Email Marketing for Growth: Strategies to Engage and Retain Customers Unlock a world of opportunity with the key to business growth:

Email might be considered a relic of a bygone era by younger generations, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

92% of adults online use electronic mail. And 61% of them use it every single day. That’s a staggering opportunity businesses need to take advantage of. 

Enter email marketing. 

What’s the easiest way to grow a company? It’s by engaging customers. And the simplest way to do that is via email. In fact, this simple marketing technique is an essential tool for nurturing and retaining a loyal client base. 

But the content included needs to be attention-grabbing. So, how do you create an email strategy that actually supports business growth through customer retention? Well, that’s what we’re here to find out. 

First, why email in the first place?

Why Bother Building an Excellent Email Marketing Strategy?

Our post-pandemic world looks completely different. And that includes how we interact online. 

Since 2021, there’s been a significant jump in users who find emails really useful going from 15% to 32% in 2023. This shows the value of email as an effective marketing tool has essentially doubled. Because not only are we using email more, we’re actually finding it a helpful way to digest news, culture, and offers. 

So, it gives us greater access to the most important strategy in your business tool belt for growth: your customer base. 

Email allows companies to connect with customers on a more personal level. So why not connect with new people rather than retaining the old?

• Retaining Customers is Cheaper

The bottom line in fledgling and small businesses isn’t everything, but it is more important than for the big leagues. And when it comes down to it, working on retaining customers is much cheaper than fighting to claim new ones. 

• Open and Click-Through Rates are Higher

Customers who know your business already don’t need the same amount of convincing as prospective ones do. That means there’s a higher rate of email opening and click-through with retained customers. 

• Access to Greater Personalisation

Knowing what your customers like means you can tailor emails to their personal preferences. This means you’re far more likely to get a sale, click-through, or simply engagement from them than other customer pools. 

• Building Relationships = Building Loyalty

Building a relationship with customers takes time. But this will be hugely rewarded by a customer base that sticks by you through the good times and the bad. 

Now we know why it’s worth putting the effort into a stellar email marketing strategy. 

Next, how do we maximise it for customer retention and engagement?

8 Email Marketing Strategies (That Actually Work)

Achieving growth through email marketing for customer retention means creating a strategy that works for that demographic. 

To do that, you’ll need to get specific. 

1. Find Limbo Customers

Customers not using your product or service are just customers waiting to escape the subscribers' list. Identify any user who’s not logged on in a while or hasn’t made the jump from email subscriber to purchaser and jump on them. Reaching out to these customers individually with a personalised offer can help turn a maybe into an unapologetic yes. 

1. Communicate Better

Communication isn’t everyone's strong point. And businesses are no different. Make sure to nail down the communications message before hitting send. The email should talk about product features and benefits simply with obvious answers to solving customers' pain points. 

1. Clickbait Shamelessly 

Clickbait isn’t generally looked upon well in the online community. But everyone does it! From blog post taglines to YouTube video titles, an attention-grabbing headline can make customers click on an email without a second thought. To do it well, research what makes your niche tick and keep on top of current affairs. 

1. Leverage Feedback

Customers are your best source of information. Regularly get feedback from users about what they like, what they don’t like, and what they want. This will help you nail down which strategies and avenues actually work, allowing you to maximise them and forget about the rest. 

1. Make it Worthwhile 

Retaining and engaging current customers means rewarding them. It could be anything from discounts or referral codes to free shipping or exclusive products. Whatever you can viably (and financially) offer will work well and leave you with happy, loyal customers. 

1. Get Personal 

The biggest benefit of working to retain current customers is that you know exactly what makes them tick. Use this data to your advantage to send personalised emails, offers, and marketing. These emails are more successful and make your clientele feel special in one smooth move. 

1. Link it Up 

Nothing makes the online world go round quite like social media. Make sure to stay ahead of the game by making it easy for customers to navigate from your email marketing to the social channels they love. Everything from Twitter to Pinterest can be linked to really simply.

1. Consistency, Consistency, Consistency 

It’s better for customers when they have a clear idea of what to expect from you. So, be consistent in the cadence of your email strategy. This doesn’t just mean the number of times you send out marketing, but also when and why you do. 

1. Test & Improve

Email marketing isn’t a one-and-done thing. To really make the most of every single newsletter, offer, and reminder you send out, learn from your past. By using data to analyse what works and what doesn’t, you’re ensuring that the emails you send out are the cream of the crop. 

Bringing it All Together

Up-and-coming businesses are all focused on one thing: growth. But figuring out how to do that on tight budgets with skeleton staff isn’t always the easiest. 

Email marketing is a simple and effective way for small businesses to engage with their customer base and capitalise on their loyalty. Just remember to personalise your message and make the content worth a click-through with loyalty rewards. Because growth isn’t just about chasing the new, it’s also about nurturing the old. 

Are you a small business or startup looking for new and exciting growth strategies?

Get in touch with the Ryesing team today for growth hacking with a difference.