How You Can Get Maximum ROI From Email Marketing During The COVID-19 Crisis

Posted by Rakshit Hirapara on January 25th, 2021

Consumer shopping habits have rapidly changed due to the COVID-19 crisis. Marketers around the world are still testing various strategies that can yield the best results. However, email marketing has managed to sustain as well as improve its relevance since March this year. Studies have pointed out that email opening rates have drastically improved during the coronavirus pandemic. Numbers suggest people are opening emails from their favorite brands to check how businesses respond to crisis and introduce changes to their products or services.

Email marketing can help firms with limited resources and marketing budgets connect with the right prospects to improve the organization’s revenue. The ROI on this marketing type is superb; a spent on email marketing can earn as much as to .

Now, it is up to companies to ensure they have a strategy that can help reach the right set of consumers at the appropriate time. Here’re tips that can help in getting the best ROI for email marketing campaigns. 

1. The content needs to be optimized for mobile devices

Around 46 percent of emails are accessed using smartphones since pre-COVID days. The percentage has increased even more as most of the people around the world are working from home. They use their mobile devices to access personal as well as office communication. Thus, brands need to optimize email templates for mobile viewing. The email needs to look superb when accessed via tablet PC and mobile devices. If the content fails to render well on such devices, the chances are that users would either unsubscribe from email alerts or delete the same without reading. 

Several freemium and premium software solutions can design responsive templates (suitable for mobile and desktop viewing). 

2. Take the personalization game to the next level with triggered emails

Personalizing the email content can improve click-through rates and conversions considerably. Personalization is crucial if you are looking for a better ROI for your campaign. However, it does not merely mean referring to customers with their first name.  Industry experts have already pointed out that automated behavioral trigger emails can offer open rates as high as 152 percent. They can turn window shoppers into loyal consumers.

With the right set of tools, businesses can ensure automated behavioral trigger emails are sent whenever consumers buy something, show interest in a product or service on a website, download product brochures, etc. Such emails can bring the consumers back to the firm’s website for buying products. 

Besides website interactions, communication can be sent based on consumer behavior tracked via mobile app, social media interactions, and queries raised while interacting with customer support. 

3. Include at least one CTA in the email 

CTA or call-to-action button plays a crucial role in driving the audience to the designated landing page. CTAs urge subscribers to take action. These buttons can encourage readers to register for a webinar, download attachments, buy certain products, etc. 

The location for CTA buttons depends on the email format, layout, and content. A regular newsletter or product catalog email may consist of multiple sections, and CTA buttons need to align with every section accordingly. 

That old-school “Click Here” may not be sufficient enough for gen-next readers. Use a button instead. It should not be very small or too big, and positioning needs to be done thoughtfully. The content around the CTA should be consistent with the content the reader would find on the landing page. 

Remember, CTA can help guide prospects towards products that can be useful for them and boost the brand’s revenue.

4. Focus on improving email deliverability 

The deliverability factor can have a considerable impact on the email campaign’s ROI. 

Business emails often end up in the recipients’ junk or spam folders due to spam trigger words. To get your emails past spam filters, you need to create clean, quality content and avoid using spam trigger words. The email’s content needs to be of high-quality and should always include the unsubscribe button to make the opt-out option easy for recipients. In the absence of the unsubscribe option, people may simply mark the email as spam. 

Email deliverability can be considerably improved by authenticating the email domain, maintaining proper IP allocation, and using non-spammy subject lines. Also, keep the email list free from unengaged and inactive users.

5. Dividing email list into segments 

Every consumer’s needs are unique, and so should be the email content for them. Dividing the list as per segments helps ensure customers receive an email with content that suits their needs. The list can be split based on onsite activity, customer location, purchase history, and other online behavioral data. 

Audiences read the content and feel engaged only if the message is relevant to their wants and needs. Consumers who remain engaged in a particular vertical on the company’s website would probably appreciate emails about similar products. Buyers would also appreciate emails about products or services that pair nicely with items they have recently bought. 

Using segmentation for optimizing sending frequency can also prove to be a good idea. Sending more emails to subscribers who are engaged continuously seems fair. However, daily communication can annoy individuals who appreciate weekly or bi-monthly ones. Non-openers in the list can be targeted with offers as a part of the re-engagement campaign. 

6. Tailoring your promotions and rewards 

The coronavirus crisis has impacted the way people spend and buy things. Studies have highlighted that shoppers prefer giving priority to purchase items that they need the most. 

People appreciate deals and promotional offers on products that they are specifically interested in. Some buyers would prefer “buy one get one free” deal or a 10 percent discount on their bill in exchange for picking up their products from the pickup point, while others may appreciate free shipping with purchased items. Put simply; one deal may not suit customers with different buying behavior. So, companies can get the best out of email marketing campaigns by offering tailor-made rewards and promotions to consumers. 

About The Author:

Rakshit Hirapara is a content marketer at PeddleWeb, an internet advertising company in India. He holds spectacular skills in digital marketing, branding, lead generation, customer retention and few more. He has been featured in major publications like SEOBlog.com, einsteinmarketer.com, Hyken, User.com, Martech.zone, and a few more.