Believe it or not, the majority of our business transaction happens via email. So much so that in 2023, there were an estimated 4.2 billion email accounts globally. Plus, email nowadays is more than just maintaining two-way communication. If you run an online store, you can use email to nurture existing customers. You can also use email to turn a subscriber into a loyal customer. Hence, when used correctly, it can help improve your online business's customer experience.
But what is customer experience, and why is it essential for your business?
What is Customer Experience (CX)?
Customer experience is the impression prospects have of your brand. This impression is the result of the customer's experience with your business.
So, when a customer is not pleased with how your customer representative handled an issue, that can lead to negative CX. On the other hand, if he is happy about how his issue was resolved, you are providing positive CX.
Regardless of your business's nature, you must always provide excellent CX. That way, you can reap the following benefits:
- Boost in customer satisfaction
- More loyal customers
- Increase in recommendation
That said, one of the excellent vehicles in driving positive CX is email marketing.
9 Ways to Use Email Marketing for Excellent CX
Providing excellent CX helps boost customer satisfaction. And when customers are satisfied with your business, they become loyal. So much so that they are willing to recommend your products and services to their family and friends.
That said, we have listed nine ways you can use email marketing to provide an excellent customer experience.
Send the Perfect Intro
One of the most underestimated forms of communication is welcome emails.
You may think that all your hard work is done once subscribers have subscribed to your email list.
Usually, you have their full attention, and you'll provide them the opportunity to secure that first purchase or the steps that they need to do next.
Usually, welcome emails have higher open rates than other marketing emails- generally between 50-60%. This allows you to start a relationship from day one.
This gives you a chance to:
- Show what your brand is all about. What are your brand values, and why does your brand exist in the first place?
- Make other people feel that they're part of an exclusive community.
- Promote relevant and popular products to them.
Customize Your Messaging
Today, personalized emails have become commonplace. So much so that addressing a recipient "Dear Subscriber" is off-putting.
Personalized emails ensure that your business is taking the extra step to interact with users. This creates trust and shows that you genuinely care about the needs of your customers. It also boosts your brand engagement in the long run.
Data shows that personalized email marketing campaigns enhance open rates by 26% and give 6x higher transaction rates.
Developing personalized emails is easy, thanks to various email marketing tools.
Personalization also offers better customer experience management. So, see to it that this is built-in in your emails for every interaction.
Segment Your Emails
Segmenting your email list is essential to ensure that you send the right message to the right group of people.
You can segment your email list using various factors. This usually depends on demographics, purchase history, when a user opens an email, and other factors which can be useful data points.
This data lets you segment your email list while offering targeted communication at the same time. Moreover, sending highly personalized and timely communication enhances user's engagement with your business. This also boosts your conversions in the long run.
Timely and relevant content ensures that users will look forward to how you communicate with them. This creates a positive experience as customers associate your business with valuable content.
Keep it Consistent
Offering a consistent communication style with your customers allows you to create a clearer brand image. Whether you want to sound professional or friendly, you should keep it consistent across all channels. To build a more consistent communication style, use a more specific tone of writing, and communicating with your customers. Create your brand persona. It will help if you carry this consistency over to your social media channels. You can add your humor or adopt a friendlier tone for more informal communication.
Strive to create the perfect balance between communication and lightheartedness. That way, you can be authoritative and approachable at the same time.
Utilize the Right Tools
The key to customer experience management is using the right tools. Without proper tools to track customer data, you couldn't provide individualized services.
This tool or software lets you create templates, gather user feedback, or segment your email list. You'll also gain access to data and anything that can help you provide better CX.
This may include automating your email marketing campaigns, which we do at Voy Media Marketing Agency NYC. Doing so enhances customer responsiveness and improves brand engagement.
Use a Polite Tone
Today, it's quite common for businesses to use a more casual or informal tone in addressing their customers or audience. Still, it's crucial to use a polite tone of voice throughout your interactions with others as a business. This is especially true when providing customer support. Basic things like starting your email conversations with a greeting and ending them with a thank you are vital.
Each time you receive an email from a customer that expresses some dissatisfaction with your brand, try to be helpful and apologize.
Remember always to be respectful and polite, as this helps build customer trust with your business. Over time, they'll feel more secure in working with you.
Follow Up Always
You should also follow up with your customers with issues each time they email you. Following up with your customers provides you with the chance to end the conversation on a positive note. It also shows that you're more than willing to go the extra mile to please them.
Doing a follow-up also allows you to gather customer feedback and enhance your customer experience strategy.
Take Surveys
Another thing that you can do with email is to come up with a customer feedback strategy as part of your email marketing campaign.
By utilizing a form plugin with your email marketing strategy, you can automatically send in some feedback and even survey requests after various vital interactions.
Celebrate Your Subscribers
A typical example of this is to send your customers an email on their birthday. Birthday emails usually provide a discount, special discount, gift, or an invitation to visit an online store.
These are great opportunities to show your customers that you appreciate them. Offering your customers discounts encourages them to purchase from you.
Data from Experian found out that birthday emails tend to generate 342% more revenue per email than other promotional emails. So, any business not using this may cause you to miss out on serious sales.
Wrapping it Up
Keep in mind that you are interacting with a human being. Whether you are using email to resolve an issue or drive sales, remember that it is still a communication tool.
Meaning you should leverage it in a way that fosters meaningful relationships. Doing so allows you to provide a positive customer experience, helping you build a tribe of loyal customers around your brand. And this tribe is what can make your business grow.