Think Twice Before Hitting Send

Given the recent economic impact of COVID-19, the floodgates of email campaigns have been opened. People across the U.S. have received hundreds of emails over the last several weeks from what seems like every company they have ever shopped at. This isn’t making consumers very happy. 

So what exactly is wrong with business email marketing campaigns?

Too Many Emails

The obvious problem right now is that consumers are getting overloaded with emails. People who bought a random product from an online store 6 years ago are now getting bombarded with emails about what that business is doing to combat COVID-19. 

While businesses must let consumers know what they are doing, many go too far or try to push products nonetheless. The problem really comes down to who is receiving the business’s emails. 

Some are certainly loyal customers that are interested in the actions of the company. But, the majority are only one-time buyers or seldom shoppers who haven’t heard from the company in years. It is this majority who isn’t very engaged and is becoming annoyed by the flood of emails in their inbox. 

So with that said, what is the message that businesses should take from this?

Effective Email Strategy

Stick To One Message

Send out an email about how your business is combatting the virus; it is obviously the right thing to do. But, stick to the message. 

Tell the customers what actions you are taking and how they will impact them, and leave it at that. Don’t toot your own horn and push products or brag about going above and beyond. 

Additionally, let customers know how they can contact the company with further questions. Try to accomplish all of this in one email, but if it requires more, spread them out so they don’t arrive all at once. 

Is it Necessary

Many marketing professionals are urging their clients to think twice before hitting send to ask themselves: Is this email necessary? 

Consumers are getting flooded with emails. Is your email going to give them new information that they need or is it just going to end up in the trash? 

Once you have delivered an initial update to your customers, you should be asking yourself this question before any further email campaigns. Make sure your email is going to provide real value. If the campaign can wait until things start to clear up, then save it as a draft for that later date. 

Be Positive 

This should be an obvious approach: Be positive. Times are tough for many Americans, so now is the time for over-aggressive marketing or comedy. Tailor your message to provide good vibes to your customer base. 

Update Your Email List

This should open your eyes to the unnecessary size of your email list. Is the same 90% of your customer base not opening your campaigns? Do you have people on your list that haven’t shopped in 3 years? 5 years? 10 years?

With all this free time, it would be smart to clean things up. Most email marketing providers today make it easy for you to segment your audience. Send separate emails to those who are actively engaged, and send a different set of emails to those who haven’t been involved.

It is a smart strategy to remove some of your customers on a regular basis as well. As a business, you are striving to reach people who are interested. There is no need to continue blowing up everyone else’ s inbox. 

You can send a campaign to inactive customers asking if they would like to remain on your list. If they don’t reply, then it is time to move on. If they do, then it might be time to send them a special offer!

Want to perfect your email marketing? Get in touch with email marketing specialists at Rizzo Young Marketing.