What if we told you that you could generate 70:1 ROI by following a single trick in your next email campaign?
Sounds bluff, right?
Let's try again. What if we say that you can increase your revenue by 50% if you follow a straightforward email marketing strategy?
We bet this sounds more convincing. Interestingly, neither of the stats is false!
Behavioral emails make all of this possible for your business. They are one of the most effective formats of automated emails that cater to trigger the right recipient and at the right time. It's a powerful example of how effective results are generated when the audience engages with marketing.
While the potential for behavioral marketing is immense, it's a surprise that only 20% of marketers use this tactic to reach maximum potential!
It makes us ponder on what's the reason behind this stat. So, let's jump right into the core of this marketing and learn the tips on how you can get started with it to increase your revenues manifold.
» What is Behavioural Email Marketing?
You must have come across behavioral or "triggered" (as it is more commonly called) emails across several occasions. For instance, once you fill up an online signup form or when you abandon your cart during online shopping.
Behavioral email marketing (BEM) is one of the most reliable digital eco-space trends that allows businesses to segregate their audience network and target them based on their behaviors like interests and activities. It provides marketers with limitless campaigning possibilities.
Under BEM, the customers' responses and interactions are identified and analyzed across multiple channels. These interactions are then used as "triggers," segregated across several categories to deliver personalized content to the potential users at the right time.
A successful BEM is made up of several parts that fall together while creating an effective email marketing funnel.
Listed below are some of the advantages of BEM which might tempt you to incorporate it for your upcoming campaigns:
• Improved overall user engagement
• Higher rates of conversion
• Access to multiple personas for a single product
• Supports continuous improvements
• Helps you understand the consumer on a one to one basis
Interestingly, triggered or behavioral emails have 70.5% higher chances of open rate. We bet this stat alone wants you to use responsive emails in your next marketing campaign, right?
The good news is, you can get started right away if you know these few tips around BEM. So, let’s get started!
» 10 Behavioural Email Marketing Tips
› Track your user engagement
Tracking user engagement is one of the most effective ways to ace behavioral email. The charts and patterns generated with the user's interaction on your website can help you analyze their behavior around your brand.
Suppose a specific visitor visits your website and spends a considerable time (beyond the average time, of course!) around a particular landing page; you can use this data as an excellent indicator to target the individual user with that specific service or product.
› Consider Asking Relevant Questions When You Sign Up New Subscribers on Your Emailer's List
Thanks to the power of social media platforms, acquiring subscribers has been easier than before. However, the type of information you obtain for your subscribers plays a significant role in your behavioral email campaign.
While asking small questions around the tastes and preferences can help you a good deal, you can also consider asking some advanced questions to your customers and visitors.
Asking relevant questions around the brand like "How likely would they recommend your brand to a friend?” or “feedback around the (product/service)” that users wish to be improved.
Asking such questions plays a significant role in helping you explore the likes and interests of such users/buyers. Moreover, you can also consider engaging your customers in surveys and several interactive questions. This way, you'll have a broader demographic segmentation.
› Understand Your Customers Before Setting Triggers
Behavioral emails are only successful due to their nature of the triggered response, based on a prospect's behavior. This is the part where behavioral emails prove their true potential - "the user, not the marketer activates them."
Sorting your trigger emails on the base of actions that your customers react to is the true essence of such email marketing campaigns.
For instance, if a prospect shows interest in your product or services and stays on your website for longer than average customers, you should target him with a conversational email showcasing your products/services. Another better way of reaching out to them is by deploying chatbot pop-ups on related products.
Start experimenting to know what works best for your business. Once you understand your customers thought process, creativity is the only limitation to your conversions!
› Decide Which Customer Actions Warrant an Email
Once you have understood your customers' behavior, the next thing to consider is figuring out the actions that are worth sending emails.
Understanding these kinds of behavioral targeting are generally seen over sign up services where consumers typically don't complete their profile or verify the email address.
Now, we know that the first thing to do is send automated email reminders. However, besides using such basics, we suggest you try incorporating customers' behavior over your next email campaign.
› Try Engaging in Conversation by Using Behavior Response
Once you have the information database of your potential customers, the next step is to identify the trends and write compelling emails to start a conversation based on that behavior.
