while they enter the contest.
- Birthday Offers: Getting hold of your customers birth date is gold! Offer them a great discount on their birthday; there’s no better way to make your customer feel special!
- Reminders: Every single offer or promotion has an expiration date and it’s a great option to send out reminders to your customers to make the most of it. This will keep them engaged with your emails.
Now this may seem like too much of a task unless you have a support team, but get hold of an email marketing software and it will all be automated. With a bit of effort at first, your software will manage all these tasks without any further effort.
While all this may seem daunting at first, it’s important to realize that getting your email marketing on track is extremely beneficial in the long run.
If you have any questions on the topic, or want something answered, send an email through to learn@abovedigital.com and we’ll address it on our Facebook Live sessions, or directly via an email response.