Big data is playing an essential role in virtually every facet of the digital marketing sphere. You can use big data to get higher conversion rates with any digital marketing medium, including email marketing.
The ROI of email marketing is exceptional already. The average email marketer realizes a return of 3,700%. This figure can be a lot higher if you use big data to properly optimize your campaigns.
The Growing Importance of Big Data in Email Marketing
A few years ago, Smart Insights wrote an interesting article on the use of big data with email marketing. At the same time, they stated that only 25% of businesses were utilizing their data. This figure rose to 53% later, which is a great indicator for big data.
However, many businesses have still neglected to incorporate big data into their email marketing campaigns. Matt Shealy of Tweak Your Biz shared some great tips for using big data with email marketing:
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- Big data helps with personalizing email campaigns.
- Big data makes companies more responsive to customers.
- Big data helps aid predictive analytics so companies can prepare for future trends.
- Big data provides context to previous events.
You can reach your customers through various channels in the age of big data, such as social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. However, email marketing can still provide a high ROI when you use the right strategies and implement them properly. Approximately 4 billion people worldwide have active email accounts. Consider implementing these advanced email marketing strategies with big data so that you can increase conversion rates in 2019.
Here are some ways big data is enabling email marketers.
1. Create Content Compatible for Mobile Viewing
Consumers use their mobile devices for 80 percent of their online access. It is important that you create mobile-friendly email content since people use their phones more than laptops or PCs for checking emails.
Even if you crafted the most engaging email that featured concise content and a direct pathway to your call-to-action (CTA), leads won’t convert if they can’t view the content on their mobile devices. You want to keep customers and leads on your subscriber list. You don’t want them to get frustrated if they can’t read your email on the phone and delete it or unsubscribe from the list. Big data makes it easier to find out what content customers want and optimize it for devices.
Optimize email content for mobile viewing by following these basic steps:
- Keep it Simple – Your emails should read like an informative product description. If you want people to read your emails, you need to write a short subject line that quickly grabs their attention and persuades them to open the email. The snippet or top line of your content is just as important and must be enticing.
- Go Bold – Make sure your CTA is boldly visible. This is important since content viewed on a mobile phone may be harder to read than on a laptop or PC due to smaller screens. You want to make sure they are easily directed to your CTA.
- Get Technical – Make sure to use an email service provider with functionality for responsive email design (RED) to ensure a superior mobile user experience (UX).
Since 3 in 5 people use their mobile devices to regularly check email, you need to see the value in creating great content that is compatible with mobile viewing.
2. Personalized Content Improves Conversion Rates
Research completed by Experian showed that personalized email marketing strategies increase conversion rates by up to six times. Follow the example of successful companies like Sephora that use customer information like shopping history to craft personalized emails. They use loyalty programs and send targeted emails to members who have a higher rate of online purchasing. For customers who spend less money each month, they send them personalized emails enticing them to try various products in their skincare line.
Big data is at the heart of content personalization. But how do you orchestrate a personalization strategy with email campaigns?
Add the customer’s name in the email, rather than simply using the more generic “Dear customer.” Cultivate trust with customers by using a genuine email address which they can respond to instead of “donotreply@” email addresses. From the moment the customer engagement process starts, you need to obtain pertinent information to create a more personalized experience.
3. Customer Segmentation Strategies Work
Big data is also great for customer segmentation. You can increase your conversion rate in 2019 when you start implementing customer segmentation. This strategy helps you target the right customers so you don’t waste time marketing a specific product, service, or special offer to the wrong segments. You can improve the rates for people opening emails and completing your CTAs. That results in more revenue and improved productivity in your marketing strategy.
Start the segmentation process by dividing your customer base into various groups based on the following factors:
- Customer age and gender
- Customer interests and needs
- Lifecycle spending history
As you track the lifecycle of your customers, you can identify those who are more invested in your products or services. This helps you target those who may be more interested in your high-value offers or those who are still getting to know the company. They may be more interested in free trial offers.
4. Experiment with Your Customer Base
Use A/B email testing to experiment with your customer base so you can improve conversion rates in 2019. Invesp Conversions compiled data showing that 59 percent of companies completed A/B email testing on their customer base. You can gain valuable information when sending one email (version A) and a second email (version B) to your customers to see which content performed better. This can help you tailor future email marketing content so you increase conversion rates. It is important to randomize the dissemination of the content to get accurate results.
Consider gauging response rates by varying the following content in your emails:
- Subject lines
- Email snippet text
- Call-to-action
- Template design
- Email content
- HTML versus Plain Text
- Personalization Tactics
Be creative with the way you vary both versions for the A/B testing. Make sure to efficiently track results with the right A/B testing software that works for your specific needs. With software like Agile CRM, you can test different images, subject lines, varying content, and more to effectively track click-through rates and ongoing performance.
5. Don’t Shy Away from Automation
Strategy #2 advised that personalized emails improve conversion rates. That’s true, but you don’t want to rule out automated trigger-type emails. Companies using automated marketing software have experienced an increased conversion rate of 77 percent. Implement a marketing strategy that includes trigger-type content like the following emails:
- Order confirmations
- Emailed receipts
- Thank you for ordering
- Welcome emails
- Account activation
- Rewards and loyalty
- Subscription renewals
Basically, you want to automate these types of transactional experiences during the lifecycle of the customer to cultivate consistency and build trust with your brand.
The creation of the Internet in 1991 changed the way companies marketed to customers. Prior to the 1990s, marketing was done through television, radio, and print ads, as well as by telephone. Email marketing changed everything, but it has evolved throughout the ensuing years. If you want to effectively improve conversion rates in 2019, implement these five advanced email marketing strategies.
Big Data is Essential for Email Marketing in 2019
Email marketing is changing in the era of big data. Email marketers should use data sets to learn more about their customers and get the most value from their campaigns.