Email is still one of the most effective communication channels for marketers, ranking in the top three sources of acquisition, according to a study realized by Custora on 72 million consumers and 86 retail sites. Another interesting thing to know is that people continue to open their emails days or even months after they received it.
Although these statistics make you think that you have to send multiple emails to sell more, you should know that the conversion rate of this channel is still quite low. While people may be opening your emails, there is a large possibility they aren`t reading the content or taking the next step and coming to your site.
Therefore instead of focusing on how to send multiple emails, you should focus on how to improve the lifetime value of customers across this channel. This is where email retargeting comes in.
What is email retargeting?
Retargeting is an online advertising method that helps you get back the attention of those who have left your site without buying or accomplishing a goal. Retargeting can come in the form of display advertising or in our case, email.
Retargeting through email messages generates greater online sales by keeping your brand front and center and bringing prospects back to your site when they are ready to convert.
Here are some of the most popular email retargeting use cases:
Shopping cart abandonment
70% of consumers abandon their shopping cart, which translates into 300 million dollars lost by e-commerce businesses. But why are consumers abandoning their shopping cart?
The top five reasons for abandoning a shopping cart are:
- Unexpected shipping costs
- Not yet ready to buy
- Wanted to compare prices
- Long and confusing checkout processes
- Saved product for later
Email retargeting has become a form of online advertising increasingly used by marketers in the US and is not surprising, considering that consumers who abandon their shopping cart almost made a purchase. Sending an immediate email can remind abandoners that they forgot to complete the checkout and display offering a lower price or free shipping, for example, is a highly effective tactic for increasing conversion rates. Many online retailers are losing money each and every day due to cart abandonment, but using email retargeting correctly, shopping cart abandonment will become a part of the purchase funnel.
Limited time offers (Expiring Soon)
To keep your subscribers committed you can motivate them with exclusive and limited time offers via email. Rewarding your best customers with exclusive offers is a tried and true technique. You can provide early, exclusive access to your inventory, and offer additional discounts. According to a study by Comscore, 58% of online shoppers would like to see free or reduced shopping. When you seek to re-engage your email list with retargeting, accompanied display can offer free shipping for a limited time, or the option to buy a 2nd item at a discount with free shipping. Exclusive, limited time offers highlight the value of being an email subscriber with your company, and display will encourage conversions.
Upsell emails
You probably have a list of email addresses that include loyal customers, one-time buyers or newsletter subscribers who signed up only to see your Christmas promotion. Retargeting can be an awesome upsell tool. By segmenting all of your current email addresses, you can keep your upsell-focused messages in front of your customers. Let`s imagine that you are a health insurance provider. You offer three plans; gold, silver, and bronze. You could send the silver customers and email, as they come close to their policy renewal, to push them towards considering the gold package. Retargeting allows you to communicate more effectively with your customers, offering them a personalized experience, which can bring you more sales.
Drive offline actions
In most cases, marketers use display advertising to drive online actions. As it turns out, display can be efficient in contributing to consolidate sales, and other offline actions. Also, it has been proven that local targeting is highly effective. More than 20% of searches made on Google are related to a specific location, and a significant % of these local searches will take action within a day. Email retargeting campaigns can capitalize on this intent by pointing email lists to a nearby physical location with geographical targeting. Display coupled with email can amplify your efforts across channels and entice your email list to make an offline action.
Competition is strong, but if you want to be ahead of everyone you need to look for ways that don`t take up your entire marketing budget, as retargeting email. The top converting websites use email retargeting and it’s a proven tactic to increase online sales that your competition isn’t yet using. Use this tips to get started and start testing retargeting for your business.
Andreea
