Essence of Email Weekly - Are you using SMS to win your customers' hearts in 2020?

Everyone loves a little romance! Have you considered using SMS to show your customers some love?

If yes, then keep up the good work, as the potential in this market is huge. If not, it is not too late – you still have time to put a seductive SMS strategy in place and win big in the upcoming period.

Ignoring SMS means leaving money on the table. Not only does SMS extend the reach of marketing messages, but it increases engagement by connecting with consumers on their favorite and most used devices. What would you do for an open rate of 98%? What about simply sending an SMS? It's kind of a no-brainer.

Marketers need to craft an SMS marketing strategy, as these can help boost conversion rates, foster loyalty, and build relationships with customers. Take a look at a few of the important statistics that demonstrate how important an SMS program is:

• Text messages have a 98% open rate, while email still lingers around 20% (Mobile Marketing Watch)• 90% of text messages are read within 3 minutes of arrival (Connect Mogul)• On average, it takes under 90 seconds to respond to an SMS text (CTIA)• Sales prospects who are sent text messages convert at a rate 40% higher than those who are not sent any text messages (Velocify)

So, where do you start? Take a look at this step-by-step guide to implementing SMS marketing in 2020 or reach out to us and discover how we handle our clients' SMS strategies.

It's time to show your customers how much you care!



REPORT


How much is your brand spending on email marketing?



A recent research from GoodFirms proves that email marketing is still one of the worthiest investments a business can make these days. This report is based on a survey of over 100 marketing professionals and experts who revealed their challenges, trends, and insights for email marketing.

According to their Email Marketing Research report, around 53.75% of marketers are sending emails at least once per week. Here are a few other key findings that GoodFirms reveal:

• 97% of the marketers pointed out that building a strong relationship with customers is their most important email marketing goal• 96% of the marketers noted that selling products and services via email is their second most important email marketing goal• 86% of the email marketers emphasized that growing the base of repeat customers is their top email marketing goal• 78% of the survey participants said they use email marketing for increasing brand awareness• About 63% of the surveyed email marketers stated they were also working on boosting their email engagement• 40% considered building brand credibility and 28% chose to use email for weekly updates, such as newsletters, as one of their email marketing goals

Take a look at other findings in their official report announcement.



EMAIL DESIGN AND COPYWRITING


Email design and copywriting inspo of the week



Great emails are much more than just visual design and funny GIFs. A well-crafted email makes it easy for customers to absorb the content, gather the key information, and react quickly – regardless of their cognitive abilities. Therefore, email design has a huge impact on how accessible an email is.

If your main goal is to create easily accessible emails, then email optimization is as important as writing email copy for everyone and optimizing the code.

Here are Litmus' 8 tips that will guide you through creating emails that can be read by everyone:

1. Use real text2. Create a strong hierarchy3. Left-justify your email copy4. Use a minimum font size of 14px5. Optimize your line spacing6. Keep contrast high7. Increase usability8. Keep your email layout simple

Take a look at the full article and find out more about each of the best practices.



STRATEGIC EMAIL MARKETING


The Retail Shopper's Journey to Loyalty



Yes Marketing surveyed 1,000 shoppers to understand what drives first-time purchases, repeat purchases, and ultimately long-term loyalty. The survey was organized in order to help retailers in their quest to win over shoppers long-term.

Here are a few tips to ensure your email marketing program maximizes customer loyalty in 2020 and beyond:

• Highlight price and quality – When asked about product-related features that influence their decision to purchase from a new retailer, price ranked highest with 47%, followed closely by quality with 39%. These are also the most significant factors related to brand loyalty.

When asked what makes them loyal to a retailer, 41% of consumers said quality and value, while 35% said price is the most important factor.

• Emphasize convenience – In the age of Amazon, emphasizing convenience is one of the most effective ways to encourage first-time purchases and generate customer loyalty. Shoppers say that they won't even try a new retailer if it's not convenient for them to do so.

Specifically, 40% of customers rank free or expedited shipping as the most important convenience-related factor when it comes to shopping with a new retailer. 24% voted for proximity to a store, and convenience in the overall purchase process gathered 20%.

If you offer free shipping or any other convenience that your customers value, make sure you highlight it consistently in your messaging.

• Use data to ensure relevant and well-timed messages –Relevance is the most influential marketing factor for consumers purchasing from retailers for the first time, with 33% indicating it as their primary choice.

Customers want relevant content based on their preferences even before they have interacted with retailers. By paying attention to what is relevant to your customers and what their preferences are, you can personalize the communication and establish the basis for a long-term customer relationship and loyalty. To learn more about email personalization that will increase customer engagement, check out our blog post.

Irrelevant content, as well as too much or too little content, can put off both new and loyal customers. Well-timed marketing messages play a critical role in driving repeat purchases. On average, about 6 out of 10 customers say they receive marketing messages across channels at the right time. This means that the competition is tough, as companies are doing a good job, but there is definitely room for improvement and opportunity to win by perfecting this approach.

Yes Marketing's The Retail Shopper's Journey to Loyalty is available for download here.



EMAIL MARKETING CHECKLIST


Key takeaways from eCommerceFuel Live 2020 event



Lo and behold! In 2019, email marketing return on investment reached the impressive average of 42:1 – an astounding increase from 38:1 the previous year, according to Litmus' 2019 State of Email Survey.

Such a good return on investment is reflected in the average revenue too. The average revenue that has been generated from our clients' email programs here at Essence of Email is 23% of the total store revenue. Even though this is the average, certain top-performing brands generate over 50% of their total store revenue thanks to a robust email marketing program.

Last week, Essence of Email's founder Xiaohui 'X' Wang attended eCommerceFuel Live, where he talked about the essence of a successful email marketing program. You can see and download The Essential Checklist for Successful Email Marketing, which he presented, here.

Do you know someone who would find this checklist useful? Sharing is caring! Feel free to forward it.



RETENTION MARKETING PLATFORMS


What's new in companyland?



Miva Inc. and Sendlane partnered up and created a powerful email marketing automation and a flexible eCommerce platform. Their idea is to give online sellers the necessary tools they need to engage customers and increase sales with personalized, data-driven email campaigns.

"Email marketing is one of the most effective ways for online sellers to engage their customers and increase revenue," says Brennan Heyde, the Vice President of Product at Miva. According to Jimmy Kim, the CEO at Sendlane, "Email should be driving 30-40% of monthly revenue for eCommerce stores." This partnership will present the opportunity for online retailers to leverage store data to truly maximize their return on investment and customer lifetime value.