On average, a person receives about 120 emails per day according to marketing research firm Radicati. Many are ignored by recipients for reasons ranging from spam to dwindling interest in a product or service. That isn’t great news for business owners who lose some of their subscribers over time anyway. According to statistics, email marketing databases will diminish naturally by about 22% each year. Email retargeting is an option allowing you to regain the interest of some of these subscribers, often resulting in possibly increased sales!
Understanding how email retargeting works.
Email retargeting is a way to reach out to active, passive, and sometimes inactive subscribers through highly personalized emails. It isn’t the generalized newsletter that a marketer may send to everyone on their mailing list each week. Instead, it is a very specific message to a subscriber that has either shown inactivity or an interest in a website page, product, or service. The goal of an email retargeting campaign is to re-engage them with the product or service that initially piqued their interest in the hopes of turning a lead into a conversion.
A proper email retargeting attempt is only possible with the user data that a business collects when a potential client engages with their brand’s website. The collected information displays a website visitor’s behavior, including the pages they visit and the products or services they show interest in through direct clicks. Cookies on a website have been one of the most common methods of obtaining this data. However, marketers have recently started using tools like remarketing pixels embedded in emails that users receive when interacting with a brand for the first time.
Why email retargeting could be beneficial to your business.
The most notable advantage of email retargeting is that it helps businesses retain some of the subscribers that they would naturally lose over time. It keeps your mailing list more active and increases engagement with your brand. An email retargeting campaign gives businesses a chance to segment their subscriber lists properly. You can group email recipients based on their specific interests as indicated by the visitor behavioral data already collected from your website. Moreover, retargeted subscribers are most likely to convert into paying customers since they have already engaged with your brand.
Additionally, an email retargeting strategy is better for a company’s pockets. Statistics indicate that it is cheaper to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one.
Tips to effectively implement email retargeting.
The effectiveness of any email retargeting plan depends on how well-organized and executed the entire process is. The following few tips can help to optimize the whole undertaking.
- A timely response is best.
Imagine if a subscriber visits your website and browses for a specific product or service but doesn’t buy it. You can schedule your email to arrive in their inbox immediately or shortly after they’ve left the site (usually within 1-2 hours is best), reminding them of their interest in the product, maybe even with more variations in choice. Subscribers are more likely to return to your website the sooner they are reminded of the product or service that piqued their interest in the first place.
- Make the CTA clear but not insistent.
A clear call to action is essential to persuading a potential lead to purchase. Nevertheless, it can fail to achieve the desired effect if it feels too forced on the recipient. Remember that they may be inactive, and your message needs to ease them back into redeveloping an interest in your brand. A spammy message sent too many times could drive them away, but a fun, quirky message every so often could draw their attentiveness once again. Go for a relatable message that encourages them without pressuring them to act.
- Make the email as personalized as possible.
Personalization gets subscribers even more invested in your brand, and it also does a good job bringing them back from a notable absence. Use their first name and reference the specific product or service that they had shown interest in based on their past activity on your website.
- Include something of value.
Sometimes an inactive subscriber could be spurred to action with the promise of rewards for their return. Good examples of benefits include discounts, free deliveries, free demos or trials, or free extra products with their next purchase.
Examples of well-executed email retargeting in practice.
- The post-browsing checkup email.
These types of retargeting emails work when you send them right after a subscriber has visited a specific part of your website but has not taken any action. It could be your “services” or your “pricing” section, so this email needs to offer support that nudges them to return to your website and potentially convert by purchasing a product or service. This message needs to be value-filled, perhaps with information that is useful to their interest or offers to connect them to a person who can help them better navigate the process.
- Reduced or replenished stock.
This retargeting email is most effective for users that browse for a specific product on your website or have purchased it in the past. Let them know when a product they showed interest in is almost sold out. Additionally, inform them that you’ve restocked a product they searched for that was previously out of stock, and they will likely return to your website and possibly make a purchase.
- Related products or services.
If you’ve experienced the success of having a subscriber convert into a paying customer, then these retargeting emails may keep them coming back. Recommend a related product or service that pairs well with their purchase in your retargeting email, and they will most likely revisit your website once again to view and possibly buy it.
- Abandoned carts.
If your website has an e-commerce store, you can retarget with an email reminding a customer about a cart they abandoned. Sometimes people exit a site without completing a purchase, leaving the cart still containing products that they are likely interested in. A timely and well-constructed reminder may bring them back to complete the purchase.
- Reminders for subscription renewals.
If your business has a subscription model, then you could reach out to past and present customers in different ways to encourage them to maintain or renew their subscriptions. If a user doesn’t have an auto-renewal setting on, your retargeting email could point out the convenience that it brings. If their subscription is close to expiry, a timely message could remind them of the benefits that they would lose when it runs out. You could persuade them to renew their subscription early if you offer benefits like discounts or extra subscription days for early renewals. If their subscription has already ended, the retargeting email should entice them to renew it with the same valuable incentives.
Email retargeting can be an essential part of retaining engagement with your brand. Proper execution of this strategy could help to boost sales by reigniting interest in your business. Integrate it into your email marketing strategy and watch as your subscriber list turns from dormant leads to increased purchases over time!
