In this digital age, we are becoming increasingly aware of how the emails in our inbox are received by others because we can see the signs ourselves! As a quick exercise, take a look at your inbox and it will be simple to see where some marketers succeed while others fail at reaching their target audience.
The senders in my inbox have a pretty good idea of who I am and what I like. So to see an email so out of left field like the one below, it makes you wonder if the company put any thought into their email marketing other than- “Let’s get this thing shot off to anyone and everyone!”
Disney, while a powerhouse of innovation and marketing, caught me off guard with an email advertising a chapter book about their hit children’s movie “Frozen”.
It may be true that I have seen the movie, and most of us have heard the song that has trapped it’s self in our head, “Let it Go”, but does Disney really think that I am interested in a children’s book?
Anyone who has visited Disney World knows that you have to give tons of information to the mouse. The company knows your age, what park you go to, what rides your rode, and what hotel you stayed at. So why does their marketing fall flat when appealing to someone they have information on and know is a 24 year old with no children, who comes to Disney for the Food & Wine and Lawn & Garden events?
Targeting your core customers is key to making a conversion. If the email I received from Disney was letting me know that the rooms at my favorite resort were recently renovated, or that a new menu item was available at one of my favorite park restaurants, then not only would I have clicked the email, but also forwarded the email to my fiancé. Disney not targeting their key purchaser demographic by emailing me, but they are also putting their reputation at risk for sending unwanted offers to people not as kind as me that will hit the “Spam” button upon seeing an email that is worthless to them.
Even if your company doesn’t have the means to gather as much information as Disney does, use the information that you have. Review your sales and determine your target market. If you sell running shoes and you notice that the majority of your buyers are purchasing women’s shoes, target women. If those women also seem to live in the northeast United States, pare down your efforts to an even smaller sub section to target geographically. Use this knowledge to target your opt-in customers first. Review the results of your campaign and determine again the audience that produced the most sales.
The final step is to work with an email marketing agency that can help you create more leads using your target market and assist you in delivering your email marketing messages to your user’s inboxes. Finding a good, full service email agency isn’t an easy task. Make sure you do your homework and select a company that has the expertise to generate the biggest return on investment for you company possible.
