Email Marketing in 2023 and why it's even more Indispensable
Updated: Jan 3
Email marketing is an important aspect of digital marketing in 2023 because it is a cost-effective and efficient way to reach and engage with customers and potential customers. With email marketing, businesses can easily send targeted and personalized messages to a large audience, which can help to increase brand awareness, drive traffic to a website and generate leads and sales.
Granted Email Marketing is effective for various reasons and we'll get into further details for the same later in this blog but the first question that comes particularly from a Business Owner's perspective or a small scale Marketing Team with limited resources is: where exactly does Email Marketing stand in 2023 and how much attention would Email Marketing be able to derive for itself in a year in which the Digital Consumption and the average time spent on a smartphone would be at its peak?
One trend that is likely to continue is the use of personalization and targeting in email campaigns.
By collecting data on customer preferences and behavior, businesses can create more relevant and targeted messages that are more likely to be effective. This could include using data such as a customer's location, purchase history, or browsing behavior to tailor the content of an email.
Another trend that is likely to continue is the use of automation in email marketing.
Automated emails can be triggered by certain actions or events, such as a customer abandoning a shopping cart or signing up for a newsletter. This can help businesses save time and resources, while also providing a more seamless and personalized experience for customers.
The use of mobile devices to access emails is also likely to continue to rise, and businesses will need to ensure that their emails are optimized for mobile viewing. This may involve using responsive design techniques or creating separate mobile versions of emails.
Finally, the importance of data privacy and security is likely to remain a top concern for businesses and consumers alike. Businesses will need to ensure that they are complying with relevant laws and regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and that they are taking steps to protect the security and privacy of customer data.
Let's first have a quick overview of the 9 Fundamental Reasons why we believe Email Marketing is truly indispensable among the current marketing channels available to all B2B and B2C businesses.
Build and Maintain Relationships with Customers: Email marketing allows businesses to stay in touch with their customers and build long-term relationships. By sending regular newsletters and targeted campaigns, businesses can keep their brand top of mind and encourage repeat business.
Target-Specific Segments of Their Audience: Email marketing allows businesses to segment their email lists and send targeted messages to specific groups of customers. This can be especially effective for personalized recommendations, upselling, and increasing the relevance and effectiveness of the messages.
Track and Measure Results: Email Marketing provides businesses with a wealth of data and analytics, which can be used to optimize and improve the effectiveness of their email campaigns. Further various Email Marketing platforms provide detailed analytics and reporting, allowing businesses to track the success of their campaigns and make data-driven decisions.
Stay Top of Mind: Email marketing allows businesses to stay top of mind with their audience and stay competitive in their industry. By sending regular communications, businesses can keep their brand in front of their audience and drive traffic to their website.
Targeted and Personalized: Email marketing allows you to send targeted and personalized messages to specific groups of people, which can be more effective than other forms of marketing.
Cost-Effective: Email marketing is generally much more cost-effective than other marketing channels, especially when you consider the potential return on investment.
Measurable: Email marketing is highly measurable, making it easy to track the success of your campaigns and optimize for better results.
Wide Reach: Almost everyone has an email address, which means you can reach a wide audience through email marketing.
High Engagement: Email has a high level of engagement compared to other channels, with some studies showing that people are more likely to click on links and make purchases through email than through social media.
For a startup that is just beginning to scale or even consolidating its market share, or contrastingly even for established companies, for eg., Zomato, which has a high daily usage on its app and a strong top-of-mind presence, neither of the two should take Email Marketing lightly as it can solve various objectives depending on the stage at which the company finds itself.
The image above, is a good demonstration of a B2C Business Re-Targetting a customer who hasn't ordered from the app for quite some time and Re-Engaging them with some funny and witty one-liners and image and at the very same time, staying at the Top of Mind for the customer, that should he feel the need to deliver food online in any circumstance, Zomato should by the first choice preference in that case.
