Monday, March 7, 2016

AMiable Solution #177: Looking for the Perfect Gift?

You want to build long-lasting relationships with your clients, right?  Have you ever sent them a birthday card?

Incorporating a birthday email program into your marketing is an easy, relatively inexpensive, and potentially very profitable way to show your clients you care about them.  Birthday emails have higher unique click rates than regular promotional emails (179% higher, according to a February 2014 study by Experian Marketing Services), and they help you build a rapport with clients that can open opportunities for business later.

To maximize your impact, keep the following tips in mind:

1.      Personalize your subject line.  According to Experian Marketing Services, emails with subject lines that include first-name personalization have 17% higher unique open rates than emails with subject lines that don’t include personalization.
2.      Personalize your message.  Your clients trusted you enough to give you their birth date.  Don’t disappoint them.  Make sure your message includes something special: a free product or service relevant to their prior purchases, or a special discount or price you don’t generally offer.  The email should feel like a gift, not an advertisement.
3.      Send a reminder email. Whether you send out your birthday email one month early or on the client’s big day, sending a reminder increases open rates by 20%, according to Experian.  Only 12% of brands, however, send them.


If you don’t have customer birth dates as part of your database, consider running a promotional campaign to collect them.  Let customers know you want to help them celebrate their birthdays with a special treat.  Or, make it part of your email sign-up page or online order form.  Be sure to explain why you want the information to encourage participation and diffuse hesitation.  

No comments:

Post a Comment