- Fri 04/08/2016 11:27

Email Marketing - Speak TO Customers, Not AT Them

Now that we’re well into 2016, it’s safe to say that email remains a very valuable channel for communicating with potential and current customers. Although Internet users continue to jump between social networks, engagement with email remains high. Being in someone’s inbox means you’re in one of their primary communication outlets. With that privilege does come responsibility.

Since people are in control of their inbox, all it takes is a single click for them to cut off communication with your business. While that sounds quite harsh, it’s simply a reminder of the importance of thinking through an email marketing strategy before blasting any messages out to a list. By taking a thoughtful approach to this type of marketing, you can really connect with customers and remain a welcome part of their inbox.

How to Speak TO Customers Instead of AT Them

Even though your email list may have thousands of customers on it, that doesn’t mean those individuals want to feel like another row on a spreadsheet. One of the keys to successful email marketing is speaking to customers in a way that actually connects with them. So, how can a business go about accomplishing that goal?

The first step is to keep the idea of one-to-one communication in mind whenever your team is crafting an email. By writing emails to an individual customer instead of your entire list, you’ll find that everything from tone to word choice has a more personalized feeling. The next step is to take advantage of any personalization that’s available.

For example, if you’re emailing current customers, you should have a name associated with their email addresses. By dynamically inserting a customer’s first name into the subject and/or body of the email, you can create a point of direct connection. Another example of personalization is segmenting your emails.

If a retailer sells clothes to both men and women, they can improve their mailings by segmenting those two groups. This will ensure that men don’t receive emails with clothes they’re not interested in and vice-versa.

Remember to Deliver Value

Another important part of engaging with customers is ensuring that the body of your email delivers whatever the subject promises. And when you’re thinking of how to format your email, be sure that recipients can easily identify the key components of your email even if they’re looking at it on a small mobile screen.

While speaking directly to customers may seem like a lot of work, keep in mind that the right email provider can help you with many of the most important tasks. Head over to our email marketing page to learn about the very useful features like dynamic content that we offer.