Why Email Marketing Still Rules the World of E-Commerce?

Do you use email marketing for reaching out to a greater number of customers and increasing your sales revenue? If you own an e-commerce store, do you find sending email worthy of your time? The numbers definitely show that emails are a useful marketing tool that you should not ignore.

In January of last year, Wall Street Journal announced email marketing is the only guaranteed-delivery option the internet has left for brands, creators and businesses. Statista.com released a survey in which 40% respondents said email marketing will stay at the same level in 2020, while 26% marketers said that it will increase in the next five years. According to another report by the website, 2019 witnessed 3.8 billion global email users. The number is expected to grow to 4.4 billion users in 2023.

Email Marketing: What does it actually mean?

In simpler terms, email marketing is the use of email to send promotional information to your customers. But email marketing is much more than sending a few emails every now and then. It is an essential tool to develop strong relations with your existing customers and building a rapport with potential buyers. With a strong email marketing campaign, you get the opportunity to customize marketing messages and persuade customers to shop more on your website.

Why Email Marketing Is Essential in Today’s E-Commerce World?

Millennials may rely on Instagram (a few on Facebook) and seek information from multiple forms of social media, including SnapChat, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, Reddit, Quora, etc. Every day new social media platforms are coming up and a few are fading away into the oblivion. But email marketing is going strong for the past three decades. The numbers say it is going to last for a very long time. Whether you sell a simple product or a virtual one, the world of e-commerce is very competitive. To cut through the competition and win more customers on a regular basis, you need to make use of emails. Here’s why:

1. The Social Media Conundrum

It is ideal to be available on multiple social media platforms (that are used by your target audience) but in includes creating platform-specific content. You may post on different social media channels regularly by adhering to the time-tested posting schedule. But the visibility of your posts is not guaranteed. Most social media platforms, especially the big ones, do not follow the reverse-chronological feed option and show customize feed according to user activity. It means if your customers have not been actively searching for your page, liking your activity or sharing your post, your visibility will be affected.

2. Not your Home Base

Even if you manage to improve visibility and customer engagement with your social media posts, it is not guaranteed that you will get the same results every time. Using social media is like playing in some else’s home ground, where they have the advantage. The same goes for search-engine rankings. Social media visibility and search-engine rankings rely on algorithms. They change frequently and without any prior notice. What if the social media website bans your profile or it goes out of business? What if the algorithms change and you are unable to reach your audience? On the other hand, email marketing is a less risky business. You have more control over the list of subscribers and you can dictate the communication mode by reaching your customers directly. You need not fear any changes in the external environment.

3. Manage the Cost of Marketing

In the era of #DeleteFacebook and #LeaveSocialMedia, we know that emails are a more reliable option. There is another reason why email marketing is going to be big in 2020. Marketers, big or small, are facing the challenge of rising cost of paid marketing on Google and Facebook because organic reach is declining as we speak. According to a report, a post’s average organic reach is just 6.4% of the total page’s likes. On an average, a full-fledged social media campaign can cost anywhere in the range of $4000-$7000 per month. An email marketing campaign can be handled at the fraction of the cost. According to a Statista.com report, marketers enjoy more ROI from email than from organic/paid social media. It is reported that emails have higher ROI with an average earning of $42 per every dollar invested in an email marketing campaign. This proves that with higher conversion rate, emails are still a useful marketing tool.

4. More Focus on Sales

Social media is a great way to reach your audience multiple times a day. You can build a brand in a fun way and connect with your customers with the help of Facebook, Instagram and other platforms. However, if you are looking to improve sales and focus on revenue, emails offer the benefit of leading your customers down the sales funnel with the help of direct marketing campaigns. 3.8 billion people check their emails, the first thing in the morning. It is a large target market that you cannot ignore. And so, emails are essential for every e-commerce business.

5. More Quantifiable

Social media is about making efforts to go viral with the current trends and creating brand awareness. On the other hand, email marketing is persuading your subscribers to make a purchase. It is much more intimate and direct form of marketing. Also, you can easily measure the effectiveness of your email marketing campaign with open rate, conversion rate, bounce rate, unsubscribe rate, etc. and improve your message accordingly. For example, if you are facing a high unsubscribe rate, check the email frequency and reduce it. If you are getting a higher conversion rate, you can create similar campaigns in the future.

6. Freedom is Essential

A small but noteworthy point is the freedom involved in email marketing. Unlike paid marketing, you won’t have to advertise on any platform for sending emails to your subscriber list. And, you can scale the operations as and when required with email marketing automation services and software.

From the subscribers’ point of view, they have the freedom to unsubscribe from the list anytime they want. It is also worth mentioning that your subscribers won’t miss out on your emails because of any algorithm.

7. More Mobile!

A 2017 litmus blog said mobiles remain to be the most popular reading environment for emails. It is a fact that customers offer use mobile websites and apps to shop on Magento store. So, what’s the significance? It means that your email templates need to be responsive and you must focus on the readability aspect of the email. Lengthy tomes are not required. You need to provide as many useful links in the email as possible, include a promo code block and allow for a simplified shopping experience.

So, this means you shouldn’t solely focus on social media. It is a great way to communicate and build your brand but when it comes to increasing sales, you cannot ignore email marketing.

How to make your Email Campaign more Effective?

Now, that you know all about incorporating emails as a part of your marketing strategy, let’s understand how to make your email campaign more effective:

>>Don’t send one email template to all subscribers. Focus separately on current customer base, potential customers and buyers who have purchase a while ago.

>>Make your email as interactive as possible. Include videos and feedback forms for improving customer interaction.

>>Create personalized and attractive subject lines.

>>Welcome emails have a high open rate. Include some promotional information in them.

>>By sending abandoned cart emails, you can win back lost sales and generate more revenue.

Email marketing should be an essential part of your marketing campaign. If you are looking to generate more revenue, you can install Magento 2 email template editor. Use the Magento extension to customize emails and build meaningful conversation with your audience.

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