Email Marketing as a Customer Retention Program

Customers are the most important asset for any business. This is the reason, it is important not just to attract new customers but retain the existing ones too. However, marketers, these days are more concerned about customer acquisition than customer retention. While 18% of them believe customer acquisition to be their main marketing priority, only 17% feel that customer retention is a critical marketing goal.

Therefore, if you belong to the former category, it’s high time you understand that having a loyal customer base is far more important than having a large customer base. Consequently, do you know the cost of attracting a new customer is 5 times high than that compared to retaining an existing one? This is where email marketing can come in handy. It is a great way of motivating existing customers to make a repeat purchase. Moreover, with the number of global email users expected to rise to a whopping 4.3 billion by 2022, the value of email marketing for giving your customers an unparalleled experience is undoubtedly on an all-time high. Here’s how you can use email marketing for customer retention.

1. 1. Say hello to welcome emails

Remember how it is said that the first impression is the last impression? This is exactly the case with customer retention too. It is important to give them a good first experience the moment they come on board with your brand. From introducing them to your brand and mentioning the offers you have to inviting them to like your social media channels and participating in certain polls, make sure your welcome email is creative and enticing enough to keep your customers hooked to you till the end. See how TATTLY does a great job with its discount welcome email:

2. Cart recovery emails are the key

Do you know 74.2% of online retail orders are abandoned instead of completing the purchase? This can happen due to varied reasons ranging from complicated checkout process to slow internet connection etc. This is where cart recovery emails can do the needful. These emails are short and precise friendly reminders that motivate customers to check their cart, complete their purchase and increase your revenue. BONOBOS cart recovery email is just the right blend of everything to retain customers. Take a look:

3. Make customers feel good with loyalty emails

It’s always great to make customers feel appreciated for their loyalty towards your brand. It won’t only make them stay but would also accelerate your sales and revenues. So, make sure to send loyalty emails to your regular customers once in a while. These emails can include anything from offers, rewards, incentives etc. In fact, you can go a step ahead and even send them a curated list of items that might interest them. Look at Starbucks enticing loyalty email:

4. Entice customers with post-purchase emails

Post-purchase emails are a great way of leveraging customer’s purchasing capacity. You can send these emails based on a customer’s recent purchase history. It can simply contain recommendations for items similar to those that they have purchased. This wouldn’t only increase your chances of revenue but, also make your customer feel important. In fact, it is a great way of following up with inactive users. Just a simple email with a subject line like “you might love this product” can do the needful for you. Here’s how Crate&Barrel does the needful:

5. Keep them engaged through the reminder emails

Keeping the customers engaged is a tough task. Though recovery emails do the needful, there will always be certain customers who would ignore your emails anyway. So, how can you grab their attention? The answer lies in sending customized and friendly reminder emails. From a simple “you are missed” email to emails with takeaways, surveys and polls, there are a plethora of reminder emails that you can send to retain your long lost customers. This is how udemy does it like a pro:

6. Make them feel special through personalized emails

Giving a personalized touch to your emails can work wonders for customer retention. Sure customer retention is all about increasing your revenue but, sometimes it is also about making your customers feel special by showing your human side. Communicating with customers on a personal level is the key to making them feel like an integral part of your business. So, instead of promoting and pitching your business all the time, go a little friendly and send personalized greetings on your customer’s birthdays and anniversaries. In fact, you can even shower them with customized discounts on such occasions and make your place intact in their heart forever. Here’s how Pizza Hut delights its customers with wishes and discounts on their birthdays:

Wrap up

In conclusion, as a marketer, it is very important for you to enhance and retain your customer base at the same time. So, make use of the above-mentioned email marketing tactics and see how it helps you drive your sales and profits to an altogether new level.