Why 2018 should be the year for customer engagement

Jeff Slutz

Tips for engaging your most valuable audience – your customers

If you want to have your best email marketing year ever, then you have to focus on one of your greatest untapped resources: your existing customers. In other words, you’ll have to spend more time marketing to your current customer base and delivering them the best experience than trying to acquire brand new customers who may or may not have ever heard of you. This is a simple case of making the most of your time and resources.

The probability of selling to a new prospect is somewhere between 5 and 20 percent. The probability of selling to an existing customer? 60-70%. (Marketing Metrics)

A lot of marketers have this flipped, devoting a TON of time and energy to get their brand name out there and encouraging first-time purchases, while existing customers are sort of an afterthought. But there’s nothing more powerful than word of mouth, and your customers can be your best advocates.

Take a moment to focus, provide value, and be generous to your most engaged audience, and they'll return the favor.

A key part of maximizing engagement for your customers is making sure that you’re using a mobile-optimized email design. We’re practically addicted to our phones, so mobile optimization is no longer a “would be nice to have” thing. It’s an absolute must if you want to get in the game.

People are busy, so they’re quickly checking their email while waiting in line at that coffee shop or if they get to a meeting a couple minutes early. They won’t mess around trying to navigate a broken design or read tiny type. They’ll send that email you worked so hard on to the trash and move on, so please make sure you’re starting with a mobile-optimized email template.

Also, don’t be afraid to mix up your content to keep your subscribers on their toes. Send a blog post one week, followed by an invitation, followed by an infographic, followed by a video. Variety keeps things fresh and keeps subscribers engaged. In fact, linking out to a video from your email is a surefire way to not only boost engagement, but also ROI.

Something that’s critical if you want to be successful with video and email is to pick the right screenshot. Don’t just slap a play button on any old image and expect people to click. Choose an image from your video that’s enticing, teases your content, or simply shows people having a good time, and your subscribers will want to click through.

Including a video thumbnail in your email can lift your ROI by as much as 280%. (Email Monks)

Including a GIF in your design is another great way to lift your click rates and freshen up your content. They add some movement to what’s traditionally been a static medium in email, so even though it seems like everyone’s using them now, they still grab your attention.

Quick takeaways: Prioritize existing customers over new ones, make sure your email looks great on all screen sizes, and mix up your content.

This is an excerpt from our new guide, "Have your best year ever: 6 keys to email marketing success." Download it now to get more email marketing tips for 2018 and beyond!

About the Author

Jeff is a senior content writer at Emma. When he’s not geeking out over email marketing, he enjoys jogging short distances, chowing down on Mom’s cooking, appreciating a beautiful jump shot, and telling anyone who listens how underrated Ohio is. Usually not at the same time.
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Why 2018 should be the year for customer engagement

Tips for engaging your most valuable audience – your customers

About the Author

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Why 2018 should be the year for customer engagement

Tips for engaging your most valuable audience – your customers

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