Email has come a long way since its early days as a blunt instrument for bombarding a wide audience with information. Today, it's like a Swiss Army knife that can be used for almost any situation throughout the customer journey.
When used correctly, email is the connective tissue that binds these interactions together, from the moment someone first encounters your brand to the ongoing relationship after a purchase.
Advances in technology have driven this major shift, changing consumer behavior and driving marketers to relentlessly seek more effective ways to engage their audiences. These days, there are new factors to consider when it comes to AI, from generative AI like ChatGPT to automation tools like the one built into HubSpot. So how should you use email now?
Email is no longer a digital megaphone
Email is no longer about sending a single message to a vast list of recipients, but about delivering customized and relevant content to the individuals who choose to receive it. This change has changed the way companies approach email marketing, emphasizing the importance of segmentation, personalization, and building relationships with customers.
Now more than ever, email serves as a way to facilitate one-on-one connections, provide value, and build long-lasting relationships with your customers. It is a channel that allows businesses to engage with their audiences on a deeper level, delivering content that is relevant, timely, and personalized to each recipient.
Rather than a one-time blast, emails are an ongoing thread that guides your customers through their experience with your brand. Thanks to technologies such as automation and data analytics, marketers can more easily segment audiences, tailor messages, and deliver content that resonates on a personal level. But what exactly should we do?
Let's dig deeper: Email Marketing Strategy: A Guide for Marketers
How should email be used in your marketing strategy?
Rather than repeating a mass conversation to a specific person, modern email functions as part of a well-oiled machine that sends the right messages at the right time throughout the customer journey. You need to deliver it to the other person.
From the customer's perspective, it should feel like a conversation that evolves over time as the customer becomes progressively more involved with your business.
1. Lead Generation: First Greetings
Whether it's cold outreach, newsletter signups, or offering a valuable resource like an ebook or webinar in exchange for an email address, this initial interaction creates a great first impression and can develop into a loyal customer. This is an opportunity to lay the foundation for a potential relationship. . Make sure your lead generation emails are interesting, offer undeniable value, and set the tone for what your recipients can expect from you.
AI tools can be used here to improve email personalization at scale, but recipients are becoming increasingly wary of AI, so use them sparingly. When it comes to cold outreach, consider that generative AI is exacerbating the surge in cold email volume, so prospects have better protection against it.
Let's dig deeper: AI-powered cold email: A nightmare in progress?
2. Nurturing relationships: Keep the conversation going
Once you've made the initial contact, don't let the conversation end there. Nurturing leads using email. This means:
- Send a welcome series introducing new subscribers to your brand.
- Provide educational content that meets their needs.
- Update information about new products and services.
This is also easier than before. AI helps marketers personalize emails at scale, automate processes, and gain valuable insights from customer data.
Each email should feel like part of an ongoing conversation, gradually moving the recipient closer to a purchasing decision. Just don't assume that the other person has read everything you send. Let's be honest: we're busy.
Let's dig deeper: Email Marketer's Guide to Effective Marketing Automation
3. Referral programs: turn customers into advocates
Your existing customers could be your biggest advocates. Encourage them to spread the word about your brand through email referral programs.
We offer incentives that reward both the referrer and the referee. This shows your existing customers that you value their support, expands your reach, and strengthens your relationships with them.
4. Sales and Promotion: Drive Immediate Action
Promotional emails can be a powerful ally when it comes to increasing sales. Whether it's announcing a flash sale, offering an exclusive discount, or alerting subscribers about new products, these emails can prompt immediate action.
Make sure these offers are time-limited and exclusive to create a sense of urgency and exclusivity. (Also, make sure you're compliant with the Email Marketing Regulations 2024.)
5. Content Marketing: Establish Your Authority
Email is a great channel for distributing content and establishing your brand as a thought leader in your industry. Share your latest blog post, video, podcast episode, or infographic directly to your subscribers' inboxes. This helps with engagement and strengthens your position as a go-to resource in your field.
It's tempting to rely on AI to create all your content, but content is most engaging when it provides valuable information and perspectives that your audience is looking for. Generative AI struggles to provide this kind of originality. Relying too much on AI risks eroding trust and hurting your site's SEO when it comes to blog content.
Let's dig deeper: 3 Ways Email Marketers Should Really Leverage AI
6. Engagement and Retention: Stay in the spotlight
Attracting customers and keeping them interested is critical to a brand's lasting success. Survey your customers using email to ensure you understand their satisfaction levels. Celebrate important milestones, like the anniversary of your first purchase, or make them feel special by inviting them to a special VIP program.
It's especially important to show this kind of appreciation and care to long-term customers. That's because the best perks (like deep discounts) are often only available to new customers, which can inhibit loyalty.
Ask for their opinions on products through feedback surveys and encourage them to share their stories and experiences with your brand. These strategies maintain ongoing interaction and foster loyalty by showing appreciation and respecting their opinions.
Let's dig deeper: 3 keys to increasing email engagement in Gmail
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.
