If your company is still paying a digital agency to blast out tens of thousands of emails based on a geographic location using the same content, then you are wasting your money. Big data has allowed digital marketing experts to gain insights into consumer trends that had not been available in the past, and all of that information is helping to re-shape the way email marketing is used. It is still smart to use email marketing to reach your audience, but you need to stay up to date on the evolution of email marketing if you want to get a strong return on investment.
The Days of Mass Email Blasts are Over
The idea that one email can be sent to hundreds of thousands of people at the same time and get results now seems ludicrous to digital marketing experts. Email marketing today is done on a much smaller scale, but it is done to qualified audiences of potential consumers who are more apt to be interested in the material that is being sent to them. Email campaigns are segmented in a variety of ways and different emails are being designed to appeal directly to the specific audience that will be receiving them
Using the Sales Funnel as a Guide
A sales professional would never use the same pitch to customers at different points in the sales funnel, and email marketing has finally caught on to that idea. The three primary points of a sales funnel are the point where the prospect shows interest, the point where the prospect decides on what they want, and the point where the prospect takes action in executing a transaction. A customer at the interest stage is not going to have the same requirements as one at the decision stage, and that is why custom emails are required.
This idea of breaking customers down by their position in the sales funnel destroys the notion that email marketing demographics should be simple. Instead of creating one email for hundreds of thousands of people, your company would better benefit by creating emails that talk to the individual needs of customers at every point of the sales funnel.
Basic Demographics are Gone
The idea that your email marketing campaign would be most effective if sent to people in the 21 to 35 years old age group has disappeared. In its place is a system that analyzes the real needs of clients and breaks them into groups based on their interests. You may have a 21 year old prospect who wants your red shoes and a 35 year old prospect who likes the blue ones. You will get much better results with your marketing if you appeal directly to the fans of red and blue shoes instead of trying to appeal to everyone with a generic message.
Tools such as re-marketing and email design templates have also helped to advance the concept of email marketing. The more information you can gather about your target audience, the better your chances are of sending an email that will appeal to that audience. If you are still paying a digital agency to send out generic emails to groups of people based on their age or geographic location, then it is time to upgrade to the new world of effective email marketing.