In an online sales environment that is ever evolving and increasingly competitive, eTailers constantly are in search of ways to boost sales rates and acquire new customers. In order to stay afloat, merchants must learn how to drive engagement and catch the attention of qualified, paying customers. While many retailers rely on interactive strategies such as social networking and mobile marketing, email remains the linchpin of customer communication.
Misikko, an online retailer offering a variety of hair care products, such as flat irons and professional hair dryers, sought a solution to improve purchase rates. Initially the beauty tool eTailer relied on direct marketing and search engine optimization (SEO) to engage potential and loyal customers. In an effort to drive more profit and better grab prospects’ attention, Misikko partnered with Campaigner, an email marketing solution provider.
“Campaigner has increased the value of our existing customers dramatically,” Yung Chung, VP and Managing Owner of Misikko, told Retail TouchPoints. “The solution has allowed us to not only give shoppers tailored promotions but also tips and style guides that establish Misikko as an authority in the field.”
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While Misikko’s SEO strategy helped build traffic for specific long-tail keywords, partnering with Campaigner allowed the company to tailor messages more effectively, Chung added.
“Email marketing has been a wonderful tool for getting specialized messages out to our customers,” Chung said. “By segmenting our email lists by customer type, shipping region and open rate, we’ve been able to increase the lifetime value per customer dramatically.”
By tapping into email marketing, Misikko keeps customers informed on new product announcements. The merchant also releases special deals and offerings based on shopping behavior and preferences. Every week, the retailer sends an email campaign to announce the latest promotion or a beauty tip that is published on the web site.
“Even as retailers begin to utilize newer, interactive marketing channels such as mobile and social media to push messages, email is still ubiquitous in terms of accessibility and reach,” said Paul Turnbull, Product Manager of Campaigner. “However, to achieve optimal effectiveness in email communications, marketers must ensure relevancy in their messaging, including targeting the right message, at the right time to a specific group of people.”
Misikko tracks the success of each email campaign by utilizing Campaigner’s reporting tools in conjunction with its analytics information, according to Chung. Then, the eTailer finetunes messaging and offers to improve overall efficiency. To further optimize email marketing efforts, eTailers like Misikko must develop content that is engaging and relevant to the buyer’s journey, Turnbull explained.
“Relevance leads to deliverability, while a healthy contact list leads to great ROI,” Turnbull said. “If content is contagious and engaging, open and click rates will increase. With that, a retailer’s reputation as a sender improves, which helps ensure email is delivered and not at risk of being routed to a junk or spam folder. It comes down to knowing your audience and what they value and expect from you. Then, you use that information to optimize your message and ensure your campaigns have elements of appeal, exclusivity and credibility.”
