We Answer 3 Important Questions to Grow your eCommerce Business and Ride Out the Market Threats with Email Marketing this 2020

Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Samuel E. Catbagan Jr. at Chronos Agency  

Email marketing remains a powerful tool, especially when it’s used correctly. Three years ago, there were 3.8 billion total email users in the world. By 2022, the number is expected to reach up to 4.4 billion — around half of the world’s population. No wonder businesses turn to email marketing as a very important channel for growth.

This 2020, with almost five months down and nine more to go, it’s time to take another look at concrete things you should do to leverage email marketing for your business. So, here are the answers to five important questions you probably have regarding how to grow your eCommerce business with email marketing in 2020.

1. How can you truly connect with your audience?

Generic email blasts are a thing of the past. What’s now is tailor-made emails for each of your subscribers and customers. The “one size fits all” technique will not move your business forward.

This year, here’s how you can move towards creating email marketing campaigns that speak to your audience.

1. Segment your list according to different categories, such as demographics, gender, or even purchasing behavior. In fact, segmented and targeted emails generate more than 50% of revenue.
2. Create content tailored for each segment. According to eConsultancy, the majority of marketers say that targeted personalization increases customer engagement. When customers are engaging with you, you know you’re connecting with them.

Check out this email sample from a ride sharing company that’s targeted for users in Chicago. Emails like this are helpful for users because they feel like their situations are being taken into consideration.

2. What makes a great CTA?

Think like your customer. What will make them do what you want them to do? Whether it’s leading them to your store or to sign up for your monthly newsletter, your call-to-action must be clear.

So how do you create effective CTAs?

1. Keep CTAs punchy and attractive.
2. Place the CTA where it is most likely to be seen right away.
3. One up and coming trend this year is to animate your CTAs for extra pizzaz.
4. Don’t be afraid to explore new CTAs instead of the usual ‘Shop Now!’. For example, with quarantine shopping on the rise amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, “Shop from Home!” or “Shop Safely” can be a creative way of engaging with your customers.

Check out this email example from another ride sharing company. The CTA button “Join In” is very attractive because of the bright pink color that matches their logo. It’s easy to find and easy to click on!

3. Why is mobile-friendly the new standard?

It’s the digital age! People can now read their emails on their laptops, smartphones and tablets. In fact, 66% of email opens were found to come from smartphones or tablets.

More people are also using their smartphones to shop. In the past four years, mobile purchases rose from only 3.4% to 36.7%. Google Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is on the rise this year, and it’s bound to radically transform the mobile experience.

The implications of AMP are big, as it is a powerful opportunity for email marketers to create engaging, interactive and most importantly, actionable email experiences. Drive action seamlessly, as viewers can quickly RSVP to an event, drop a review or checkout directly within the email itself. This is a very big deal for eCommerce.

Again, building trust with your subscriber list and email segments plays a very big part in keeping a healthy list while engaging your users.

So, when you offer a rich and seamless user experience with AMPs that require you to collect payment for goods or services, it’s vital you find a trusted payment processing solution. Payoneer is one such solution.

BONUS QUESTION: What’s the biggest threat to dropshippers and eCommerce businesses in 2020?

Unfortunately, the biggest threat isn’t fierce competition, technical issues, or the mercurial algorithms of paid channels that are subjected to social media policy changes like Facebook ad-mageddon of yesteryear. But the rise and spread of COVID-19, which has since put many cities, states, and countries on lock down.

How exactly has the coronoavirus become such a challenge to dropshippers?

In short, the virus outbreak heavily affected transport of products, whether from dropshipper to customer (product deliveries) or from supplier to dropshipper (restocking of inventory). This can cause uncertain delays on product shipments and deliveries, and late fulfillment of orders for your customers. Additionally, dropshippers are likely to run low on inventory as they try to keep up with their delivery volume.

So what can be done amidst this predicament? For this bonus question, we’ll give you TWO bonus solutions!

#1 Ramp up your customer support teams

Stay in touch with your customers and reassure them of their products’ status. Prepare appropriate answers and updates to keep your customers in the loop of what’s going on. Don’t keep them in the dark.

For this, email automation can be an important communication tool to keep your customers well informed on any delays to when an order is received up to its shipment. Remember, communication is key when it comes to retaining your customer’s trust amidst the threat of untimely order fulfillment.

You’ll also want to cover all grounds by beefing up your FAQ section with a steady action plan and disclaimer covering the situation in lieu of the production and logistics lock down.

The shock of the COVID-19 pandemic is still reverberating globally, and its impact on businesses so far is still just the tip of the iceberg. So go the extra mile by incorporating a live-chat service for receiving queries from customers all over the world. This is particularly useful for dropshippers receiving orders globally as live chat solutions have evolved tremendously to include supporting individual languages.

#2 Manage Your Inventory

Delays in inventory restocking means having to make do with what you have, especially if delays last for weeks. Take care of your margins by coming up with a new pricing framework to create some buffer until the situation tides over. This would ensure your dropshipping business still has something to offer to your customers while waiting out the uncertainty as to when the new stock finally arrives.

Conclusion

Knowing the answers to these questions is the first step. These email marketing actionables for 2020 will help ensure your eCommerce business grows. With the right tools, you’ll be able to pinpoint the data-driven ways on how you can convert your customers using tested and proven email marketing strategies.

Samuel Catbagan first started out as an online copywriter for real estate. After graduating from college, he spent a year gaining experience and streamlining his writing style until he moved on to blog writing for a podcast website. And now, Samuel is a Junior Copywriter for Chronos Agency, writing blog articles, press releases, and case studies.