How To Use A Combination Of Email And SMS To Build Relationships With Your Customers, Increase Retention, And Develop A Loyal Following For Your Brand.
My grandfather was so brand loyal that he ONLY stopped for gas at Mobile or Exxon gas stations.
He only drove Dodge vehicles.
When he went to Vegas he flew the same airline and stayed at the same hotel every time.
He didn’t shop around for the best deal. Didn’t look for the newest tech or updated product lines.
My grandfather was loyal to a fault.
That’s a quality of his generation.
Today, the generations that are most active in the online marketplace (Gen X, Gen Y, and Gen Z) have no brand loyalty.
They (we) are always looking for a new product, the best deal, updated tech, environmentally friendly products… etc.
So how do you build a loyal following for your brand in 2023?
Many brands build massive social media followings. Brands develop ambassador partnerships. There’s affiliate options, apps, facebook groups, etc. etc. etc.
But the BEST way to develop emotional brand loyalty…?
Using email the RIGHT way.
Two Kinds of Brand Loyalty
I have a few brands that I’m “loyal” to because they have the best deal or they are the most convenient.
You’re probably the same way. Maybe some subscriptions you’ve set up, or consumable products that you use regularly just because they are familiar, cheap, and/or effective.
But how often to you go to friends and family to tell them about the product that you are using?
For example…
I’ve been drinking Bulletproof Greens for a few months now. I really like it. Makes me feel good, it tastes ok, and it’s good for me.
Best of all, I get it in the same monthly shipment that I get my coffee. And it’s relatively inexpensive.
I’ve looked at other green drinks and powders, but I don’t feel compelled to change.
You could say that I’m loyal to Bulletproof. And I am.
But it’s a logical form of loyalty.
The Greens are convenient, they work, and they are inexpensive.
And while this form of loyalty is great for customer LTV… it’s not the ultimate form of loyalty you want to develop.
That’s an emotional brand loyalty.
The type of loyalty where customers tell all of their friends and family about your product. They post it on their social media feeds. They create UGC. They leave awesome reviews. And they become your best brand ambassadors.
Think about the brands that you use on a daily or weekly basis. Are you emotionally loyal to any of them?
Why is that?
It’s most likely NOT how good the product is…
I’d venture to guess that it’s because you really believe in the brand. What it stands for, who the owners are, what their message is, and how they are connected to you.
So how can we build that type of connection with our customers…
Starting to Build Emotional Connections From Day 1
It starts with your welcome flow.
This is your first opportunity to make an impression on your potential customer.
Are you hard selling a product? Are you pushing a discount? Are you pumping urgency and scarcity?
Or are you telling your story? Showing what makes your brand unique? Asking for replies and starting a conversation?
Don’t get me wrong. Every email is an opportunity to get your prospect to make a purchase. And Every email should give them a chance to do so.
But HOW you structure your welcome flow is of the utmost importance.
Buying from you should be a secondary objection.
Object #1 of your welcome flow should be building connections.
One great way to do this is to send an email (or two) during the welcome flow that comes “from” the founder.
Make these emails short, sweet, and in plain-text. This works best for smaller brands, but is a great option for any DTC brand when it comes to building relationships.
Getting To Know Your Customer
Businesses that focus on their product die… businesses that focus on their customer thrive.
From day one, you need to start to get to know your customer.
There are three ways to do this. (I’m sure there are more ways, but these are the three that I most commonly use.)
Number 1 – Data
Data, data, data.
If you aren’t paying attention to your data, you’re just firing blind.
Number 2 – Surveys
You can gather some information as part of your pop-up.
Data has shown that you can ask up to 5 questions before you start to see a statistically significant drop off in the conversion rate. (But I would test this for yourself).
You also can gather information by sending out simple surveys through emails.
Keep the surveys short and simple. And have some automation that’ll fire off based on their answer to one or two questions.
Number 3 – Just ask them
Getting responses to your emails and starting a conversation with customers is gold.
We should all do it more often.
Integration of Different Marketing Channels
Ok, we haven’t talked about SMS yet.
But in 2023, having SMS integrated with your email marketing strategy is what’s going to separate you from so many other businesses.
SMS should be congruent, but separate from email.
What do I mean by that?
First, stop offering the SAME discount for both email and SMS.
If you’re offering 10% off as your email sign-up, offer a free gift, or free shipping, or bump the discount to 15% off for SMS.
Make your SMS sign ups “sexier” than your email sign-ups.
Second, if someone is signed up for email and SMS, they should not get the SAME content through both mediums at the SAME time.
Either structure your welcome flow so that they only get ONE (SMS or email) or set it up so that anyone who subscribes to SMS gets a special welcome a few hours after the welcome email.
Third, use SMS to supplement your email marketing efforts. SMS is unique, and when used in the right places it’s powerful.
What are the right places? Order confirmation, shipping confirmation, abandoned carts, special offers, time-sensitive updates.
Finally, ask your subscribers which medium they prefer. Some people may only want to be contacted via SMS, some may only want email, and others will want both.
But by asking your subscribers what they want, you build a deeper connection with them.
Email and SMS aren’t the only two channels that you have to reach your audience.
You also have your social media platforms, organic website traffic, paid ads, and maybe even push notifications through an app.
All of these channels need to work together to maximize output.
Customers need to see a message 14 times (on average) before they make a purchasing decision.
That’s a LOT of emails.
But if you combine social, with paid, with organic, with SMS, with email… you can send that same message 14 times without burning out your subscriber.
This is especially powerful when you’re launching a new product. Build excitement through ALL of your channels and get your loyal followers ready to pull out their credit cards the second that product drops.
Using Email The “RIGHT” Way
The final thing that I want to address is making sure that we are using email the right way.
And yes, there is a right way to use email.
The wrong way… Churn and burn.
Email your entire list promotion after promotion, sale after sale, and buy now after buy now email.
This is a great way to earn a little extra revenue in the short run. But it’s going to kill any retention that you have.
The right way… segment and provide value
Never email your entire list.
Create basic segments (engaged, active, prospects, customers, etc.). You don’t have to get too crazy.
Send emails to each of these segments that are relevant based on their unique customer journey. Emails that your subscribers want to open, read, and click on.
Value based emails that are educational, entertaining, and inspirational. Emails that are aligned around the core pillars of your brand.
Summary
Building brand loyalty is a monumental task. And it cannot be done through one marketing channel.
It’s going to take a combined effort of all of your forces. All of the best minds in your business, and some outside of your business.
It cannot be done in a month or a quarter. You’ll be lucky if you can get it done in a year.
Developing deep emotional brand loyalty is a long game. And to do it, you’re going to need a good email strategy as a part of the overall puzzle.
Here’s a quick summary of how I would get started using email and SMS to build that emotional loyalty… This isn’t all encompassing, but it’s a start.
Starting to Build Emotional Connections From Day 1
- Welcome flow
- Email presentation
- Building connections
Getting To Know Your Customer
- Data, data, data
- Responses – have a conversation
- Surveys
Integration of Different Marketing Channels
- Email, SMS, Social, Paid Ads, Organic Traffic
- Congruence between all channels
- Build excitement
Using Email The “RIGHT” Way
- Avoid only sending promos
- Align email around the “pillars” of your brand
- Segment your list
What Should YOU Do Next?
- Follow me on LinkedIn for daily email tips and what’s working now
- Leave a like or a comment on this post to let me know what you thought.
- If you need an email list manager for your brand or business, send me an email at ben@henkenmarketing.com or fill out this form and I’ll be in touch.
- Sign up for my weekly newsletters here and get these email tips and tricks sent directly to your inbox.
Email Marketing Solutions 
Leave a comment