“Email newsletters offer significant ROI and enable entrepreneurs to acquire new customers. The use of web-links in email newsletters helps to boost customer conversions,” – Marissa Stone
Online businesses and e-commerce operators have emerged as mainstream commercial enterprises, and remain the focus of compulsions and obligations, which are part of traditional business enterprises. Online business operators must constantly work to expand their customer base in an effort to stay ahead of the competition in increasingly competitive business environments. The use of email newsletters can help such businesses to constantly prospect for new customers and retain a fresh appeal in existing customer segments. The importance of email stems from the fact that email remains a mainstay among electronic communication platforms and therefore, must be leveraged to expand the scope of sales and marketing activities.
One of the primary benefits of deploying email newsletters springs from the fact that the attention spans of modern customers has been splintered by the advent of social media, blogs, online video content, news websites and apps, instant messaging platforms, and other deluges of electronic data. In this scenario, email continues to present a steady value proposition because almost every customer has access to a personal email box, checked multiple times daily. This propensity offers online businesses and e-commerce operators a golden chance to leverage email newsletters with a view to promote sales and marketing efforts. The fact that emails present a static view to the human eye is an important consideration in this regard, as opposed to social media handles that are subject to constant change in the visual sense. Therefore, businesses have an opportune vehicle in email newsletters wherein, they can establish a sense of connection with customers and put forth their value proposition.
Email newsletters present a versatile vehicle that can be customised and calibrated to gain maximum customer engagement. We must note that these newsletters help brands and businesses to initiate an on-going conversation with customers and new sales prospects. A weekly newsletter enables brands and businesses to retain the mind share among customers, while, exciting and relevant content can be curated to boost the value proposition. For instance, an online business can chalk a strategy that hinges on email newsletters, which outline current and future product offerings to all customers. This represents a passive approach to keeping customers ‘in the loop’ regarding new products, variations in existing product lines, flash sales, discounted merchandise, etc. In addition, the said business can also embed web-links in email newsletters that direct customers to certain sections of the flagship website. These instances clearly underline the tangible benefits that accrue to an online business through email newsletters.
The significance of email newsletters is also highlighted when we consider the fact that such newsletters can open a direct line of communication between customers and online businesses. A regular conversation can ensue when customers activate social media buttons embedded in such newsletters. The importance of communications is higher than ever because an informed business operator has first-hand access to customer reactions, queries, concerns, and suggestions. Clearly, this aspect can emerge as a game changer when multiple consumers initiate direct communications with an enterprise, thereby deepening the scope of customer engagement. That said, we must bear in mind that online businesses should always strive to present attractive content through email newsletters in an effort to arrest the readers’ attention.
Email remains a personal communication as opposed to the clutter and heavy traffic that characterises the posts and comments that are native to social media platforms. This fact can be leveraged by online businesses when they design fresh content for their email newsletters. The design of a sales or marketing pitch can vary based on targeted customers. In addition, the personalisation of content and marketing messages amplifies the value proposition of email newsletters for individual customers. This approach can play on psychological factors and enable customers to feel special and privileged, hence prone to direct more dollars at the online business that issues said newsletters. Further, personalisation can also enable online businesses to establish an equation with individual customers, thereby enhancing the chances of converting customers to brand ambassadors and brand advocates. In light of the above, we may note that email newsletters continue to represent very good value for online businesses in terms of the sheer return on investment.
Modern businesses operate in data rich environments and email newsletters can empower online businesses to gather business intelligence based on customer behaviour towards said newsletters. These newsletters are essentially electronic communications and can therefore, be engineered to send data back to the marketing team. For instance, online businesses can gain information in terms of whether a particular customer opened an email with a click, how long he or she spent in perusing the content of the newsletters, whether the customer clicked on any embedded links, which links were opened and what was the ensuing action, etc. The answers to these queries represent a trove of priceless information that can be analysed to assess customer behaviour and the efficacy of a newsletter-based campaign. In light of the above, we may state that business enterprises stand to gain significant insights that can drive business strategies in the real world.
When we consider the scope of web-links embedded in email newsletters, we may state that online businesses can include web-links that point the customer or reader to online product catalogues or a new micro-site recently activated by said business. The potential diversity of such actions is endless, because web-links are a versatile tool in the online world. For instance, an e-commerce operator may choose to sponsor a music festival at a certain real world location. The said business can use email newsletters as a vehicle to spread customer awareness regarding said festival and may include web-links that direct customers to relevant ticketing sites. This action can infuse a sense of community among customers that throng the ticketing website and subsequently, attend the music festival. In light of the above, we may say that email newsletters continue to present a valid (even definitive!) value proposition to online businesses that wish to operate over the long term.
Online businesses can invest effort and budgetary resources into framing email newsletters that specifically target niche customers that populate micro markets. The content can be curated to appeal to this niche segment and therefore, boost the mind share of the online business among such niche customers. For instance, serious hobbyists that pursue wood modelling represent a niche market in every country. Online businesses can target this customer segment through custom email newsletters and establish significant wins in terms of customer loyalty. Conversations with such hobbyists can help the business to understand the needs and requirements of this particular segment of customers and use that information to expand relevant online inventories. This action has the potential to boost customer engagement with niche markets.
In the preceding paragraphs, we have sought to examine the relevance of online newsletters in online business operations. We must bear in mind that fresh thinking and an innovative approach can re-energise business attitudes toward email newsletters. Corporate captains and business managers should brainstorm to add value to their sales and marketing campaigns using such devices because latent value can be excavated when email newsletters are deployed intelligently.