Use email marketing to give your sales a boost!

The importance of email marketing for business success cannot be underestimated. A solid email promotion strategy helps you generate leads and raise sales. And although email marketing is not a new trend, it is one of the best ways to communicate important information and interact with your customers. 
In the world of commerce, email promotions and discounts are essential for stimulating sales. But you need to use them in the right way and the right style. They can’t appear spam-like or undermine the brand loyalty of existing clients. 
Strengthen your strategy by segmenting your customer base and targeting users with email messages and promotions. To do this, you need to think about how you initially recruited the client or lead you’re trying to communicate with. Making good use of this information will help you to better maintain these contacts. 
Create a feeling of urgency and encourage the people receiving the emails to buy. Inform them of promotions, sales and discounts and let them know all these promotions will expire at the end of the month. 
According to a recent study by DMA, email marketing is still very relevant. With a delivery rate of 97.9% and an average open rate of just under 20%, email marketing helps you reach a lot of people. The content of your email is the deciding factor as to whether the recipient will click through and convert their interest into sales. 

EU report on DMA email marketing

Did you know that as from the beginning of 2024, most browsers will delete third-party cookies to be completely GDPR compliant? 
As such, collecting contacts and building your own email database is more important than ever! If you haven’t begun yet, read on to discover what to do to give your email marketing an extra boost.

Which email promotions can you still launch to increase sales?

1. Win back ‘old’ clients

Create an email with a special offer for clients who haven’t bought anything from your company in the past six months. Use a message like ‘Come back! I miss you!’ or ‘Something exciting is happening!’ Mention current events, new functions and improvements to your product or service. Add coupons that the client can use within a short time frame—coupons are a great way to motivate clients who are considering a purchase, but haven’t yet bought anything from your company. 

2. Birthday emails

This is just one of the benefits of the use of a Customer Relation Management (CRM) system for managing client data. Record the dates of your clients’ birthdays in the CRM system. Then generate special birthday promotions for your clients. A tip (that may look obvious) is to include the word ‘birthday’ in the subject line of the emails you send. We advise you to include coupons or promotions in the email as special ‘birthday gifts’ for the client. 

3. Summer vacation and public holidays 

Make special offers for the summer or upcoming days of celebration such as Mother’s Day. Don’t be afraid to be original and funny if your brand style allows it. 

4. Special offers

Make sure that your offer is clear, attractive and to the point. This is another opportunity to segment your list; make sure you’re not sending a special offer to people who bought something just yesterday. Take into account that this sort of email is often marked by Google and sent to the ‘Promotions’ tab in Gmail. 

HighCo DATA launched a successful cashback promotion, with a landing page for Lipton Ice Tea Zero

5. Flash sale 

Consider an offer that is only going to run for a few days or a weekend. For example: 
‘Make the most of a 40% discount—this weekend only.’ Make sure you have a clear call to action. 

6. New products / new variants and cross-selling

Offer product or service upgrades at reduced prices. If your product or service is not new, you can adapt this type of message to offer additional products. 

7. Top customers

Set up special promotions just for loyal clients. According to RewardStream, 81% of online shoppers who received an email on the basis of their earlier shopping habits were more inclined to make a purchase prompted by a targeted email’.
Create differentiated promotions of the basis of purchase volume or order frequency. Offers might include discounts or free gifts with a purchase. 

8. Invite your client to your retail stores

Consider inviting your customers to your physical locations with a message like this: 
‘Come to our store before the end of the month and receive a 10% discount on any purchase of more than €50.’
If you don’t have a physical location, you can invite them to become a member of your exclusive email group:
‘Become a member of Group X and receive discounts when you sign up for this mailing list.’
To maximise your return on investment, test multiple versions of these emails or a few different layouts and subject lines to see which ones resonate most with your target group. 
Promotions and discounts are necessary tools in the email strategy of a marketeer, but as just mentioned, it’s important to use them with understanding. You always want to avoid damaging your brand, your sales and/or negatively influencing your margins. 

One last tip:

Above all, you do not want the client to unsubscribe or click the ‘Spam’ button after the first email they receive. 
Make sure your email communication is targeted and useful to all your clients and prospects. 

About HighCo DATA

HighCo DATA is a one-stop shop for the media aspects, the distribution and clearing of coupons. With the exception of the issuing of coupons within retail stores (cashpoints), HighCo DATA covers the entire couponing process from A to Z, saving our clients a huge amount of time.
Please let us know if you would like more help setting up an email marketing campaign that includes e-couponing. One of our experts will make sure you’re on the path to success.