Most unofficial holidays are simply fun and silly, and it seems like there is one almost every day and week of the year. But “Get to Know Your Customers Day” can be a meaningful holiday for e-commerce sellers that could actually fuel your email marketing strategy for years to come.
Celebrated the third Thursday of every quarter (January, April, July, and October), this holiday is coming up on April 18, 2019. The special day commemoration was created as a way for businesses of all types to reach out and get to know their customers, and you can participate in the festivities by implementing some key strategies. Try capitalizing on this opportunity to maximize personalization efforts with your email marketing strategy. Here are some ideas to consider.
Going beyond the basics
In the not-too-distant past, there was no online shopping and selling, and customers shopped at local “Mom and Pop” stores where business owners knew their customers by name. Businesses also knew, often in great detail, individual customers’ shopping habits and preferences. With online businesses, there are ways to simulate that same concept. For example, email automation has made personalization for every email using a “Hello, [fname]” salutation to start an email and greet customers like you would in person.
The importance of personalization cannot be overemphasized. In fact, a study has indicated that 80% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a company that offers personalized experiences, and an even higher number, 90%, say they find personalization appealing. And companies have taken note, as personalization shows up in many places, with it now being commonplace in email marketing.
But personalization should certainly go far beyond the basic level of inserting a customer’s first name into emails. You can also fuel your segmentation by customers’ interests using various strategies. Let’s go into ways you can obtain that information.
Polls and surveys
Polls and surveys are excellent tools for getting to know your customers. You can discover all sorts of valuable information, such as demographic details and buying preferences. You can also find basic but essential information, such as why they subscribed to your emails in the first place, what they’re looking for, and what kind of emails they’d like to see.
Ask these questions and you can then use that information to create segmented lists that cater more to the personal preferences of those customers. Make your polls short and to the point, and possibly reward participation with a discount code for their next purchase. Then your poll not only serves personalization efforts it also helps encourage repeat business.
Purchase history data
When you access customers’ purchase history data, you are mining a treasure trove of details that can help you get to know your customers and improve your email marketing strategy. For example, when you see their buying habits as far as timing, you can time the emails you send based on likely times for future purchases. You can email them about recommended products based on what they have purchased before. Customer marketing gets far better and more effective when you can study your customers’ purchase history data
Personalization best practices
Personalization can deepen the relationships you have with your customers. But you need to follow certain guidelines and email best practices. Here are some key strategies and tips:
- After customers have received your products, encourage them to provide feedback on items they have purchased. Let them know that you value their feedback and loyalty.
- Refer customers to products they might like, based on their previous purchases with your business.
- If customers have placed items in online shopping carts but not yet completed purchases of those items, email them a reminder to complete their purchases, and include links back to those items in your email. Let customers know you are striving to make their shopping experience more convenient and easier. In doing so, you are also letting them know you appreciate and value their business.
- Encourage previous customers who have not shopped with your business in a while to return for a special sale or discount being offered for a limited period of time.
- Offer longtime customers a special discount that is timed around a holiday or any other special event.
When you make the extra effort to learn more about your customers, you are making each of them feel like they are your most important customer. You are conveying the powerful message that you value and appreciate their loyalty to your business and its products or services. You will further boost loyalty when you show your customers how much you appreciate them and want to get to know them better. And when you make the extra effort to get to know your customers better and develop stronger relationships on April 18, you are enhancing your marketing and sales results for the rest of the year.
If you want to plan ahead for the rest of 2019, the Get To Know Your Customer Day observances coming up will be on July 18 and October 17. But remember, you can make every day an opportunity to build relationships with your customers and cultivate highly personalized connections. So don’t wait for a special holiday to do that.
On your way to getting to know customers better, ShippingEasy can help make it…well…easy! Our Customer Marketing solution lets you set up campaigns that go out at just the right time, with an easy drag-and-drop builder so you don’t have to be a designer to send beautiful emails.
Rob Zaleski
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