Email marketing is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal for promoting your eCommerce store. Knowing how to properly take advantage of eCommerce email marketing unlocks the power to build relationships with your customers, generate leads, and – more importantly – drive sales.
What is eCommerce Email Marketing?
eCommerce email marketing isn’t just about writing some fun emails and hoping for the best. It’s targeted communication via the direct line to someone’s inbox. Your email list is an asset to your company, which is why it’s wise to invest in building one.
All members of your list should be voluntarily subscribed rather than purchasing a third-party list. Most eCommerce companies will use a landing page or a promotional incentive to encourage people to sign up for their list.
Once subscribed, companies can send out emails to nurture those leads, retain customers, and turn interested parties into brand fanatics.
Why is eCommerce Email Marketing So Powerful?
eCommerce businesses benefit from email marketing because of its adaptability. Tailored communications elevate the customer experience and encourage recipients to take the desired action.
Typically, there are three areas that eCommerce brands focus on with email marketing:
- Lead Nurturing – Emails designed to both push sales and provide the customer experience that stands out to recipients. Building an impactful welcome sequence for new additions to your list can put this process on autopilot.
- Relationship Building – Forming relationships with people who’ve already bought something from your company. This is where you encourage repeat business, upsells, and cross-sells.
- After–Sale – eCommerce marketers send user emails following purchases to keep the relationship alive. This is the golden hour when businesses can secure customer loyalty for the long haul.
Types of Email Marketing for eCommerce Brands
eCommerce email marketing campaigns must have a strategic intent behind them, or you’re ultimately just sending emails and hoping for the best. Every campaign has a purpose, and each message should be personalized to achieve the desired goal.
Examples of email marketing eCommerce brands may employ include:
- Welcome email sequences
- Abandoned cart emails
- Repeat shopper campaigns
- Re-engagement campaigns
- After-sales care
Tips for Making the Most of Email Marketing
Successful email marketing is not a matter of luck but a matter of strategy. Follow these tips for increasing your email marketing ROI.
Segment Your Master List
Consumers want and expect a personalized experience from the brands they patronize. Email segmentation means splitting your list into distinct groups based on their behaviors and countless other signals.
For example, does it make sense to send the same email to a first-time customer as it does to a customer who has been with you for years?
Adopt the Appropriate Tone
Engaging emails hinge on the language you use. Nailing the correct tone connects your customers with your brand. Ensure that your tone and language are molded to the message you’re trying to send and align with your brand guidelines.
Augment Your Subscribers
Gaining more subscribers requires obtaining prior permission and additional two-factor authentication to comply with local and global data protection regulations. eCommerce platforms rely heavily on lead capture forms, landing pages, and pop-ups to encourage visitors to sign up for their lists.
Utilize these tools strategically across your platform and include an incentive, such as an exclusive discount, to push the value proposition.
Personalize Your Messages
Deliver the one-to-one personalization your customers expect. Ensure you include references to past interactions and align your messaging with the behaviors that specific customers have employed in the past.
Operate Targeted Promotions
Promotions should be based on what a specific customer or list segment is interested in. Release exclusive promotions to your list using the things that interest them the most, which can be found by analyzing past browsing and purchasing behaviors.
Alternatively, you may reward subscribers based on how long they have been a customer by offering tempting special offers reserved only for them.
Measure Your Results
What works for one eCommerce brand may not necessarily work for yours. Perfecting your email marketing efforts relies on an extensive process of ongoing testing.
Deploying tools like A/B testing provides actionable insights you can rely on to determine which elements work best, including:
- Subject lines
- Send times
- Content tones
- Visual elements
- Promotion types
Adopting a data-driven approach empowers businesses to continually refine their strategies to get the most value from their email marketing campaigns.