Email Wins Again

88% of marketers believe that email marketing does or will produce a return on investment (ROI) for their organization, according to a recent MarketingProfs article. According to the same article, nearly two-thirds of marketers surveyed also say that email is at the core of their business. 

With the steady attention to emerging social media platforms and every other conceivable technological method of digitally reaching the most people, email hasn’t always had a good reputation. In fact, it’s often slammed as “outdated” or even “dead” in both the private and public sector communication worlds. So what do these 88% of marketers know to give them such confidence in the benefits of email?

The answer is pretty simple, email marketing works.

Through the data, the significant impact (and low cost) of sending email to compel stakeholders to act is pretty clear. This article from McKinsey & Company states the reason email is still such a huge portion of digital communications from the viewpoint of the stats:

“E-mail remains a significantly more effective way to acquire customers than social media—nearly 40 times that of Facebook and Twitter combined…That’s because 91 percent of all US consumers still use e-mail daily, and the rate at which e-mails 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.”

Email clearly has the ability to encourage stakeholder engagement and action. So how do you tailor your emails to influence the behavior that will benefit your organization’s mission and see the kind of results these studies are seeing? Here are a few tips to think about when developing your email strategy in the public sector.

Email is only the first step

According to McKinsey & Company, “e-mail is merely the first click (literally) in a consumer’s decision journey. The e-mail is part of a series of interactions with a brand, and marketers should be just as obsessed with where an e-mail sends the user.”

As a public sector communicator, you should make email an integral working part of your digital communications engine. Instead of just sending out one-off emails announcing upcoming events, interesting articles, or other programs, make sure to think about the next step in your stakeholder’s “digital journey.” Ensure that the landing pages or resources you’re sending them to are what was described in the email—don’t trick or surprise the stakeholders into clicking to a page they weren’t interested in. You can also move them along their digital communications journey quicker by providing links to similar information, sign-ups to receive alerts from your organization, and so on. Finally, make sure stakeholders are able to access the landing page or resource from any device they’re using by optimizing your website with responsive design. If your stakeholders can’t access the content, they’re unlikely to return to the site again, according to McKinsey & Company.

Learn along the Way

The beauty of sending email is the massive amount of data you can glean from your stakeholders through it. You can learn what type of design will encourage them to participate in your organization mission, when they’re more likely to respond to your messages, what information they’re most interested in, and the list goes on. Don’t ignore the analytics from your email messages, constantly review them so you can continue to improve upon your campaigns to see better engagement and results.

Tailor to your Audience

You’re likely not the only organization sending an email to your stakeholders. So, tailoring your message to ensure it’s relevant to your audience is a no-brainer. Take advantage of the information you’ve gleaned from your email analytics to personalize your messages according to your stakeholders’ actions and preferences. Giving them the type of message they want in the way they want it is a surefire way to ensure your message is read in a crowded inbox.

Is email a top priority at your organization? What’s your strategy to ensure you get the most out of the emails you send to your stakeholders? Comment below!