Brindley House, Outrams Wharf, Little Eaton, Derby DE21 5EL 0344 800 8424 infouk@briefyourmarket.co.uk www.briefyourmarket.co.uk

As a marketer, it’s fair to say you have a challenge on your hands. What should you be sending to your

customers and prospects – and when?

You know you don’t want to inundate your readers with emails, but at the same time – how can you establish and maintain a good relationship with them and, in turn, increase your sales and retention?

Read on for top 5 emails you should be sending to your customers in order to maximise your engagement and reduce those unsubscribes!

Make a memorable impression by sending a warm welcome email to customers who have recently subscribed to your mailing list. The right marketing software will enable you to automatically send your welcome email to anyone who has recently subscribed to your mailing list – meaning you don’t have to spend your valuable time on manual spends.

This is a great opportunity for you to lay down the tone of your brand with a friendly message that properly introduces your business and thanks your customer for engaging with you. Here are some examples of what you could include:

“Meet the team!” – brief introductions and an image

An exclusive introductory offer/promotion

Links to your social channels

You should also give your customers an idea of what to expect from you now that they’ve subscribed. How often will they hear from you? Why should they look out for your email? Will you be sending unmissable offers, hot tips, or the latest news? This is your chance to ensure you stand out amongst the other emails that crowd their inbox.

Haven’t heard from your customer in a while? Let them know they’re on your mind with a friendly re-engagement email. Stats show that it can cost up to 7 times more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one, which is why it’s definitely worth trying to rekindle interest amongst your archived database.

Brindley House, Outrams Wharf, Little Eaton, Derby DE21 5EL 0344 800 8424 infouk@briefyourmarket.co.uk www.briefyourmarket.co.uk

Tempt them back with a small offer, such as credits, a voucher, or a free gift that they can redeem via your website, giving them the chance to see anything new that’s on offer. Lift the tone of your message with a friendly subject line, such as “Is this the end?” or “It’s been a while.”

With the right software, you can automate your re-engagement email so that it arrives a certain amount of time since your customer last interacted with you.

Email newsletters are great for reaching out to your entire database, with something for everyone. They’re also ideal for driving traffic to your website, keeping your customers in the loop and creating loyalty – particularly when you’re consistent with your sending. And there are so many things you can write about! Some content ideas include:

News

Upcoming events

Social media links

Offers

Hacks and top tips

Just for fun articles – celebrities, funny, quizzes, etc.

Your customers are individuals. They’ve signed up with you for different reasons, meaning that what interests one person won’t necessarily be relevant to the needs of the next person on your mailing list. If you send a one-size-fits-all email newsletter to your entire database, you run the risk of a high amount of unsubscribes from people who don’t feel like you’re considering their preferences.

Don’t worry - I’m not saying that you have to create individual newsletters for each person on your mailing list. That would be horrific. With the right email marketing software, your customers will be able to choose what they’re interested in hearing about, and they will see different newsletter articles based on the categories they have chosen – and nothing more.

For example, if you run a hotel and your audience includes Kelly, who only wants spa offers and details on your luxury rooms, as well as Amy, who just wants to hear about your business rates, you can create one newsletter than includes both of these features, but, because they have a set preference, Amy will not receive the business news and David won’t hear about spa offers or luxury rooms. Magic!

Your subscribers have trusted you with their email address – a huge privilege for any brand. The typical customer can receive hundreds of promotional emails per day; many will be overlooked, some will be immediately deleted – only a select few will be opened. With so many companies fighting your customer’s attention, your email needs to stand out and pique their interest in order to stand a chance of being opened.

This starts with the subject line. You need to tell your readers how they will benefit from taking a few minutes of their precious time to open your email. If it doesn’t look like you’re going to provide them with any value, it’s likely their interest will stray to someone who does.

Here are some examples of great things to include in your promotional emails:

A clear call-to-action button or link

An attractive offer – something that your customers and prospects stand to gain value from

Brindley House, Outrams Wharf, Little Eaton, Derby DE21 5EL 0344 800 8424 infouk@briefyourmarket.co.uk www.briefyourmarket.co.uk

An eye-catching image – possible of the product/service itself

A sense of urgency! A time limit on your promotion is a good way of encouraging your customers to take

action quickly for fear of missing out.

Lastly, don’t send promotional emails too often. This can decrease the quality of the offer in the customer’s eyes. Focus on quality – not quantity. Every 2-3 weeks is generally good practice for sending these types of email. You’ll give your customers something to look forward to, and they’ll be more likely to open your message out of pure curiosity!

From the products they love (or hate) to how they find your service, your website or your delivery process, the truth might hurt – but it always helps.

Find out just what your customers think to your brand, and what makes them tick, with a survey that they can access via an email. Surveys are a great way to find out what you’re doing right, as well as where there’s room for improvement, using invaluable feedback from the people that matter most – your customers.

There’s plenty of free survey tools out there, but the right software will allow you to:

Automate your surveys based on certain milestones in your customer’s journey, such as a sale.

Personalise your message

Send unlimited surveys

Choose from a wide range of question types – from multiple choice, to free text!

Target hot prospects with a follow-up message

Identify potential sales opportunities

View and export live responses as they are submitted

Integrate with your existing database

Incorporate your own branding into every message

Address both positive and negative feedback

Surveys are a really powerful, subtle and unobtrusive way of keeping tabs on individual and trending perceptions of your brand – and should therefore be your number one priority following an interaction. That way, you can view both positive and negative responses and address them accordingly – whether it’s with a ‘thank you!’ or an apology plus an exclusive discount on one of your products or services.

Looking to make a real impression with your email marketing? BriefYourMarket.com can help. Call us on 0344 800 84 24 or visit www.briefyourmarket.com to find out more!