Email marketing: Why it still matters in 2023

Do you find yourself binning more emails than you open? Are you spending more time engaging with the unsubscribe link than the message itself? Then you’re probably wondering why you should bother with email marketing for your business. Especially in 2023, when there are shinier, more-viral ways to build brand awareness. 

With almost 350 billion emails being sent out each day, there’s a lot of competition for attention happening in our inboxes. So, what’s the difference between the emails that end up in your spam folder and the ones that have you hitting the “buy now” button? We’ll explore the benefits of email marketing and how to create a strategy that nurtures your customer relationships.

But first, let’s define it.

What is email marketing?

Simply put, email marketing or email direct marketing (EDM) uses software to send out campaigns that promote your business’s products or services.

In a broad sense, there are four main types of email marketing: newsletters, transactional emails, promotional emails, and retention emails. These different types of emails help your customers at each stage of the marketing funnel, from wanting to know more about your business to making the decision to buy.

The advantages of email marketing and why it still matters

Gain and retain. Every marketing campaign aims to achieve these things, and so should you. When optimised, email marketing can prove a critical component of your marketing machine. Here’s how:  

1. Reach

Your customers live busy lives filled with countless competing distractions. This means you need to reach out to them to keep the conversation going and keep your business top of mind. An outreach email is perfect for this, as it lets you explore creative ways to capture your customers’ attention. Think of it as a cold call, just without the awkward pitch.  

Also, with global email users expected to reach 4.6 billion by 2025, it’s impossible to deny the pure reach that email offers you. (Almost ) everyone uses email, which means that if you embrace email marketing, you have an incredible chance to reach a lot of customers. 

2. Visibility

While most of us would never abandon our trolley at the supermarket checkout, we’re far more brazen online. A quick email is a gentle reminder of what’s in their cart and is sometimes the nudge customers need to buy. You could even add an incentive that sweetens the deal.

3. Connection

Retaining customers is all about nurturing the relationship. It’s not always about the hard sell. Emails are a non-invasive way to build brand awareness and community with your customers through exciting and relevant content.

Email marketing is a two-way street. When you ask for feedback through email, you’re giving your customer a chance to share their thoughts and opinions. It also shows them you value both. Over time, your relationship will grow stronger, which is a win for both parties. 

4. Cost-effectiveness

Budget is always a critical factor in your marketing budget. A considerable advantage of email is that it demands little of your marketing budget compared to other marketing channels. Embracing email will definitely win you fans in the finance department.

It also requires less of your time. Optimising email automation software will give your schedule some much-needed air and allow you to focus your energy and attention on other aspects of your campaign.

5. Measurable 

Compared to other marketing channels, where reach and effectiveness can be ambiguous or difficult to measure, email metrics are clear, extensive, and easy to attain. With email marketing, you’ll know exactly how your strategy is performing, from open to click-through rates, as well as subsequent website traffic and links to social media.

How to do email marketing

1. Understand your audience

The first step to creating an effective marketing strategy is to understand your audience; email marketing is no different. The better you know the customer you’re trying to reach, the more likely you are to reach them. Market research, combined with the data you gain from existing customers and their buying habits, will help to shape your understanding. 

You’ll want to know what products they’re buying, when, and what information they need at each step of the buying process. Then you can make sure your emails reach the right people at the right time.

2. Understand the buyer’s journey

Understanding your audience is half of the puzzle. The other half is understanding the journey they embark on when they buy from your business. A typical buyer’s journey has four stages: awareness, consideration, conversion, and nurture. 

Knowing where your customers are at in their journey lets you better leverage your email marketing. You’ll know when to send emails that position your brand as a market leader, that nurture leads, make the sale, and build trust and customer loyalty. 

3. Create personalised content

When you tailor content and experiences specifically for your customers, your brand will stand out against a sea of sameness. Customers are far more likely to engage with your brand if they can see that you’ve made a special effort to engage with them.  

Data, research, past campaigns, all these things will help you create a more personalised experience for your customer. Personalisation should always be at the core of your marketing campaign. Yes, it requires you to take that extra step. But that extra step might prove a step too far for your competitors, and that’s exactly where you want to be: out in front. 

How we can make your email marketing services sparkle 

Now that you know why email marketing still matters in 2023, it’s time to engage with an agency that knows how to make it work for you. At One Stop Media, we remove the guesswork and replace it with a data-driven strategy. Call today to learn how we can build your business together.