Why Email Is a Key Component of a successfull Digital Marketing Strategy

The digital marketing strategy of each business has its own particularities. The strategy needs customization depending on the company’s sales approach, be it B2B, B2C, or a mix of the two, the business plans and goals their working towards, and many other factors. Gathering accurate data, used to pinpoint the customer’s behavioral pattern, is a hardship all companies have to face.

We’re going to dive into one of the key elements of an efficient digital marketing strategy; and that is an expanding email and SMS list.

Reaching more potential customers automatically increases the chances of getting more responses, which is the overall goal of having a mailing list. The most efficient way of expanding this list is optimizing the data mining process using your owned media.

You can think of an e-mail address as the digital equivalent of currency, as far as acquiring the means of contact between you and the users goes, through email, social media platforms and more. That’s why the e-mail address is considered the prime objective.

This objective, encouraging the customer to join your mailing list, should be part of all of your owned media outlets, from customer service, websites, landing pages, to the point of sale.

How the obstacles arise

The majority of businesses have to deal with at least one, or more, of these obstacles:

• The percentage of users that convert is below 5%;
• The email sign-up link is a mere encouragement that’s usually hidden in plain view on the home page, with no real essence or promise of added value for the user. Using a larger display or a Lightbox rarely solves the problem;
• The valuable touch point at a company’s customer service is wasted, with no request of an email address, or verification of its existence within the database;
• Most businesses disregard the potential of an important data source by not collecting information at the point of sale;
• Many base their digital marketing strategy on remarketing lists on ads and retargeted cookies only, and ignore the possibility of refining their data by analyzing the effects.

What disadvantages are created

The list above describes how we create our own obstacles, and these are the effects of those mistakes:

• You limit your ability to expand your reach through current owned media and future outlets by not maximizing your chances of exponentially increasing your mailing list, using some small tweaks;
• You are missing out on the benefits of having a multi-channel reach, which would not only enrich and complete your data, but also give your prospects a better chance of connecting with you;
• You’re undervaluing the importance of collecting an email address directly from the prospect.

How to overcome the obstacles

These are the simple tweaks that can put you back on the right track:

• Make it a priority to ask the prospects for a mobile number and an email address whenever you come in direct contact with them, via the company’s website, with clear indications of the added value they will enjoy for providing this information;

There are several ways to do this, but a essence-less sign-up link that pops-up as soon as the home page is accessed with no X button for the Lightbox in sight will make the prospect lose interest instantly.

Tweaking the response time of the Lightbox, with a pre-set delay, and coming up with a relevant and worthy to read sign-up text, that’s based on the keywords you’re most frequently found by, will offer you better results.

• While the initial Lightbox might get dismissed casually, while the prospect is looking for the information they were searching for, a second Lightbox that’s activated by specific browsing behaviors will help you seal the deal more often;

When the system detects an interest for a specific product, it generates a message that’s relevant for that exact product, thus engaging the customer with information that they are willing to take the time to sign-up for.

• Provide your customer service representatives with an easy to use and access app where they can insert emails whenever a customer or prospect contacts them;
• Update the data regarding your mailing list the best you can, as often as possible. Check if the addresses are still valid and if the user still interacts using your ESP (email service provider).

What to remember

Go beyond using a retargeted cookie when your website reaches a prospect. Develop your addressability and use all the data you have available to further customize the experience you’re creating for the users.

Ask for an email address, and SMS when possible, and highlight the added value your business brings to the table. This information allows you to maximize the efficiency of your owned media, and helps you connect with the right people. Be direct in the messages you convey and use the information you gather from the users using your industry’s best practices.