Email Marketing Campaigns were first introduced in the 70’s, but did not become a large marketing initiative until the early 90’s, with Hotmail paving the way for a technological surge that made email a large factor for various marketing campaigns (Davis, 2017; Chittenden, 2003). Although email marketing has always been a credible campaign initiative, it’s impact has recently been questioned as the likes of social media and other marketing techniques has grown. However, when it comes to certain markets, such as fashion and beauty, email marketing is a strong initiative to take to increase customer loyalty and retention.
In relation to the fashion and beauty markets, email campaigns are often utilised to advertise products and push further sales with existing customers. Ratcliff mentions on ‘eConsultancy’ (2014) that fashion companies utilise email campaigns for various reasons:
- Advertise New Season Items
- Advertise Special Offers
- Send Reminder Emails for Abandoned Shopping Carts
- Birthday Emails
- Sign-Ups
Strengths
The largest strength of email marketing is that it is catered toward people that are interested with the company rather than a mass audience, which gives potential of a larger respond rate, although it may reach less people than the likes of social media marketing would. Because email campaigns are also permission-based, it adds to the likelihood that consumers receiving them will purchase more frequently from the company sending them (NIBusinessInfo, 2018); email marketing is more likely to create higher conversion than the likes of social media, increasing sales and retention. Additionally, it is cost-effective and time-saving as they can be sent to a large audience all at once (NIBusinessInfo, 2018; Bonfrer, 2009). They are also easily trackable in comparison to other marketing campaigns as you can see who is actively utilising the email campaigns to travel directly to the chosen landing page (McCormick, 2017). Fashion companies, like Pretty Little Thing ensure that their emails are desirable to their target market and are therefore an asset to the marketing techniques of the business.
Weaknesses
Although email marketing has been considered a staple in digital marketing techniques (Davis, 2017; Bonfrer, 2009), there are many disadvantages that have to be considered before creating an email campaign, the main point being it can be considered ‘Spam’ if the balance between content and frequency is not evaluated carefully. NIBusinessInfo (2018) also suggest that, if there is a poor design and operation behind the emails, the effectiveness will be damaged. When a customer receives a marketing email, if it is not created with content that would be desirable to them specifically, it will not land and be given any attention. Similarly, if the operation of dispatching emails is flawed, you may end up with undelivered emails (NIBusinessInfo, 2018), trigger phishing block walls with the use of language which could potentially lead to websites being closed if too many people report the emails as spam (McCormick, 2017).
Useful Tips and Guides
There are various factors that need to be considered to ensure they are working efficiently to drive traffic to your desired page. Firstly, consider the audience you are attracting. Before you send any emails, ensure that what you are sending is attractive to your target market in terms of aesthetic look and content. Similarly, ensure that your operations is well-thought, planning how often emails should be sent and for what purpose, as you do not want to be considered spam and stop customers from purchasing anything due to the large influx of emails they receive. I have created an anagram that can help evaluate email campaigns – FACTS;
Frequency – How often will the emails be sent out?
Audience – Who is receiving these emails and who are you trying to target?
Content – What are you using the emails for and what are the emails about?
Tracking – How much recognition has past email campaigns received?
Spam – Is there possibility that the email could be considered spam regarding frequency, content and language used?
Following these simple steps can help evaluate how well your email marketing campaign is going to be received and what changes can be made to make it better in terms of an increase of recognition from receivers.
The video below explains how email campaigns can be utilised in 2018 as a form of support for other marketing campaigns.
References
Bonfrer, A, 2009. Real-Time Evaluation of E-mail Campaign Performance.. Marketing Science. Vol. 28, Pages 251-263.
Chittenden, L, 2003. An evaluation of e-mail marketing and factors affecting response.. Journal of Targeting, Measurement & Analysis for Marketing. Vol. 11, Page 203.
Davis, P. (2017). 7 Surprising Facts About the History of Email Marketing. [online] Towerdata.com. Available at: https://www.towerdata.com/blog/history-of-email-marketing [Accessed 20 Feb. 2019].
Gabauer, S. (2017). 10 Types Of Digital Marketing You Should Know – And Consider For Your Marketing Strategy. [online] The Social Ms. Available at: https://blog.thesocialms.com/types-of-digital-marketing-consider-strategy/ [Accessed 20 Feb. 2019].
McCormick, M. (2017). Advantages & Disadvantages of Email Marketing. [online] Smallbusiness.chron.com. Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-email-marketing-3475.html [Accessed 22 Feb. 2019].
nibusinessinfo.co.uk. (2018). Advantages and disadvantages of email marketing. [online] Available at: https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/advantages-and-disadvantages-email-marketing [Accessed 22 Feb. 2019].
Patel, N. (2018). The Surprising Truth About Email Marketing in 2018. Available above. [Accessed 20 Feb.2019] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlUeqiRw15g [Accessed 19 Feb. 2019].
Ratcliff, C. (2014). How fashion ecommerce brands use email marketing – Econsultancy. [online] Econsultancy. Available at: https://econsultancy.com/how-fashion-ecommerce-brands-use-email-marketing/ [Accessed 20 Feb. 2019].
