Outdoor Retailer: Video Marketing
You don’t have to look very hard these days to find marketing professionals and academics puzzling over the millennial consumer market. According to Outside magazine, outdoor retailers are especially struggling to get a foothold on the millennial money mountain. As Outside and most current wisdom suggest inbound and video marketing is the way to go when it comes to reaching prospective outdoor recreation customers, under the age of 35.Read more
Is Email Marketing Still Relevant?
The rapid growth of technology, especially in the digital world, might make it seem like email is on its way out. So, let’s make sure one thing is clear: email is still an essential part of marketing. First, let's address some of the misconceptions people have about email marketing. Many people believe that Email marketing means SPAM. True! The majority of all emails sent are marked as spam, with some sent from marketers like you and me. This happens because some marketers purchases lists and send endless email blasts to people who don't want to hear from them.
People also believe that email marketing is old school. Well, email has been around forever, and people have started to wonder if an email marketing campaign is still effective. Is email like banner ads? Haven’t people learned to tune email out? Let's address the first concern that comes to mind: Is email still effective? Yes! Here are 6 reasons why:
- More than 4.3 billion email accounts are active today. That’s a significant number of people using email on a daily basis, and no other marketing channel has been adopted as universally as email did.
- An overwhelming 95% of online consumers use email. 91% of them report that they check their email at least once a day; Which indicates that email is still a viable channel. Since emails stay in your inbox unless you delete them, it has a longer lifespan than other marketing channels like social media.
- Email is a channel that you OWN. Google and Facebook often change the way they index search results and display content, but you’ll always have a 1:1 relationship with the people that open your emails.
- 77% of consumers prefer email for marketing communications. Contact people where they want to be reached.
- Email is personalized. You can create a highly targeted, contextual message that’s unique to the individual who receives it.
We will still use email because it has an ROI of 4300%. For every $1 you spend, you get $43 of returns. It doesn't better than that! According to the Direct Marketing Association, 76% of marketers say they use email more than they did three years ago. SO how can email marketing help you grow your business? The best part about email is its flexibility. When considering the inbound methodology, email is primarily used to close leads into clients; it can also be used to delight your customers as well and continue the post-purchase customer service. The primary purpose of email marketing is to nurture your leads into clients. Nurturing is all about sending the right content to the right audience at the right time and using the right channel. Send your leads content that will help them do their job better, and they’ll be more willing to speaking to your sales team down the road.
Providing your leads with helpful, relevant content helps you build a relationship. It allows you to position yourself as an expert, ready to help them with their challenges. Inbound is all about the mixture of context and content. If you do it well, your leads will be more likely to interact with you.
TIP: Businesses that implement an inbound strategy recognize that the point of purchase is only the beginning of their relationship with a customer. They use emails to delight people who have already bought their product or service on an ongoing basis. It can be as simple as the occasional check in, or perhaps sending helpful resources and special customer-only content. Attention and care are keys to delight because a happy customer will be your biggest advocate!
Email marketing is also a cost-effective way to nurture the relationship with your customers or prospects. You can strengthen the relationships by upselling new products, or send relevant information ( for example: how to care for your new tool). Customers are less likely to stop using your goods or services if you disappear from their minds.
Why Inbound Marketing
This blog will walk you through you to the culture of inbound, and provide you with a big picture view of everything you need for a successful inbound strategy. So what of the first question that you may be asking yourself is why INBOUND?
To put things into perspective let’s look at traditional marketing and what it offers for a business:
In traditional marketing, companies focus on finding customers: Generally, they use techniques that are interruptive. These techniques could be anything from cold-calling, print advertising, TV commercials, and junk mail.
Technology is making these techniques less effective, impossible to track conversion, and more expensive. Caller ID blocks cold calls, DVR makes TV advertising less effective, and spam filters block mass emails. It's still possible to get a message out using these channels, but it costs a lot more. So, Traditional marketing is interruptive and marketer-centric. The traditional way of doing things is convenient for the marketer because they can push content in people’s faces whenever they want, and even when those potential customers don’t want it. But it’s not an ideal experience for the user – the potential customer. Inbound marketing is the mirror version that. How? Keep on reading.
Inbound is a fundamental shift in the way we do marketing. An inbound methodology is not an interruption- based message where the marketer or salesperson had all the control, instead it’s about EMPOWERING potential customers.
The way it works:
- Instead of interrupting people day with television ads, they might create videos that potential customers want to see. Remember that one time you were looking for a quick solution to a problem like how to remove a stain from a brand new silk shirt? Or how to replace the battery in your mac yourself? Well, the inbound strategy will help you get placed on top search based on those queries.
- Instead of buying display ads in print publications, they could create a business blog that people would look forward to reading.
- instead of cold calling, they create useful content so that prospects can contact them when they want more information.
Inbound marketing focuses on placing you as the expert in your field, where the customer can find you when they need advice or information. It’s like having an expert by your side and you call them when you need them.
Email Marketing Refined
Despite all of the junk mail we receive and delete on a daily basis, email marketing still carries significant ROI. According to an Econsultancy study, two-thirds of marketers rate the ROI from email marketing as ‘excellent’ or ‘good”. Harvard Business Review did an analysis with one retailer and discovered that the dollars earned per email sent was around $15.79 for sales generated both in-store and online. It is somewhat difficult to believe that email works with all of the SPAM out there, but the numbers do not lie. So in order to gain the most benefit from this low-cost medium, we have created a few tips to refine your email marketing:
Send emails to the right users - (and customer/prospect segments) at just the right time in the purchase cycle. It’s a sophisticated way to scale personal attention. The key to successful marketing automation is technology. Rely on tools and data (rather than a spreadsheet) to reach your email list successfully. The biggest players in the space include MailChimp, InfusionSoft, Marketo, and Hubspot.
Understand Customer Needs - Customers have more tools than ever to filter out unwanted messaging with priority inboxes. Implement an opt-in process — a series of steps that subscribers can take to ensure that they’re receiving your emails. Perhaps include a freebie, piece of content, or promotion/deal that they’ll receive in exchange.
Using a 2-step opt-in means that you will get less bargain hunters merely looking for the freebie and more qualified leads that are interested enough to go through the steps to receive your content.
Complete the Customer Experience - Always create a plan or outline for your email marketing campaigns — make sure that your messages follow a strategic approach. You need to specify a clear conversion goal from your email marketing automation. You also need to ensure that your landing pages are fully optimized for the actions you want users to take.
Here are some tips to help you:
- Don’t use misleading subject lines - make sure they are short, sweet, and a little enchanting
- Avoid overusing capital letters within your email and in the subject lines
- Be smart about symbols - if you use too many, your emails will look totally spammy
- Use clear, concise messaging with a single call-to-action
- Include unsubscribe links - this, as well as a physical address is mandatory per regulations
Metrics
Total Open Rate
This is calculated by taking the total number of email opens and dividing them by the number of delivered emails.
Total Clicks
These measure clicks generated from each campaign. Following up on these within 48 hours is critical for top-of-mind conversions
Total Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Divide the total number of clicks by the number of delivered emails
Conversions, Conversion Rates, and Revenue
These are metrics that you should be tracking across your marketing channels - these can be measured by using a tracking pixel and UTM links in your campaigns
Email, like any marketing medium, must be used as a tool in part of a larger campaign in order to achieve real results. At HARNESS, we create the strategy and implement an omnichannel integrated campaign with full marketing automation to schedule, track, and deliver qualified leads from first engagement to after-sale service.
