Email Marketing Automation Is Rewarding Ecommerce Retailers Who Understand Their Customers
Written by Rob Lane.
1. Overview
In recent years, marketing automation has emerged as a key differentiator between successful businesses in the new economy and those who are getting left behind in old, manual ways. Companies who properly deploy the latest technology to anticipate and satisfy individual customer needs are reaping huge rewards in the digital revolution; however, it is difficult to nail the right technical and strategic marketing mix, so many companies are holding back… for now.
2. Marketing Automation In Ecommerce
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the growing world of ecommerce retail, with an increasing number of digital-wise customers who know they’re in the driver’s seat:
“Marketing automation can be an extremely powerful tool, particularly for B2C ecommerce marketers that have to create a highly personalized experience for hundreds of thousands of customers a month. However, used improperly, marketing automation can have the opposite of the intended effect and create a user experience that’s simply evil.”
Talk to anyone who’s into buying things online, and they’re sure to have some uplifting stories of interactions with companies that impress them by offering up things they really want, on the devices they most prefer, and at times when it really matters to them:
“DiningIn.com – who will send awesome food to your home instead of you having to go to restaurants – saw a 4,200% increase in sales from their email marketing simply by starting to send people emails about food at the time of day when it will be most influential.”
This same group of people will also likely have at least an equal number of tales from the dark side, chalk full of companies who see no harm in wasting their time with irrelevant, blanket offerings, cluttering up their inbox again and again. We all get those emails with enticing hooks in the subject line like, “last day,” or “right to the point.”
3. Digital Marketing Shifts To Consumer-Centricity
Change is on the horizon. This September, at Marketing Automation Summit 2014 in Brussels, the notion that, “Marketing is shifting from product to consumer centricity, from mass to 1to1 marketing, from segmentation to smart and big data management,” was explored under the premise that:
“The new marketer realizes that every consumer should get a highly personalized experience, consistent with his journey, from discovery to purchase and re-purchase. This implies a shift in marketing culture and technology”
Such seismic shifts in marketing process can be daunting for even the most forward thinking companies. A 2013 study, by research group Ascend2, “found that 18% of respondents used marketing automation extensively, while 43% made limited use of it, and 39% didn’t use it at all.” Customer Experience Matrix
4. Benefits & Growth Of Marketing Automation
On the upside, there is growing evidence that those who embrace the technology and get it right are going to make real gains in the marketplace. In a recent study, by the Aberdeen Group cited in Marketing Automation Times, Marketing Automation 101: Ensuring Early Success with the Basics; Maturing Your Deployment for long-term ROI, it was discovered that: “Among users of marketing automation software, the Best-in-Class see an average of $360,000 per year in additional revenue,” including:
- 107% better lead conversion rate
- 40% greater average deal size
The prospects for revenue growth derived from marketing software are even more tantalizing for business owners of all types:
“A newly published International Data Corporation (IDC) study forecasts that revenues for marketing software solutions are expected to grow from approximately $20.2 billion in 2014 to more than $32.3 billion in 2018, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.4%.”
This is the kind of growth that business owners can really sink their teeth into, especially when it’s amplified by the escalation of ecommerce in the retail economy as a whole. Forrester Research says: “Within five years, the U.S. is forecast to be at 11 per cent; Canada at 10 per cent [of retail sales made online],” (CBC) an increase of 2% and 4% respectively.
5. Personalization And Authenticity Are Key
We all enjoy the convenient, knowledge-driven nature of the technical world in which we live, including a host of elements that are automated and yet still speak to our individual consumer needs; provided, that it all adds up to a positive and authentic experience. Joseph Pine, author of The Experience Economy and Mass Customization, says:
“Experiences are becoming the predominant economic offering… authenticity is the new customer sensibility.”
Retailers of all stripes and sizes will be richly rewarded in today’s market if they can learn to automate their core digital marketing functions, such as email, in ways that effectively speak to the individual desires of all their customers, keeping in mind:
“Personalization of content at scale, and smart engagement with prospects based on the way they interact with content, sits at the core of [effective] marketing automation.”
Rare.io makes it easy to start using automated email campaigns for common challenges like: Welcome Series, Abandoned Carts, Order Follow-up emails and more! You can learn more about our powerful email marketing automation features here or go ahead and get started right away by using Rare.io for FREE.
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And if you’re one of the thousands of merchants who are already using Rare’s Smart Email Marketing software and want to see how our Customer Success Team can work with your brand to grow your revenue – feel free to book a call at your convenience here.
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