Email is still one of the most important sales and communication tools. In today’s current day and age, trying to put a message out on social media in the hit and miss nature of social media feels almost impossible. With the algorithms changing on all social media platforms, the chances of the customers you are targeting to see posts or stories on your social media feels like slim to none. There’s just no guarantee! However, sending an email to your direct customers means you know for certain that everyone who you want to target has received the message, which is why it is also a great tool to help build relationships.
It is needless to say that customers are one of the most important aspects of a brand, without them it all wouldn’t be possible. Building relationships with them is crucial to learning your customers’ needs and wants, in order to better your brand, create more customer loyalty and in turn increase your revenue. Using email marketing is a great way to do this. It is by far the easiest and most cost effective method to get in touch and create a personal relationship with your customer base.
To create a customer relationship, it is important to keep your customers engaged and to create a more personalised experience. Here are seven ways of how you should be using email marketing to better your brand.
1.Personalisation
This is not only a way which has been proven to be successful in increasing sales and revenue, but it is one of the most significant ways to improve and strengthen the relationship between your brand and the customer.
By personalising a customers email, for example using their name, has the effect of boosting sales by 31%, increasing the chance of the customer opening the email by 20% and decreasing the chance of un-subscription rates by 17%! This is because a relationship is being built. You are making the customer feel that they are not just a number to your business or a source of revenue, but instead that they are included and appreciated, creating respect for your brand.
2.Asking for feedback in your emails
This is another essential aspect that is significantly effective amongst not only customers, but for your brand also. By allowing customers to give feedback, lets them know that their opinions matter and that you want their input, making the customer feel like their voice is heard. This then has the potential to create a more personal feel as they feel like they are talking to the brand as a person rather than an organisation, which again strengthens the customer relationship.
Now, whether the feedback is negative or positive, it is still extremely beneficial for your brand. Not only is the customer relationship strengthening, but it also allows you to then act upon what you have been given. It provides an insight into what your customer base is liking and disliking, which portrays to you what should be changed and worked on. It’s the best of both worlds!
3.Show appreciation
Customers love appreciation! Making the customer feel like they matter to the brand, is an amazing way to build up a relationship with them. A company that does this well is Pretty Little Thing. They regularly reward customers with personalised discount codes to use on their next shop, which makes the customer feel like the brand is giving back to them and their business with the brand is valued. Not only this, but again as it is personalised, increases that bond between the customer and the brand.
Although, this method may not be sufficient for smaller brands, however it could be as small as personally thanking the customer for their order or giving loyal customers an insight of when the next sale is going to be or early access to a launch. Anything that makes the customer feel like they matter is a great place to start in forming that relationship.
4.Sending friendly welcome emails
First impressions are always important, right? When a customer first signs up to your emailing list or purchases an item from your brand, the first email is always paramount. By introducing them to your brand you are again being more personal, making the customer feel more welcome and also showing them what your brand is all about. You could even tell them about your brand values, the background of your brand and how it all started. All of these aspects are great to create a two way conversation atmosphere and to also bring emotions into play. When a customer knows the back story to a brand, it could be relatable to themselves or even just show them that there is a person, a face behind the brand, which makes it a lot more friendly and helps initiate that relationship.
5.Automation Flows
User flows can be extremely beneficial to your brand. Setting up custom user flows are significantly useful and lucrative, as it allows for the opportunity to get your customer to know your company and product and service range much better. This is because a user flow depicts the path a user follows within the product and service, which allows you to have more knowledge about your customer and what type of user they are. Using this allows you to target your customers more efficiently through email and adapt the email to the specific customer to inform and remind them of the product and services that they might have clicked off.
6.Combine your email marketing with paid
Another great idea that your brand can do is combine email marketing with your paid marketing. A great way to do this for example is to upload your emailing list to facebook, which allows you to send adverts specifically to those people. This is a great way to offer those people special offers that only that group can use or even advertise new products and services you may have. Not only is this giving back to your loyal customers, but it is also encouraging people who aren’t already your customers or part of your brand want to sign up also. By creating this community of consumers, creates inclusivity and a place of involvement in the brand, encouraging brand loyalty and again building up that positive relationship.
7.Getting the balance right
Now that you know some methods and tips of how to build up a relationship between your brand and customer, it is important that you remember to get the balance right. We have all had the dreaded feeling of when we sign up to a company’s newsletter or bought a product and see a hundred and one emails coming through all over the space of a week! It is important that you remember to not over do it. It has been found that sending one or two emails a week is ideal and sufficient whereas sending an email every other day drastically lowers engagement levels without generating any sales. Therefore, it is essential to not obliterate your customers inbox as such, but just to give them a friendly email every now and again!
By using these seven ways of improving your relationship between your customer and your brand, it will be the most influential and valued tactic to introduce and use. Customers are one aspect that can make your brand successful or not, therefore improving your relationship with them, being on a more personal level and overall making them feel like they matter has a huge impact.
