Marketing Automation for Ecommerce: A Twist for the Upcoming Holiday Sales Season
Editor’s note: This is a guest post by Kimberly Maceda, content Writer at ActiveTrail
It’s a bit early to say but the holiday season is looming in the corner. Just a few more weeks and we’re all on our way to the “Ber” months (September to December). And who isn’t excited for the cheer that these months bring? As people, we’re all excited for the festivities this season brings – all the food, gatherings, and, of course, shopping to be done!
As a business, it’s also the time to be busy. Now that we’re in the internet age, it goes without saying that e-commerce will continue to grow in the coming years. In fact, just last year, Cyber Monday was able to rake in $6.59B in online sales and is dubbed as the largest online shopping day in history. With such a great number under its belt, it would be wise to capitalize on this.
Whether you are a small-business owner or a large e-commerce site, preparing well for the holiday season is a must! Some fail to arm their marketing campaigns with the right strategy. As a result, they fail to hit their objectives or do not sell as much as they could have. Marketing automation is just one of the things sellers and marketers should keep in mind so that they can reach their target. One such aspect you could focus on is maximizing the use of your email marketing automation software.
Let’s have a quick rundown of the advantages of email marketing:
- Email receives 30 times more return on investment than any other medium.
- Email marketing aids in increasing relevance and response of recipients to the communication method used.
- 20% of overall holiday sales can be attributed to email marketing.
As you can see, email marketing is an important aspect of any strategy, especially now that the holiday season is just around the corner.
Here are some ideas on how you can amp up or refresh the way you execute campaigns:
Capitalize on Visual Appeal
Content is power and so are visuals. Play around with photos, GIFs and videos to capture your audience. When you excite and catch the attention of your audience, they are most likely to engage and click through to your site.
Tell stories, start a mini email series that your audience will enjoy, or introduce a game. There are so many options for you to choose from to give power to visual appeal. Choose your execution wisely and learn to have fun along the way!
Allow Them to Shop Straight from their Inbox
People are on a rush, especially during the holiday season. Make their time worthwhile by making sure that they can shop straight from their emails. This could be a great way for them to consider buying from you now rather than later. Pair up the feature with a seamless experience and you’ll be sure that you have them clicking the checkout button in no time! Remember to check if your email marketing automation software can accommodate such component.
Send Them Holiday Treats
Be the business that lives out the spirit of the holiday season. Learn to give surprises and gifts to your shoppers. Who doesn’t like these things? Get them to bite into a promo by making sure you segment your lists properly. Showcase a different scheme for one-time customers versus repeat customers versus customers who haven’t checked back with you for a long time.
Creating diversity ensures that you appeal to the right audience, making it possible for you to have a higher chance in getting them hooked to a promo. A blanket email can just be ignored – which is something you want to avoid.
Create Shareable Emails
Who would’ve thought that people forward promotional emails? A study notes that 21% of their respondents recently forwarded a promotional email to a family member, friend or a colleague. It might be a small number but, remember, any and all help to spread awareness on your business is good.
So how can you increase your chances of having your email forwarded?
- Make the designs simple so it loads quickly on all devices
- Make your message stand out (either an enticing promo or a nicely-executed call to action button)
- Personalize your emails
Get to Know Them
People love opening their email and finding exactly what they like!
That would be the day you can surely close the deal. But how do you get there? Make sure you have that little Add to Cart or Favorite button so you would know what each customer likes. Making the right recommendations when you send out email campaigns is one way to win your shoppers’ hearts.
Another one is to ask for feedback. Collaborate with your shoppers. You’d be surprised at how many customers are willing to share their thoughts so your business could improve. Listen to what they have to say and improve accordingly. These may be small things but are necessary to improve customer relationships that could result to sales.
Conclusion
Emails must now be more than a simple announcement. With the developing times, campaigns should evolve as well. Give the shoppers more power when they are using their email. Make them fall in love with your brand more, get to know them, let them interact and give them the opportunity to shop straight from their inboxes. All these are surely possible if you learn how to maximize the features of your email marketing automation platform.
Kimberly Maceda is a Content Writer for ActiveTrail. She writes for some top online marketing sites and blogging advice on email marketing and marketing automation. Activetrail is a leading provider of professional-grade email marketing and automation software for growing businesses.