Top 3 retail goals
E-Marketer reports that according to an October 2016 survey administered by Yes Lifecycle Marketing, the common goals shared amongst most retailers for 2017 are as follows: increase sales, improve customer engagement, and improve customer acquisition.
I’m sure you weren’t surprised by any of that. After all, retailers that do not have these three as their primary goals are likely not very interested in making money.
What is interesting about this survey, however, are the planned methods retailers are intending to implement to achieve these goals. 68 percent of respondents said they were going to focus on directly contacting customers through e-mail campaigns, and 54 percent said they would be focusing on social media.
[clickToTweet tweet=”It seems retailers are starting to conclude that this whole “Internet” thing isn’t going anywhere. ” quote=”It seems retailers are starting to conclude that this whole “Internet” thing isn’t going anywhere. “]
navigating the digital landscape
An increased focus on digital marketing should not be surprising. I challenge you to think of a modern retailer that has absolutely no online presence. Not so easy, is it?
There is no question that consumers are progressively doing more of their shopping online. As such, it only makes sense that retailers would focus their marketing to a place where potential customers are most likely to take notice.
The challenge that businesses are going to face, however, is making their marketing efforts noticeable in the already cluttered digital landscape.
In other words, it is becoming increasingly important that businesses come up with interesting marketing ideas that not only attract, but hold the attention of potential customers. Simple e-mails containing coupons and catalogues just don’t hack it anymore.
how to keep my attention
Many companies are already making use of the sharing possibilities present in social media, creating videos and images they hope will go viral. But like effective video ads, an interesting e-mail campaign can also stick with you. One of my favorite examples of effective e-mail marketing is Eat24’s weekly coupon e-mails. Filled with food-related puns, funny images, and an always original way of offering a coupon, it’s clear that the whoever comes up with these e-mails enjoys it.
It’s that enthusiasm and good humor that keeps me reading their weekly e-mails, which in turn keeps them from automatically being sent to my spam folder. Even if I don’t use Eat24 every week, it’s still one of the first places I think of when I want to order take-out.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that every business needs to go about sending e-mails or creating ads with product-specific puns. However, it certainly doesn’t hurt to express enthusiasm for the product in ways outside of an exclamation point.
There is a fine line between interesting marketing materials and annoying ones. Whether it be ads or e-mails, the best marketing should leave customers feeling intrigued instead of interrupted.
