Want to create a long-lasting bond with customers? Do this

Essence of Email Weekly Essence of Email Weekly [Essence of Email]( [Read in Browser]( [Essence of Email Weekly July 30, 2021]( SMS MARKETING Start texting your customers [Blog Image]( Source: Giphy What do consumers want? That’s the BIG question in marketing. Getting to the bottom of their needs is what gives you an opportunity to create a strong, long-lasting bond. [Podium](, a messaging platform, surveyed over 1,000 consumers for its [2021 Local Business Messaging Trends](*, and here’s a bit of insight into the minds of SMS consumers. 74% of consumers prefer texting with businesses if they know that a real person is on the other end. Text messaging implies personal, real relationships, so the lack of this trust might be a big turn-off for your customers. General messages to the audience will not do the job. Customers want connection — and that includes a one-on-one conversation. In fact, 24% of consumers are already having a two-way conversation with local businesses via text messages. And of those who aren’t, 43% want the ability to do so. Having a real conversation means knowing each other’s names, so don’t forget to introduce yourself — half of the respondents say that they’ll be more likely to respond to a text message from a business if they know who they are talking to. And, good news for local business owners — you’re in advantage! 21% of consumers will more likely opt in to local business’s SMS marketing lists than major chain or big-box businesses and 45% more likely than online or eCommerce businesses. To recap: Consumers want a real human-to-human conversation through SMS. 64% stated that coupons, discounts and promo codes are their favorite promotional message type, with 60% saying they want to hear from you at least once a week. But don’t be too intrusive — 75% would unsubscribe from a company's promotional messages if they received too many messages. So, pretty easy — show your customers there’s a real person behind your company name, don’t bother them with too many messages, and provide them with benefits and incentives they can use when interacting with your brand. *You’ll need to fill out a short form to access the report. DATA PRIVACY Data privacy forces brands to get personal again [Blog Image]( Source: Giphy It’s been over a month since [Apple announced its privacy updates](, but the news has still kept the public talking. While Apple has taken a big step by allowing each user to have greater control over who tracks their data, how it can be shared, and where that information is used, consumer data privacy legislation is changing across the world. GDPR and CPA were launched in 2018, pushing legislators across the US to work more on data protection for consumers. Better for consumers, worse for marketers? Further data protection makes it more difficult for companies to understand what their customers want. Digital marketers are forced to find new ways to find new customers and interact with them. However, it’s not all so black. Here’s a silver lining — marketers will focus more on consumers. While they cannot rely on third-party data any longer, they’ll have to dig deeper and connect with their audience. Even though all the actions are taken in order to protect consumers’ privacy, people will still search for products and services, shop, and interact with brands. What’s changed is how and when the data is collected. Brands will still need to personalize their offerings (and consumers expect them to!), but they will need to become more innovative and explore alternative means for determining customers’ individual preferences. This is, in fact, a win-win situation: Privacy regulations put control of data back into consumers’ hands, but also give some power to the individual brands. Brands will focus their efforts on building a one-to-one relationship with individual consumers. Direct communication will be the way to go in order to match each individual’s wants and needs. Channels such as email, SMS, and even apps and websites, will become increasingly important channels to deliver on consumers’ expectations. The changes are inevitable, but they are what brands need to start taking a more human approach and become innovative in the ways they interact with their consumers. Read more about how data privacy changes digital marketing on [Adweek](. DIGITAL MARKETING Influencers are huge, but do we trust them? [Blog Image]( Source: Giphy Influencer marketing spending in the US is set to grow more than 30% this year and surpass a key milestone. According to [eMarketer’s inaugural forecast](, US influencer marketing spending is predicted to exceed $3 billion in 2021. Next year it’s predicted to surpass $4 billion. The category grew only 14.4% last year due to marketing budget cuts during the pandemic. This year, however, influencer marketing is coming back stronger than in the past two years. Many marketers paused their influencer marketing activities when the COVID-19 hit. “But as the pandemic also accelerated many new creator-driven social trends, including short video and social commerce, marketers quickly resumed and are now increasing their spending on influencer marketing, as they realize that influencers are their ticket to reach those audiences,” said Jasmine Enberg, eMarketer senior analyst at Insider Intelligence. As the world is slowly coming back to normal and travel returns to the picture, marketers again begin to rely more on influencers. “Travel restrictions and social distancing measures disproportionately affected travel influencers, and many had to pivot their strategies to collaborate with brands in new categories, like finance and consumer packaged goods,” Enberg said. “Continued improvements in branded content tools from the social platforms, combined with influencers’ increasing role in lower-funnel marketing goals, will help drive more money into the influencer marketing space over the next few years.” Influencer marketing is still a drop in the bucket when compared with social network advertising, which is expected to reach the mark of $58.66 billion this year. As the two go hand in hand, influencer marketing will grow as marketers start allocating more money on social media. However, influencers still need to earn customers’ trust. In 2019, nearly 70% of Americans said they have “no trust” in influencers while only 2% say they do trust them. Choose who you work with wisely! EMAIL DESIGN INSPO Celebrate your customers on their special day [Blog Image]( Source: ReallyGoodEmails For today’s email design inspo we didn’t want to feature a long, super complex email, but rather a simple email with a clear incentive — acknowledging your consumer. It’s their special day, after all. A birthday is the perfect opportunity to remind your customers about you and show that you care, as well as strengthening your bond. If you don’t believe us, look at the stats: People are insanely receptive to birthday emails. They have [179% higher unique click rates]( than promotional emails. Plus, they generate 342% higher revenue per email than promotional emails. So, here’s [Puma](’s email as an example. What’s so great about it is that it gets straight to the point: bold “Hip Hip Hooray” in large letters at the top, some birthday sprinkles mixed with Puma shoes and logo to get you in the mood. A clear 20% offer at the bottom gives a strong incentive to seize the opportunity. Puma leaves no room for confusion and shows us how a simple happy birthday email can have a big impact. The less is often best, and this email shows just that. Source: [ReallyGoodEmails]( [State of Email in Q2 2021]( [Facebook]( [Linkedin]( [Twitter]( You are welcome to forward this email. If you were forwarded this email, click [here]( to subscribe. [Essence of Email]( [EMAIL MARKETING SERVICES]( [BOOK A CALL]( Copyright © 2021 Essence of Email 26310 Bolton Trails Ln, Katy, TX 77494 [Unsubscribe](=)