Customer loyalty in the retail industry is one of the goals that every brand aims to achieve in order to sell more. Therefore, email marketing is one of the most effective strategies when communicating with customers. More and more companies are using this channel within their marketing strategies.
The industry consists of those businesses that provide a good or service to the end consumer. It is also known as retail because of its characteristics. The arrival of the coronavirus pandemic and preventive isolation have led many businesses to migrate into the digital spaces.
Being able to retain customers in retail is easier if you use Email Marketing effectively and consistently. But to achieve this goal, you need to fully understand how this strategy works. Having loyal customers is important for brands because they do not hesitate to repeat purchase the same brand when they feel an emotional connection.
Why use Email Marketing to build customer loyalty in the retail sector
To understand the value of Email Marketing in building customer loyalty in the retail industry, it is critical to understand how effective it is. It is a very important tool for implementing newsletter campaigns, mass mailings or audience analysis.
Email Marketing offers some advantages that other tools in the digital world do not have, such as visibility, being a personalized channel between the company and the customer, the cost-effectiveness of its implementation, and its ability to retain customers in the retail sector.
Similarly, it allows you to segment your audience, a very friendly option for companies interested in taking advantage of its benefits. In addition, you can choose which users receive one specific type of email for customer loyalty in the retail sector and which receive another model.
Some features of Email Marketing to retain customers in the retail sector
Once the scope of Email Marketing is 100% understood within a strategy to retain customers in the retail industry, it can be applied using different methods such as the following:
A.- Having a subscription form
Subscription forms are one of the best elements to retain customers in the retail sector. Keep in mind that finding leads in this way is a totally passive method, since it is the user who decides to register and get information from a web page or landing page.
These registration forms can be added to countless marketing campaigns, including e-mail and social media. Combining this strategy with passive e-mail campaigns enables a high loyalty rate.
B.- Mass mailing
One of the biggest problems with an Email Marketing campaign to build customer loyalty in the retail sector is that it produces hundreds of emails that may not reach their destination. That is, they end up in spam boxes or worse, nowhere because the email address does not exist.
Therefore, emails must be created under a very detailed analysis and study of the target audience, their interests, tastes, etc. The fact that an email is sent in bulk does not imply that it should not be treated in a personalized way. must think about the following:
- The information to be provided.
- Segment the audience by objectives.
- Create a design for different emails.
Review content, text, graphics and layout before sending emails.
In order to retain customers in the retail sector, it is essential to be able to apply certain factors such as automation, segmentation, and personalization.
- Email marketing campaigns to retain customers in the retail sector must be automated to increase efficiency and streamline all processes. Automated emails generate nearly 300% more revenue than non-automated emails.
- Different Email Marketing lists to retain customers in the retail sector must also be segmented to group customers into different categories such as gender, age, interests, geographic location, etc. The increase is almost 700% in segmented Email Marketing campaigns.
- The design of all emails must be adapted and optimized for any mobile device, computer or tablet. For example, nearly 60% of email opens occur on mobile devices.
However, it should be kept in mind that an Email Marketing campaign will yield the best results if you have a good quality database. The value of a customer does not depend solely on their monetary level, but on the level and quality of data you have.
Generating more personalized shopping experiences is a very important point in building customer loyalty in the retail industry.
Email marketing tips for building customer loyalty in the retail industry
There are some ways to carry out an effective Email Marketing campaign to achieve the best results in terms of sales and customer retention, such as the following:
1.- Customer acquisition
The first step to success in an e-mail campaign is to obtain customer data. To do this there are three possible places to find or look for this data: social networks, web pages, and point of sale.
In the case of the web, every visit made by a person counts, not only to increase web traffic and reach, but also to collect the email addresses of users who visit. For a visitor to decide to leave their personal information, it is necessary to show quality and engaging content, this applies to social networks and points of sale.
2.- The moment of purchase
This is a good time to capture the customer’s attention and get their personal data. They generally provide the data to receive confirmation of the purchase or to track the shipment. This is a good opportunity to include a box indicating whether they want to be part of the company’s database.
3.- The point of sale
It is not enough just to sell, another task is to collect data from customers or interested people. This is in order to provide you in the future through Email Marketing with all the information about the product or services so that eventually you can retain customers in the retail sector.
4.- Pleasant experiences
The fact that the customer can enjoy a good experience in the buying process or even in the process of learning about a product or service is crucial. For the loyalty process, it is very important that the customer feels cared for, valued and understood so that they increase the chances of loyalty to retail customers.
5.- The proper use of social media.
Never underestimate social media for the process of attracting new customers. For example, on Instagram, a newsletter can be placed in the BIO of each profile. There, interested followers can review the official profile of the account and sign up.
Another good use of networks to retain customers in the retail sector is to hold a contest on social networks in which, to participate, the consumer only needs to leave his or her email in the brand’s contact base. This is a very original way to attract people’s attention.
6.- Take care of the content
Once you have a fully complete and quality database, it is time to look at the content and the message. For this you need to understand what each individual’s needs are and whether the products can or do effectively meet them. Knowing the content that customers might be interested in is critical.
It is very useful to know that this kind of quality content that meets needs can be used to give the feeling of limited opportunity. In short, an opportunity not to be missed.
7.- Email subject matter: customer loyalty in the retail sector.
This is the first contact between the customer and Emails to retain customers in the retail industry. Therefore, it must be appealing in the eyes of potential customers. Email content must also offer quality information that provides content of interest.
8.- Don’t focus on a single message format.
It is critical not to focus on a single type of message, but to vary until you determine which one produces the best results in terms of reach and visibility. Trying different ideas is one way to vary content and experiment. Some of the content that can be used in the strategy to retain customers in the retail sector include:
- New Products.
- Promotions.
- Corporate announcements.
- Reviews and suggestions.
- Special offers.
- Special celebrations (birthdays, holidays, etc.).
9.- Timing of sending a message.
To determine the best time to send a message, it is essential to know the brand’s followers or potential customers. What time do they work? What time do they arrive home? What days are they available? Often the most effective days to launch an Email Marketing campaign are Thursdays.
As for the schedule, the best times are mornings from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. and afternoons from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. Likewise, guessing the exact time and date to send an email marketing is not an exact science and the key is to keep testing.
