Emails are an age-old tool that helps companies stay connected to their customers. Even in the age of social media, Emails remain a popular means of communication.
There is a number of reasons why emails are still crucial for brands in this digital epoch to enhance customer experience. Emails offer greater personalization, helps in reaching new customers at right time, drive traffic to your website, convey information about the new product or service, and build trust, authority and credibility of the brand. In addition to this, they are cost-effective marketing solutions as compared to other methods.
For many of us, Email marketing through newsletters is outdated. But we as marketers know how Emails carry brand identity and Email marketing drives the overall marketing strategy for branding.
In this blog, we will discuss how we can use Emails in branding, improving the overall customer experience (CX) in this digital age but first let’s look at some important definitions.
What is customer experience (CX)?
We can define CX as a customer’s holistic experience and perception of the brand or business after interacting with an organisation. If the customer is satisfied, it will help build a robust relationship between the brand and its customers. Satisfactory customer experience comprises various angles like:
Ease of navigating the brand website
Conversations with customer service representatives
Support provided by a brand post-purchase
What is email marketing?
Email marketing refers to a marketing strategy where businesses communicate with customers through emails to achieve specific business objectives. According to a statistical report, by the end of 2025, nearly 4.6 billion internet users will have an email account. Needless to say, emails are effective in promoting brand identity.
The role of email communication is crucial in driving customer engagement, generating sales, creating brand awareness, and acquiring new customers. From brand outreach to onboarding new customers, corporate emails can provide an improved CX.
Importance of Emails for Branding in this Digital Age
There are various ways we can use email marketing to help enhance branding value and brand identity, leading to improved CX. Let’s take a closer look at the different approaches.
Onboarding Emails
Welcome Emails are sent to customers who log in for the first time or register for a service. Sending an introductory Email is one of the ways to show gratitude toward our customers.
Onboarding Emails also serve as a guide to educate customers about utilising a product effectively. They help us keep the buying journey smooth and thus enhance CX.
Personalised content
Personalising content can help our customers connect with the brand. Email marketing aids in customising content according to how we want customers to perceive our business.
An Email with a personal touch from the brand will automatically drive a better CX. Studies suggest that Emails bearing the customer’s first name have a higher click-through rate than others.
Customising Emails based on customer segmentation is another way we can use Emails to enhance CX. This entails dividing our audience into categories suggested by the sales funnel and creating customised content for each.
Reaching potential customers at the right time
Another crucial approach to increasing brand identity is targeting potential customers at the right time. Through Emails, we can push new features, items, services or products the customer is looking for on various sites.
People in the workforce use different electronic devices to check Emails. Thus, we can reach these potential customers instantly and enhance their online CX through email marketing.
Drive traffic to the brand website
Besides branding, Email marketing also helps businesses carry out marketing campaigns wherein we can redirect users to our business website. As the website traffic for a brand increases, more and more users can know about the brand.
Thus, along with Email content, we may introduce Call To Action (CTA) links or banners. These CTAs and banners can lead users to the contact us and sign up sections or buy or download pages where they engage themselves or take action. We as a company can drive traffic to the website and increase its visibility through such Emails.
Emails are excellent to inform customers about the brand
Once we develop a potential mailing list, we can deliver messages through Emails to tens of thousands of customers in a single go. This approach enables us to tell customers about our product launches, value-adds etc.
We can additionally advertise product discounts and festive sales through Emails. Customers do not have to check the official website daily or weekly to see new updates, thus improving the CX.
Advertising through Emails is much more effective and cost-effective than traditional advertisements like newspaper ads.
Emails build credibility, trust and relationship
Sending Emails to potential customers featuring our domain name not only gives brand visibility but also instils trust and credibility in customers’ minds.
Credibility is that badge of honour and superiority that people give. Badges like this often make the brand stand out from the cut-throat competitors and messy Emails. Thus, through Emails, brands can create healthy relationships with people and allow them to spread word of mouth.
Email is measurable
Creating brand identity through Email is what most brands prefer because they are measurable. All the different actions the customer makes through Emails are visible to the marketer’s dashboard. Email marketing services provide various crucial numbers like:
Click-through rates
Email open rates
Percentage of clicks
Delivery reports
Emails opened through a particular device or browser
Emails opened by geographic region
As a marketer or brand owner, it is based on these numbers that the marketing team decides whether the email campaign is a success or not. Such metrics also give us the business visibility of which customers require more attention or who are the potential leads for the business.
Customer support and communication become smooth through Emails
Businesses can automate various messages and announcements through Emails. It also helps in reducing manual workload and satisfying customers. Some well-known automated Emails brands send onboarding Emails, Welcome Emails, thanking Emails, order fulfilment Emails, order tracking Emails, newsletters, discount coupon Emails, etc to stay in touch with their customers. These Emails aid businesses in maintaining regular contact with consumers.
Customers believe that brands care for them individually as well. Such a strong bond aids the business in improving ties with clients and elevating client happiness. Such an enduring connection helps the company build a better relationship, thus better customer satisfaction.
Emails are cost-effective branding solutions
We as companies can send various announcements and offers through Emails to their potential customers without much cost. As a brand, we can reach a large consumer base at a cheaper rate. Also, mistakes through Emails are easy to fix, and communicating through Emails at any point simply requires an internet connection and a mailing service. Because of Email services, as a brand, we can cut out the middleman and become a self-owned media company to spread the word about the brand.
Types of Email Marketing Campaigns
Different marketing campaigns help to enhance CX and highlight brand identity. Jetblue, Netflix, Uber, Amazon, Zomato, and various other business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C) companies prefer email marketing campaigns to enhance brand awareness and render a better CX. Some popular email marketing campaigns are:
Welcome messages
These are emails sent by a company to new customers. The appeal of a welcome message improves when it also contains a special offer. Welcome emails give us a sense of connectivity and importance to the business.
Newsletters
An email newsletter is another effective technique for retaining the attention of customers. Typically, it contains links, product descriptions, weekly updates, important announcements, and images that a business wishes to convey.
Birthday or anniversary Emails
Personalised Emails to mark a special occasion in the calendar of the customer help create a positive recall value for the brand. Alternatively, a brand can include its customers in milestone business events, making them feel special.
Limited shelf-life-offer Emails
These Emails target customers at the top of the sales funnel. They are aimed at customers on the brink of purchasing. Further, an offer email may also target an individual who has purchased similar items and is likely to give them another try.
Abandoned cart Emails
Often used by eCommerce businesses, these emails notify customers about abandoned cart items, encouraging purchases. Moreover, they also help brands stay in touch with their potential customers.
Conclusion
Email marketing is a popular strategy for online company promotion. It is affordable, simple to carry out, and has a positive influence on the users. A successful email marketing strategy may increase client loyalty and expand the consumer base. Although email marketing has reduced risks and a larger potential for profit, these benefits can only be realized with careful strategy and implementation that increase the company’s chances of success.