The runup to Christmas can be a highly profitable time, especially for retailers. But it’s also intensely competitive. To be heard above the clamour, businesses need to work harder with their marketing campaigns.
Christmas isn’t too far away now, but there’s just enough time left to optimise your email campaigns so that you really get noticed this year. Whether it’s a design makeover or unveiling a special offer, there are lots of ways to boost open rates and get more clicks – and then turn those clicks into sales.
Here are some of our top tips for email marketing success this Christmas:
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Announce a big sale in style
If you’re running a huge sale or irresistible special offer, make a big noise about it! Put some work into the design of your sale announcement, so that it really makes an impact. You may also want to do some time-sensitive follow-ups which urge customers to take action before the sale ends.
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Reward previous customers
If you want to reengage lapsed customers, a personalised discount could be just the ticket. You can also make them feel valued with exclusive freebies or early access to sale events. This can be particularly effective on recipients who usually purchase at around this time of year. Take a look at your data, segment your lists, time your emails carefully and you could entice back a number of former buyers.
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Follow up quickly with potential buyers
If a potential customer has clicked on a link or abandoned their cart on a retail site, don’t wait for them to make the next move. People buy fast at this time of year, so you need to act equally swiftly and intensify your lead nurturing efforts before their money goes to your competitor.
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Segment your lists, automate and personalise
You’re likely to be sending more emails than usual due to the competitiveness of the season. But to cut through the noise, you need to make your emails highly relevant to each recipient. Scrap the blanket approach, and focus your energies on the most lucrative customer groups.
You’ll need to put in the legwork to segment your lists and target your ideal customer effectively. But it can be well worth it, as personalisation gives you a better chance of meaningfully engaging a recipient.
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Use FOMO and other persuasion tactics
Getting customers to open emails, click through and then actually buy something is all about understanding human behaviour. You need to employ every persuasion tactic in the book to nudge recipients into taking action.
Add urgency by planning your campaign around key deadlines (i.e. the last day to order before Christmas) and ‘last chance’ warnings. Play on the recipient’s fear of missing out (FOMO) and other loss aversion tactics.
All of this sounds pretty time-consuming, right? Effective email marketing does require a great deal of time, skill and patience, but it pays off when done right.
If you’ve got hundreds of other pre-Christmas tasks on your to-do list, consider outsourcing to an email marketing expert such as IT Focus.
Get in Touch
Our specialists can craft highly targeted, personalised email campaigns to boost your lead generation efforts during the festive period. Get in touch to find out more, but don’t wait too long – Christmas is nearly here.