Can e-mail marketing without promotions be efficient?
Can the content of the letter replace material incentives?
Of course, the content letter will not receive such a response and sales volume as a special offer or gift. However, it is possible to make content distribution more effective. With a smaller number of transactions, you will retain the profit from each of them.
What is content in email marketing?
* Content is one of the tools that helps develop your entire customer base,
* Content-the main tool that you need to use to work with “loyal” customers,
* Content-a tool, the greatest effect of which is achieved in combination with individual proposals and trigger communications.
How to use it correctly?
Content, like any other communication tool, must be used correctly: after determining the purpose, target segment, time and place of use.
Applying interesting content blindly will result in a loss of budget and time. Because, having received from the copywriter interesting material, sending it to customers, the result you will be disappointed and be considering the whole thing just a waste of money.
It is possible that at this stage of development of the customer base it will be enough to send promotional offers only. If you do it not too often and correctly personalize, the result may be enough. About this in more detail – in our other articles.
What is an appropriate timing for the content?
Consider the example of a restaurant chain with a working loyalty program: customer histories are maintained, trigger communications are configured for the segments “newcomers”, “departing” and “departed”. You can safely engage in the development of “active” customers, increasing their average check. We offer to do this with the help of content communications.
1. We analyze and make assumptions.
First, we analyze the composition and amounts of checks of our “active” segment. We find that there are customers who order meat dishes. The size of their check has the potential to grow, may be more marginal. We plan to conduct a communication, the purpose of which will be to increase the average check, motivating the guest to order, for example, a more expensive branded Argentine steak.
2. We develop a communication program.
Our goal is to find out if the content affects our guests, so we need to figure out three questions:
• Will the result of sending the content of the letter without a promotional?
• What will be the result if the letter contains both content and promotions?
• How the results of the promotional email will differ from the content and promo email?
To do this, divide our sub-segment of meat lovers into 4 groups with a ratio of 30/30/30/10. The first 30% – those who will receive only interesting content about branded Argentine steak, the second 30% will receive content supported by ‘limited time offer’ promo; and the third 30% – only ‘limited time offer’ promo. The last 10% is a control group that will not participate in communication.
1. Make a newsletter for the selected segment:
* letter “Content” – a beautiful interesting text about the signature Argentine steak, cooking highlights, cost.
* letter “Content and promo” – a beautiful interesting text about the branded Argentine steak and a special offer: a discount on the entire order of 10%, when buying a branded steak.
* letter “Promo” – special offer: 10% discount on the entire order when buying a branded steak.
2. We analyze the efficiency of the company.
| Letter type | Feedback, % | Average check (including discount), UAH |
| Content | 4 | 350 |
| Content and Promo | 12 | 310 |
| Promo | 10 | 300 |
As a result, we see that those who received the letter “Content” – the minimum response, but the highest average check. The highest percentage of response from those who received the letter “Content and promo”. Those who received the letter “Promo” – also a high response, though a little less than the recipients of the letter “Content and promo”.
How to use the obtained data?
Do not draw conclusions based on the first experience. Test the hypothesis again. Find out how other content and other special offers work on other sub-segments. Only after all series of experiments make the decision-content communications suit your business or they are not necessary.
From our case, we can conclude that content letters are not required; you can do promotions and special offers. It is important to understand-only material incentives can lead to a constant expectation of discounts, which can reduce the value of the brand.
We would still advise you to try to use the content and personal offers to connect, when the content does not give a result-set up a trigger for each specific client: if the content letter does not give a result, we send a promo.
How to improve the efficiency of content communications
This can only be done by testing hypotheses. Compare the results of content letters in different style, design, size. For example, to divide the target audience into segments: one to send a letter with a beautiful description of the dish, the other-to add a comment to the description of the chef and reviews of satisfied customers. The third is to tell a story about the origin of the dish and the wine from our wine list, which is optimally suited to our dish.
By testing hypotheses, you build a knowledge base of effective techniques. Such a database of system content communications will give you the opportunity to eventually set up triggers that will accompany the entire life cycle of each of your customers. In addition, it will allow forming habits at consumers, the most favorable for us. But about it – in our other articles.