As a marketer, it’s not enough to simply keep your clients
treading water. Traffic, conversions, engagement—sure, all these things are
great. But to provide sustainable value, you have to help your clients beat out
their competition on a regular basis. Often, that means going against the
grain.
For example, as recently as last year marketers were falsely
predicting email’s demise. But the most successful marketers realized that
while email marketing was evolving, it wasn’t any less valuable. In fact, it’s
even more important. And now those who recently banished email are scrambling
to rebuild their email marketing strategy and keep up with those who ignored
the unfounded warnings. To be clear: The future of email marketing isn’t
just bright, it’s on fire. And there is no shortage of innovative options for
setting your clients apart.
Here are five trends to keep in mind as you close out the
first quarter of 2016 and prepare your clients’ email strategy for the rest of
the year.
1. Personalization
We all know a guy who calls everybody “buddy” because he
doesn’t remember anyone’s name. Friendly guy, sure, but do you trust him to
have the slightest clue about your interests?
Making customers know they’re not just another mark is a
proven way of getting a foot in the door. Just putting the client’s first name
at the top of the email increases the click-through rate from about
5.8 percent to 7 percent, according to HubSpot. But personalization is more
than that. Today, it’s about using all the data you have to predict a
prospect’s next move and deliver the right offer before they seek it out on
their own.
2. Automation
There’s just not enough time in the day to do everything you
want to do, so let specialized automation software take care of repetitive
tasks. They don’t ask for raises or call in sick on deadline day, and they can
prioritize and streamline your marketing outreach. Triggered emails, for
example, are a great use of automation. If a prospect fills out a contact form,
a simple automated message letting them know you’ve received their request and
the approximate amount of time before they’ll hear back can drive trust in your
brand.
Just how clean is your data? Identify where your data requires attention, allowing you to choose which areas to improve.
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3. Interactivity
Today’s most popular email communication isn’t just read,
it’s played. Videos that have embedded hotspots—tags that allow your customers
to click links or mouse over objects—engage subscribers. So do games, puzzles,
quizzes and other interactive email features that allow consumers to
design their own products and then buy them through the email.
Remember, there can be too much of a good thing. Don’t turn
your email into an arcade, or the client might forget why they’re there.
4. Multi-Device Design
Where do you check your email? Your desktop? Or your mobile
device?
Technology has made rapid advances in creating platforms
that support the latest in HTML and CSS features. In some cases, you don’t even
need to bother your developer. By using drag-and-drop email technology, nearly
anyone can create beautiful, clean and mobile-friendly emails.
5. Lightboxes
The progeny of the often-despised pop-up, lightboxes are
more effective than annoying. By darkening the background as the box pops up,
it draws the client’s sole focus. Focus is good. It gives you an opportunity to
make a quick pitch and get the information you need to help personalization.
Finding lightbox software that you can customize to fit your
look and your brand, while giving the option of selecting location, timing and
frequency, allows you to grow inbound marketing with seamless transition from
emails to landing pages and more.
Your client’s prospects expect more from email. Use the five
opportunities above, and you’ll be sure to exceed their expectations and keep
them coming back for more.
Article From: towerdata.com
