I found an interesting article by Alexandra Braunstein in this week’s Target Marketing newsletter. The article explains three reasons why your customers may be ignoring your emails.
Ms. Braunstein starts by talking about the importance of the subscriber behavior – if subscribers stop interacting with your emails (opening or taking action) the mailbox provider may filter out the messages because of this behavior. She then gives us some reasons why subscribers disengage.
The main reason, according to a recent 2018 Consumer Email Survey conducted by Adobe, is that the frequency of emails customers receive from companies is too high. 45% of participants in the survey responded with this reason for disengagement. How many emails do you receive that you don’t engage with? My guess is, a heck of a lot.
One way around this is to send more emails to those subscribers who regularly engage with the information you send them. Think about organizing how many emails you send and how frequently the recipients respond to these emails. Also note the type of emails to which they respond. Know your customers; what emails interest them and what motivates them to buy. For example, if you have customers who usually buy during winery events, make sure they receive all the event emails.
The second thing to think about is the value of the messages you are sending out. Knowing what your customers want from you is critical. If you know that certain customers only buy red wine, limit the number of emails that feature or include white wine to one or two a year. Most people don’t have a lot of time, so the more you can present them with products they want, the more likely they will appreciate and engage with the information sent.
Finally, personalize the communications as much as you can. Your email list should be divided into different groups of customers, based on their wants and needs. Sending generic emails makes them less important to many of your customers.
The key to better email retention and engagement is your understanding of customers’ wants and needs. This means keeping your customer records up to date and noting changes in preferences. The days of one-size fits all emails are over.
A tip of the glass from me to you.
E Column
by Elizabeth “E” Slater, In Short Direct Marketing
A recognized expert in the fields of direct marketing and sales in the wine marketplace. Slater has taught more wineries and winery associations how to create and improve the effectiveness of their direct marketing programs and to make the most of each customer’s potential than anyone in the wine industry today.
Follow E on twitter @esavant and facebook.
