It’s no secret that a primary goal of any marketing campaign is to change or influence consumer behavior. You want consumer’s choices to directly or indirectly enhance your sales results, and there are several ways to ensure this. Knowing your audience is key, but even more important is your ability to provide them with something of quality—not only a quality product, but quality content that educates, inspires and/or builds loyalty and trust. Read on for some ideas on using email marketing to change consumer behavior for the better.
Education is Gold
There’s little time to read the daily news let alone emails that you know are for the purposes of marketing, but if an email does double-duty as both marketing vehicle and educator, it has just created real value for your audience. How-to emails for home improvements, crafts, simple and inexpensive activities for kids, computer shortcuts and a host of other “life hacks” are extremely popular and engaging among consumers (Pinterest-obsessed or not!). Find a creative and fun way to show people how to simplify their lives, and a profound connection is made. This type of content embodies your brand voice, and there is always a way to turn your product or service into a helpful how-to. Consider these examples:
- A law firm provides a 5-point checklist for divorce readiness.
- A local bar or restaurant offers a quick slideshow demonstrating the perfect gin martini.
- A landscape company sends an email with the subject line “Short on Time? 3 Steps to a Greener Lawn.”
- A clinic sends out “Five Signs of Health to Celebrate Now.”
Some of these may seem counter-intuitive in that you’re providing consumers with the information they need to not use your business. However, quite the opposite is true. Provide value before a transaction has even begun, and your consumer behavior is more likely to go in your favor. Name and brand recognition takes place in the moment the reader’s sense of knowingness has been elevated, so teach ‘em something they didn’t know, and create a connection from the start.
Inspired by Greatness
It’s a word that’s thrown around a lot, but we believe that to inspire is to endear. And it’s not just about bringing people to tears, it’s about connecting them to something they can participate in that makes them feel better about their life, makes them feel worthy and reminds them that they’re part of something bigger than themselves. The best way to do this is through genuine and daring storytelling. Consider these examples using the same types of businesses as above.
- A law firm provides an article about a successful divorce and interviews the couple about how the firm walked them through the process and kept communication open and fair throughout.
- A local bar or restaurant picks a few of its regulars and interviews them about their background and what they love about the place.
- A landscaping company embeds a video about a little boy with autism who feels safe and comforted in his yard due to the firm’s custom design around his needs.
- A clinic sends out a letter from a heart attack survivor with no family history or risk factors, telling her story and how it changed her life.
How will your customers know the ways your business has improved lives unless you tell them? Inspiring stories are everywhere—they just need to be recognized and carved out, whether by a professional writer or the best writer you have in house. Be genuine by letting the true story be told. Use the voice of your customer as much as possible, but choose key aspects for brevity in order to keep your audience’s attention. If they’re opted in to your emails in the first place, chances are you can strike a chord simply by sharing a bit of human experience. This connects your potential customers to your current ones, building an instant community that inspires the behavior you seek.
Just Trust Me On This One
Content that builds loyalty and trust is probably some of the most powerful available. Your business is always vulnerable to the negative experiences customers might have, but on the other hand, it always stands to benefit from a glowing review (or ten). Try to communicate with your customers from the beginning that should they have constructive feedback, you’d like to hear it directly via email. And if they have positive feedback, they could receive a “insert incentive here” for posting it on the top three consumer review sites. In fact, consider the radical concept of incentivizing your unhappy customers with gift cards or an attractive deal if they simply email their candid feedback directly to you. There’s a delicate way to do this (using good writing) that sends the message that you’re as interested, if not more so, in hearing from your dissatisfied customers. Prove to them that you’re committed to making it right, no matter what. Consider this verbiage using the same examples as above:
- Early on in the attorney/client relationship, the firm sends a personalized email welcoming new clients and encouraging them to reach out to a dedicated client service manager should they have any feedback throughout their experience.
- A local bar or restaurant leaves a quirkily written and uniquely designed comment card that’s personalized for the customer’s order and experience. (“How was your salmon? (We knew you’d order the salmon).”) Consider inviting constructive feedback by asking, “How can we serve you better next time?” Leave plenty of room for the guest to comment candidly and include a perforated tear-off coupon for 10% off their next check if they complete the card and share their email address. Now that’s some serious personalization and participation—not to mention list-building.
- A landscape company sends a 2-minute online survey that leads with opportunities to provide constructive feedback using carefully chosen verbiage that’s warm, friendly and engaging (“Hey, if you’re happy, we’re happy, but what we really wanna know is … what can we do better next time?”). Then offer a 20% discount for the next service if the survey is completed.
- A clinic sends an email asking the client if he/she would like a relationship manager to personally call and follow up on any concerns or feedback.
Give unhappy consumers the opportunity to sound off about your performance (in a controlled venue you make available to them, as opposed to the wild, wild internet) and respond quickly, with professionalism, active listening and a sincere desire to improve. You might then be blown away by how they become trusting and loyal customers (and even promoters) almost faster than your happy ones. There will always be those who are less than thrilled with your service, but it’s how your business manages and leverages these opportunities that makes all the difference.
There is virtually no limit to the ways you can educate, inspire and build trust and loyalty – often with minimal investment and always with quality content. Say things to your audience via email that you would love to say to them in person, while providing them value based on what you know about them, and you’ll build your brand personality and drive results, time after time.
Not sure where to start using email marketing to change and influence consumer behaviors? Contact Filament today to make a design an easy plan that will work for you.
