Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business. You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy.

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Email marketers face more 'no email days'

The so-called No Email Day was hyped as a way to 'be more productive with your time' and, as its manifesto made clear, it stemmed from the all-too-common frustration of having an over-crowded inbox. Judging by the interest shown, it appears that many people share these frustrations and would dearly love to reduce their email count to closer to zero.

Some good strategies were offered for email users that wanted to reduce the amount they read and send but, for all its admirable objectives, No Email Day had one fundamental flaw: most people do still choose email as their preferred communication channel because it's quick, easy, convenient, and free. The aim therefore shouldn't be to abolish email altogether, but to make sure that companies get better at sending relevant, timely and necessary messages.

According to a recent survey by Econsultancy, 44% of UK consumers choose email as their preferred customer service channel, despite the fact that only 33% think it is the most effective channel. This suggests that email is a channel that remains very much in demand, but that there is also a definite malaise among those who doubt its continued importance.

So where are marketers going wrong? Relevant, targeted emails have been shown to drive 16 times more revenue than traditional broadcast mailings. But, despite this fact, a surprisingly large number of companies continue to blast the same exact email to all of their customers. As a result, many businesses are still only scratching the surface of email's true potential. For any marketer seeking to add to the value of the email channel, these simple steps provide an easy, affordable and profitable way to begin that process:

1. Understand and manage expectations
   No matter how you add contacts to your database, it is important that you manage expectations during the sign-up and welcome process. It is during this initial interaction that the end users will get their first impression of whether or not your emails will be relevant to them. And I shouldn't need to stress how important first impressions are.
2. Make the most of customer data
   Never assume that because people originally signed up to your emails, they will always find your messages interesting and relevant. This is where your data really proves its worth. It's time to get to know your customers. A great deal of customer data can be obtained during the sign up process, but it is important that it doesn't end there. You need to look at all internal systems that contain customer data, such as purchases, browsing behaviour and support calls. Customer feedback should be considered a valuable source of information. By measuring responses of your email outreach, you will be able to build a deeper understanding of your customers. This will help to ensure that all your communications are timely and relevant, which in turn will give you a greater competitor advantage.
3. Cater to the customer lifecycle
   Increased conversations, efficiencies and better customer insight are a few examples of what can be accomplished with lifecycle messaging. By delivering messages triggered by specific customer activities, such as a purchase, review or cart abandonment, companies have been able to increase the performance of their email messaging by 15 times. What is more, the capabilities of lifecycle messaging can be fully automated, and performed with drag-and-drop simplicity. A recent global survey of business executives, conducted by StrongMail, showed that 54% of companies are still not making the most lifecycle messaging. But with such clear benefits on offer, and the reputation of the email channel on the line, this is a figure StrongMail expects to rise substantially over the next 24 months.

So, if you are still unsure as to whether these basic email marketing best practices are the right way to go, think about No Email Day. Fail to address the shortcomings of the email channel and the resistance to it will only increase. But, if you get to know your customers, send them relevant emails based on their preferences and known behaviours, you can shift the focus of your messaging to what suits the customer instead of your own corporate agenda.

Have you seen The Customer Experience Factbook?

In this 180+ page report, you'll find all the information and support you need to build a profitable, effective CX Improvement Program that spans every part of your business.

You'll be able to implement and manage meaningful and profitable change, and grow your bottom line despite a slowing economy. Grab this goldmine of easily adaptable and up-to-date strategies, walk-throughs, trends, technologies, research, suppliers and partners, plus all the supporting arguments you need to build a solid CX strategy.

While most marketers could list maybe a dozen key points for improving their brand's Customer Experience (CX), the researchers and writers at The Marketing Factbook have identified FORTY main 'CX Keys' which will help you drive your customers to new levels of delight, loyalty, advocacy and profitability.

The areas in which customers have direct contact with your organization are perhaps the most obvious places in which CX improvements can be made, and this report addresses all 24 of these 'Direct CX Keys', applicable to offline and online businesses alike.

At the same time there are many other areas that indirectly affect CX (such as the supply chain, policies and processes) in which every business can make simple but far-reaching improvements. This report guides you through the problems and solutions for all 16 of these 'Indirect CX Keys', many of which are often forgotten or under-played even in the best CX strategies.

Get it on Amazon (Kindle/Print)