How to Increase Customer Lifetime Value Through Email Marketing
Any savvy business owner will tell you that it’s never smart to put all your eggs in one basket and yet so many still rely almost solely on social media in an attempt to build relationships with customers. But, as guest blogger Madeleine Murrey explains in this awesome post, email marketing is really where it’s at! If you’ve never done much work in email marketing, it can feel overwhelming at first since it definitely takes a bit of upfront work — but the payoff is so worth it! And lucky for us, Madeleine has put together some great tips and super actionable advice on how some simple email automations and strategies can seriously help build legions of loyal fans. I think you’ll find this post super helpful even if you’ve been dabbling in upping your email game for a while and are looking for ways to continue to optimize. I’m happy to share it with you! - Kristine
When it comes to starting an email list - most business owners know the basics - welcome emails, abandon cart emails, and post-purchase thank you emails… but then put the others on the backburner.
You’ve got the basics down, which are great low hanging fruit to monetize your audience - however, there is so much more room for growth with your email marketing!
Email marketing is an essential part of your business and creating those VIP customers who will be fans for life.
Yeah, social media and advertising can appear flashier, fancier and more appealing, but the best part about email marketing is you OWN your list - you are not tied to Facebook, or Instagram, or even Google. Even if something happens with your email provider, you are in full ownership of your list and have the ability to pivot quickly with email marketing. Kristine has a great post on why you shouldn’t bank on social media and why you need to build an email list here.
But that’s not the only thing - email marketing to this day still brings in more ROI than SEO, display, advertising and other forms of digital marketing. Even DMA says “For every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect an average return of $42.”
Now that we’ve covered how much of an impact email marketing can have on the bottom line, you might be thinking “well, how do I even get started?!”
Let’s cover the best type of email marketing - automated emails. The reason why I say this is the “best” is because this is the kind of emails that you can set up, and it automatically triggers based on users behaviors.
Someone signs up for emails through your website? They get a welcome email series!
Someone purchases through email? Once they’ve received the item, let’s offer them another product that pairs well with the first item?
Someone makes a reservation at your restaurant? Offer them a special promotion 30 days after their purchase to get them back in.
The opportunities are endless… and once you get this set up, it is running essentially on autopilot.
Let’s talk about the types of automated emails you can get in place to hit that $1 spent on email marketing to $42 in return.
Welcome Emails
I break this down into a 3 series email that way you give your audience little pieces at a time.
Welcome email #1
This email is literally welcoming your audience to your brand. You can cover who you are, how you started, what types of emails you will be sending (tips, tricks, promotions, discounts, new product announcements, sales, etc.). I also always like to add a 10-15% off coupon to people who haven’t purchased before - this way you get them at the first touchpoint in email and while they are still very engaged.
Welcome email #2
This email is what I like to call the “social sharing” email. Get them to like your page! If you are on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, or any other social channels - get them to follow you! This will make sure you are able to communicate with them through multiple different touch points which will help keep you connected to your audience.
Welcome email #3
In the third email, I like to promote “favorites”, which is basically any item or service that you offer that’s a favorite of your frequent purchasers, promote this here and get them to see what others like about your offerings!
Cart Abandonment Emails
This one is pretty straightforward. If a user adds an item to their cart, enters their email address, but doesn’t complete the transaction (put in their CC details) then this email will get triggered. This email can be as simple as “you forgot xxx in your cart, grab yours today before we run out of stock”. Creating that urgency, or offering a discount, can certainly increase the likelihood of the end user purchasing!
Upsell/Cross Sell Emails
Upsell/Cross Sell Emails have typically been one of the top performing emails I’ve set up for clients. These emails promote products/services that are like the other products/services that customer has bought before. Maybe your customer didn’t know the other products existed on your site, and this can help showcase all of your offerings that are specifically tailored to that customer.
Birthday Emails
Who doesn’t like a happy birthday message? It shows you care, it shows you notice them, and creates a sense of relationship with your subscribers. Note, this one will only work if you capture your subscribers birthday in the sign up form on your website, or if you have it stored and can import that data into your email marketing software.
VIP Emails
Everyone likes knowing if they're a VIP of a certain brand, right?! We like what we like and it’s nice knowing you might be a special customer because you love their products/services (so much so, their purchase history proves it!)
Depending on your product or service, you can define who your VIP customers are. If you sell mattresses, your VIP customers might look a little different than if you’re selling moisturizer since you only get a mattress every 10 years, or so. So take into consideration how frequently your customer needs to purchase to be the top 5-10% of your customers, and create an audience around that to acknowledge and incentivize them for being so loyal to you and your brand. This email works really well if you offer a 10-15% discount to encourage them to keep coming back for more and show your appreciation!
And, one other type of automated email as a bonus!
BONUS: Review Request Emails
While this email might not generate revenue, I wanted to include this one in if you have the ability to leave reviews for certain products/services on your website. This can really help future customers navigate through to find out what others think of what they are about to purchase. Asking for a review is a simple way to get more feedback, too!
I could go on and on with other email marketing tactics that are great for generating revenue for your business.… browse abandonment (not to be confused with cart abandonment), 1st purchase anniversary emails, winback emails, sunsetting subscribers, optimizing emails, email deliverability, and more!
However, these types of automated emails have been the staple to taking a subscriber and turning them into a first time purchaser or even celebrating a huge milestone with a valued customer through VIP automated emails.
Summary
Get your automated emails in place as these are low-hanging fruits to increase your overall revenue!
Welcome Emails
Cart Abandonment Emails
Upsell/Cross Sell Emails
Birthday Emails
VIP Emails
BONUS: Review Request Emails
Overall, you want your customers to stick with you as long as possible, that is why the CLV metric is one of the most important metrics for your business. Strengthen your relationship with your customers through email marketing and you will soon turn many more customers to those VIP’ers.
