Most eCommerce websites focus on adjusting prices for more sales, tweaking their websites’ layout for better conversions or getting more visitors. If done effectively, these can increase an e-commerce website’s income. However, email marketing is the little-talked about tool e-commerce websites can employ to sky-rocket their earnings.
One way an eCommerce website can increase its earnings is by sending a buyer related offers immediately after the purchase when the buyer is still in the “buying” mindset.
For example, a person who has just bought a laptop can be sent an email with offers for laptop carrying bags, protective cases or larger batteries. While not all the people will buy, some of them will, simply because they haven’t considered them at the time of the purchase.
Email marketing is also a way to increase ROI on advertising investments. If an e-commerce website pays for 1,000 visitors to their website and just 20% buy, it means 80% of them will leave. Nobody knows if and when they’ll return, but by asking for their email address, they can make sure they have at least a way of contacting the ones who left without buying. They can later email them and try to bring them back to their website by sending them offers related to the products they’ve viewed on the website. Even if they manage to bring back and sell to just 10% of the people who left, that still means they got a better ROI on the advertising investment.
Another way to use email marketing is to send timely offers. When an e-commerce website wants to get rid of products that haven’t been sold, they can just email an offer with a discount to their prospect list. Timely offers can also be sent for special occasions such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Black Friday, etc. because many people are looking for gifts during those periods. Since there are so many websites competing for their money during those times, email marketing is a very affordable way to reach prospects that other websites have to pay for.
Surveys are yet another way to put email marketing to work. An e-commerce website can find out invaluable insights from their clients with just one well-crafted email that costs very little to be made and sent. Answers to questions like what products they’re most interested in, what to improve to the site’s functionality, customer care feedback, etc. can help an e-commerce website get an edge over competition and increase their profits.
Educating prospects is another use of email marketing. By sending newsletters with valuable information to prospects, an e-commerce website can educate their prospects to make the right buying decisions. This can mean fewer returns from unsatisfied buyers with unfounded high expectations. It can also mean increased sales from people who understand the importance of certain accessories. For example, a person who bought a photo camera can be educated to realize the difference between types of lenses and how they take pictures differently. He or she might then be interested in buying lenses for their camera to take different types of pictures he or she might have not thought of otherwise.
All in all, email marketing can be an invaluable tool for any eCommerce website. It can increase ROI on advertising, sell related products right after a new purchase, educate buyers, receive feedback, send timely offers and more. The great thing about email marketing is that it requires very little investment because many email service providers have very affordable or even free plans.
