Communicating with the customer is critical, especially in retail. With so many brands and retailers to choose from, the importance of developing a mutually beneficial relationship with shoppers cannot be understated.
One way retailers can develop strong relationships is by creating personalized newsletters. In fact, according to a survey from Ascend2, “65% of US marketing professionals reported that more personalization was the best approach for improving the effectiveness of email programs.”
Overall, email newsletters are an effective way to communicate with shoppers both before and after a purchase. When filled with personalized recommendations and relevant discount codes, the success of newsletters increases drastically. If a newsletter contains product suggestions based on purchase history, Dyspatch found that 59.4% of US consumers are more likely to act after perusing the newsletter.
So how can you incorporate personalized newsletters into your retail marketing strategy? Let’s dive in.
How does newsletter personalization work?
GK Artificial Intelligence for Retail (GK AIR) automatically analyzes customer behavior based on past purchases and historical data. Then, GK AIR predicts the most relevant content for each shopper, including products, product groups, messaging, and pricing.
When the shopper opens the email newsletter, personalized messaging and recommendations will populate based on relevant data from all customer interactions (both online or on the retailer’s app). By waiting to populate until the shopper clicks the email, GK AIR can incorporate the most recent interactions, even if the customer shopped just a few minutes before receiving the email.
GK customers have seen notable increases in the rate of newsletter engagement and decreases in unsubscribing rates after initiating GK AIR’s personalization tools.
Which newsletter personalization tactics lead to success?
There are a few ways marketers can incorporate newsletter personalization, including:
- Banners – This strategy dedicates a large portion of the top of the newsletter to relevant recommendations. Whether you’re promoting new products your shopper may like or items from their favorite brand, banner personalization attracts a lot of attention.
- Category recommendations – With this strategy, retailers can highlight the customer’s favorite product categories, categories that complement their favorite category or high-demand categories. These recommendations come with a high probability of engagement.
- Product offers – Customers respond well to ultra-personalized product recommendations. With product offers, retailers can bundle relevant items or suggest alternatives to sold out items to improve basket size.
- Coupons – With GK AIR, retailers can send personalized coupons. In this scenario, each shopper would receive a fixed discount for an item that they’re interested in to build intrigue and secure a sale.
- Editorial content – Retailers can use their newsletters to tell a story. If a shopper is interested in traveling abroad, retailers can highlight an article on the most important products to take on an adventure.
How else can your newsletters stand out?
Newsletter campaigns can vary throughout the year. For example, some newsletters can highlight new products and be shared with a wide audience. Others can be specifically targeted to a customer on their birthday or loyalty anniversary (the day the shopper joined the retailer’s loyalty program). The more creative and personal the outreach, the more likely the newsletter is to result in a conversion.
Furthermore, newsletters don’t have to only be a part of the beginning of the customer’s journey. Retailers can also personalize payment confirmation or shipping emails with recommendations for the next order.
By communicating with the customer throughout their journey, retailers will create a memorable relationship with the shopper and earn their loyalty.
Do you want to learn more?
Are you sold on personalized newsletters but not sure where to start? With GK AIR retailers can offer their shoppers a personal, relevant and positive shopping experience at every point of their journey. By taking advantage of our intelligent, real-time solutions, you can meet your customers where they are, every time.
Send us a message and a GK team member will connect with you and explain how GK AIR can help you implement personalized newsletters today.