For a company like Zomato for instance, which has a price-sensitive business and has an equally strong competitor in Swiggy, (Food Delivery as a business is largely commoditized) it has a moral obligation to keep churning content to stay relevant and stay at the Top of Mind of their consumers. Engaging their customers via Email Marketing makes all the more sense since the entirety of their business relies on an App Download and retargeting customers whether it's via Push Notifications directly from the app itself or driving its membership sales via retargeting through its Email Marketing Campaign.
Whether it's targeting customers either for a transactional purchase or for free signup, Email Marketing comes very handy. For these reasons, Email Marketing becomes all the more vital for a startup that's just starting its business or has seen some traction for a year or two and is now looking to either increase its conversion rate or scale up as well.
Now, let's look at some use cases where, as a firm, you can integrate Email Marketing into your Marketing Strategy.
Lead Generation: Email marketing can be used to collect contact information from potential customers and add them to a company's email list. This can be done through forms on a website, gated content, or other tactics.
Customer Acquisition: Email marketing can be used to reach out to new customers and encourage them to make their first purchase. This might involve offering a discount or other incentive to encourage them to make a purchase.
Customer Retention: Email marketing can be used to keep in touch with existing customers and encourage them to continue doing business with a company. This might involve sending newsletters, promotional offers, or other types of content to keep them engaged with the brand.
Customer Re-Engagement: Email marketing can be used to try to bring inactive customers back into the fold. This might involve sending targeted campaigns with special offers or incentives to try to encourage them to make a purchase or take some other desired action.
Upselling and Cross-Selling: Email marketing can be used to promote related products or services to existing customers. For example, a company selling outdoor gear might send an email to customers who have purchased camping equipment, promoting a new line of tents.
Event Promotion: Email marketing can be used to promote events, such as trade shows, conferences, or webinars. This might involve sending invitations, providing information about the event, or offering special discounts or perks to attendees.
Market Research: Email marketing can be used to gather feedback and insights from customers. This might involve sending surveys or other types of research instruments to gather data on customer preferences, satisfaction, and other factors.
For any new business, right from Market Research to Event Promotions and then to Generate Leads and Convert them, and further to Engage, Up-Sell and Retain them, Email Marketing plays a crucial role in staying in touch with your customer.
Let's take for example a Early Stage Franchise Business which has 2 or 3 physical centres looking to now expand geographically via Franchising it's Brand.
The first target audience for such a business is its customers itself who are placing repeat orders or transactions with the business. Further, any and every lead generated isn't necessarily in the place to make a transaction or convert immediately. At times, the message that the franchise as a brand can be trusted and ease of doing business in the respective industry also needs to go through.
This is exactly where Email Marketing comes into play and can be a powerful tool for converting leads into customers for a franchise business. Here are some steps you can take to effectively use email marketing to convert leads:
Build a Targeted Email List: To effectively convert leads, it's important to ensure that you are sending emails to the right people. This means building an email list that is targeted to your ideal customer. You can do this by collecting email addresses from leads through forms on your website, gated content, or other tactics.
Personalize your Emails: Personalization can be a powerful tool for converting leads into customers. By using data such as a lead's location, purchase history, or browsing behavior, you can tailor the content of your emails to be more relevant and engaging.
Offer Value: In order to convert leads, you need to provide them with a reason to take action. This might mean offering a special deal, providing valuable content, or solving a problem that they are facing.
Make It Easy To Take Action: Once you have provided value and convinced a lead to take action, you need to make it easy for them to do so. This might mean including a clear call to action, such as a button that directs them to a landing page or a form to fill out.
Follow Up: If a lead doesn't take action after receiving your first email, it's important to follow up. You can do this by sending a series of automated emails that provide additional value and encourage them to take action.
By following these steps, you can effectively use email marketing to convert leads into customers for your franchise business.
Overall, it is likely that email marketing will continue to be a vital part of a business's marketing strategy, and businesses will need to stay up to date with the latest trends and best practices in order to effectively reach and engage their target audience. For these very reasons, Email marketing remains an important part of a comprehensive digital marketing strategy in 2023 and can help businesses to connect with and engage their audience, drive traffic and sales, and grow their business.
