It's that time of year again. Heidi Tolliver Walker shares some holiday marketing best practices.
Are your clients new to holiday marketing? They better get it right. A survey of e-commerce professionals and consumers conducted by Edelman DXI on behalf of Mailchimp found that two-thirds of marketers say the holiday season accounts for between 21% and 40% of their company's annual revenue. It is estimated that it accounts for %.
Of course, this also means that holiday sales account for 21% to 40% of competitors' annual revenue. My inbox is filled with lots of emails. In fact, Mailchimp reports that between Thanksgiving and Giving Tuesday alone, Mailchimp customers sent him 8 billion (yes, that's 1 billion) emails. .
While email platforms like Mailchimp have come to offer powerful features, they also have their drawbacks. Nearly three in four marketers report feeling overwhelmed by all the options. Therefore, at Mailchimp, we recommend a more focused and personalized approach. The report, “This Holiday, It's Personal,” boils it down to her six following.
- Use email to convey your core message. “SMS and social media have value, but email (still) reigns supreme,” the report says. According to survey data. . .
- Nine out of 10 marketers say email marketing is “very or extremely” important to their overall marketing strategy.
- Four out of five customers prefer email over any other form of communication.
- 95% of marketers agree that email marketing has an “excellent” ROI.
Where can I find the printed materials? DMA says it has a higher response rate than email, right? Wait. However, Mailchimp does not offer a direct mail option, so direct mail may not exist for Mailchimp research purposes.
- Use the data you have to ask for the data you need. The findings echo those of previous research that found customers are more willing to share their data if it means providing a more personalized experience. Which data points are customers most likely to share in exchange for personalized content? This also reflects previous research. The order is gender, age, product preferences, interests/hobbies, and location.
How do I get this data? Mailchimp recommends just asking. Start by filling out the email registration form. This is a great place to ask about your customers' interests, location, and demographics. You can also request users to update their profile in our database to receive more relevant content. Alternatively, you can ask more directly by sending a survey.
- Segmentation and AI-powered tools help you deliver more relevant messages with less effort. We're hearing more and more about using AI to analyze data for marketing. This is one of the ways email platforms provide value to their customers. Have your email platform incorporate multiple channels, including your online store, and use the platform's machine learning to create predictive segments instead of requiring your customers to create them themselves.
Mailchimp cited the example of the Atlanta History Center in its report. The center used social data, such as follower demographics on each platform, and combined it with engagement metrics to determine which content received the most click-throughs across all campaigns. Ryan Nex-Glenn, vice president of marketing and brand experience at the center, said, “We are gradually learning which people are most likely to be interested in,” the report said.
- Build trust in your brand and drive future sales. “Customers want you to share. after that Please sell to them. ” A novel concept – build relationships first. Still, Mailchimp found that 90% of their customers utilize email marketing to prioritize things other than brand building. Of course, this is short-sighted. 70% of customers prefer receiving emails that aren't just trying to sell them something. Not only that, but the study found that people view such companies as “caring and honest.”
However, if you're promoting a product or service, don't send irrelevant content. According to a Mailchimp study, 83% of customers have received emails that claim to be personalized and don't actually reflect their interests.
Is 1:1 personalization too difficult? Try simple segmentation instead. Mailchimp customers increased their average click-through rates by 45% from November 21 to December 1, 2022, just by segmenting their campaigns. This was 5.73% when segmented compared to 3.96% when unsegmented.
Are there other ways to build trust?
- Give your customers a behind-the-scenes glimpse.
- Provide tutorials, customer spotlights, and other educational content.
- Provide business updates and previews of new products.
- Send targeted automations to keep your customers engaged throughout the weekend. “Email volume decreases over the Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend, but consumers do not stop engaging,” the report states. In other words, when your competitors are silent, step into that vacuum. “Schedule automatic emails on Saturdays or Sundays when there is less competition in your customers' inboxes.”
- Reward your best customers by offering tiered promotions. “Personalized offers help marketers stand out from the crowd.” Well, maybe. A Mailchimp survey found that 89% of marketers plan to offer promotions or discounts during the holiday season. So instead of helping you stand out in the crowd, it prevents you from standing out in the crowd in the wrong way by not offering anything.
Want to read the rest of the report and see all the insights, including a mini case study? Download it here.