We advise you to start with the recipient's first name to give it a personalized touch. You could also incorporate the data available (any product they have been eying on or something they've had wish-listed for a long) to make your email more engaging and focused on the product.
Once you have a hold on writing engaging content according to your prospect's behavior, you can easily master the art of behavioral marketing.
› Focus on Your Notification Email
A notification email is generally considered to be a canned response received by the subscribers, often composed of documentation links or tips to get started.
However, if you take a slightly different approach for your notification email, things might turn out differently (and for the better). Your notification email could focus on introducing your business's story to the customer, offering a view of what they can expect from you as a brand.
› Treat the Transaction Emails Well
• Messages that notify transactions are essential. It’s no surprise that these types of emails have an opening chance of 8x the rate of regular emails!
Keeping such compelling stats in mind, it indeed seems like an area to be worked upon. If you haven't already, we suggest you work around those traditional "order confirmed" messages and whip up something quirky and innovative that gives increased chances of customer interaction.
› Use Compelling Images
If you haven't been incorporating images in your content strategy, you are surely missing out on something great!
Images help readers visualize your ideas and improve their experience. Add compelling images or related visual content around 'ongoing sales' or 'promotional offers.'
Remember, the visual content you put plays a significant role in encouraging your audience to land on your site and increase their knowledge of the product or service.
› Design of Your Trigger Email Matters
It is essential for your recipients to understand and read your emails, no matter what email service provider they use. Designing responsive email templates allows your subscribers to access your content on the move, irrespective of the device they use.
A lot goes into creating such compelling emails, but the first step begins with choosing a good email software. And while we are on the subject, we understand the costs attached to using popular email software like Mailchimp, whose subscriptions can pinch a hole, especially if you've just started your marketing game.
But worry not! You can still achieve great results if you opt for cost-effective mailing applications like ConvertKit and MailerLite over the likes of MailChimp. Both tools can help you improve your real-time mail integrations with your contact base and come with tons of interactive templates, allowing you to execute your campaigns in style with a fraction of the cost.
› Revolve Your BEM Focused on Customer Behavior
Having the right BEM that revolves around customers is the key to boost your business. Keep a keen eye on the actions of your customer and focus on providing solutions around the same.
For instance, if you receive a mail over form submission for freebies by a prospect, follow up with a transactional email to confirm their download. Similarly, you can also incorporate emails with CTA to initiate engagement over your next email campaign.
In the world of digital marketing, tapping on BEM is like extracting oil - more extraction = higher revenue! Now that you have understood some tips and theories around this marketing tactic, let's take some inspiration from how Bloomingdale used BEM to its advantage and maximized its revenue.
» How Bloomingdale Generated a 50% Increase in Revenue with BEM!
In 2017, the US e-commerce website Bloomingdale's wanted to personalize their emails to reach out to every potential customer. To pursue such a campaign, they shifted to BEM from the batch-and-blast campaign, focusing on the suggested triggers:
• Shopping and browsing history
• Transaction-related emails like order and shipping confirmations
The results that Bloomingdale achieved through this experiment proves to be an eye-opener on the potential of BEM in the long run! Over time, the campaign driven by the brand led to a 5x increase in conversions. And this was possible by refining the content and segregating their consumers' behavior over time.
The result? The company was able to generate a staggering 50% increase in revenue driven by triggered email campaigns!
To Wrap Up
Behavioral marketing represents a new way to execute your marketing strategy. Understanding your visitors' thought process and infusing them with your marketing can unlock new potentials for your business.
Interestingly, it is not necessary for you to own an enterprise or be a brand to execute your own triggered campaign; even small businesses and affiliate marketing channels can make use of BEM to explore new heights in their businesses.
Having the right tools in hand is an added advantage to every marketer. Considering the functionalities that revolve around behavioral email, it's apparent that you need functional email marketing software to execute such campaigns.
Choose your applications wisely and make the most out of it to execute beautiful and compelling campaigns.
Now that you have seen the true potentials that can be unlocked with BEM, are you ready to integrate it in your next email campaign? Let us know in the comments below!
