For Many Brands CRM Emails Are On Autopilot ➟ Bland, Boring, Monotonous
Insight ⇒ Brands Struggle as Publishers as Content Marketing Grows
According to 2014 research from the Content Marketing Institute, issues center around producing engaging content and enough of it, plus a lack of time and budget resources.
Insight ⇒ Content is Hard for Brands Because Effective Content Must Entertain and Educate
No consumer wants to be sold … they want to be entertained and educated. Conversely, marketers are trained to sell from the minute they enter the field … the exact opposite skill set needed for effective content marketing. The same missteps are apparent in many email CRM efforts
- Content that tries to sell … bland, boring product information (brochureware as it is aptly named)
- Sending everything to everyone … no customization or segmentation matching of the content to audience interests/activities
- Lack of any kind of offer or the same offer over and over … an offer can be more than monetary, it can offer relevant information
- Reuse of the same email template for years, plus poorly designed, boring templates (looks like IT designed it)
- And most importantly, no interactivity … not engaging the user to participate in an interesting activity with the brand
Do This ⇒ Put Yourself in Your Customers Place … Simple Steps to Improve Engagement
- Research indicates people want coupons and offers in communications from brands. If you have them, use them … but vary your content constantly or they will tune out coupon-always sends
- Be creative and integrate interactive engagement opportunities into your content
- Polls, Gamefication, Q&A, Reviews, Contests, Sweepstakes, Commenting, Uploading activities, etc. … make it interactive
- New news … consumers love to be the first in-the-know on new products or enhancements
- Video and visuals raise awareness and retention up 50-90% … a picture is worth a thousand words
- Break the boredom … use different templates designed to catch the eye and create interest
- Real, objective information that educates them and helps them navigate their path-to-purchase … even if sometimes it is not in your best interest
- Get outside help … the majority of brands are not publishers
Not That ⇒ Try To Do it All Inside
- Brands have a skewed view of their own reality (we all do) they believe consumers desire to have a relationship based on their products’ attributes
- Sell … I have to repeat it because 75% of all content marketing tries to sell something
- Email it in … corporations put CRM email programs on autopilot with little resources … so they can check off the box that it is getting done
Zig is a Social/Mobile consultancy that drives brand engagement by creating interactive user experiences. We programmatically reach in-market buyers, at the lowest cost, and move them to conversion. You can see our work by clicking on the link ⇒ http://www.zigmarketing.com.
