What’s that tweet worth? A lot less than an email, according to a McKinsey & Co. survey concluding that email is a far more effective way to acquire customers than social media, nearly 40 times that of Facebook and Twitter combined.
Despite the enormous popularity of social media and the Wall Street evaluation of Facebook and Twitter, email still pays off better. That’s because 91 percent of all U.S. consumers still use email daily, and the rate at which emails prompt purchases is not only estimated to be at least three times that of social media, but the average order value is also 17 percent higher, the survey says.
Researchers cautioned, however, that companies must get smarter about ensuring that every email message counts and outlined steps to harness the full power of the inbox. These are two of our favorites:
Focus on the journey, not the click. You’re right to obsess over writing supercharged email subject lines and selecting the perfect image to represent the content, but don’t stop there. You have to drive readers to landing pages that will make them take action. And for good reason, as the authors of the McKinsey report that customized landing pages can increase conversion rates by more than 25 percent.
Get personal. It’s true that email usage has declined, although the volume of messages continues to rise, with 838 billion sent in the United States in 2013, according to Forrester. You have to find a way to cut through the clutter, and personalization is the surest step. Just ask Williams-Sonoma. The home-goods retailer reported a tenfold improvement in response rates by adopting personalized e-mail offerings based on individuals’ on-site and catalog shopping behavior, the McKinsey survey documents.
Personalization can be tricky, however, so stay ahead of the name game by using various automation tools, such as the data filters and triggers now offered by many email service providers. For suggestions on different types of email trigger messages, check out, “Get Personal with Trigger-Based Email Campaigns.”
