Few digital marketing techniques are as powerful as personalized email when it comes to engaging consumers at a one-on-one level. Online shoppers love when they receive messages from their favorite brands tailored to their purchase history and product preferences. According to a recent Harris Interactive survey sponsored by Listrak, most customers are willing to provide businesses with more personal information if it means that their buying experience will be improved by personalized email.

Email marketers allow buyers to guide themselves
Instead of promoting products to customers who may not be interested, marketing strategists will benefit from taking into account the browsing histories and shopping preferences of online consumers when crafting email campaigns. The Harris Interactive survey, which addressed over 2,000 American men and women 18 and older who shop online more than twice a month, found compelling results that should convince businesses to put a more personal spin on using their email marketing lists.

Creating plenty of opportunities for online and in-store visitors to sign up for newsletter subscriptions is the first key to expanding an email distribution list. Marketers should provide opt-ins on most company Web pages to ensure that shoppers can decide to give their email information whenever the feeling strikes. Harris Interactive’s findings showed that by simply being in an email database, customers are more likely to make future purchases online.

This is especially true for brands that incorporate personalized shopping information into their email marketing campaigns. In fact, the survey revealed that 77 percent of promotional email recipients said they were more likely to buy when their messages gave specific suggestions based on past purchases. Online shoppers who know that signing up for an email list that will be based on personalized shopping information will also be more likely to give their addresses in the first place. 82 percent of survey respondents said they would even be willing to receive additional emails if they provided specialized content to help them make selections.

Consumers like to be reminded about sales
Companies get better responses when they send emails to customers that allow them to save money on products in which they had previously expressed interest. The Harris Interactive survey revealed that 90 percent of online shoppers said they find it helpful to receive email alerts that let them know their favorite items are or will soon be on sale. This creates a stronger relationship with a customer base because it builds trust and makes shoppers feel like they are receiving exclusive treatment from a brand.

“Online retailers should find the results of this study thrilling,” Listrak CEO Ross Kramer commented. “It not only definitively shows the effectiveness of email in driving conversions, but also that online shoppers find personalized recommendations helpful enough to make them more likely to purchase more – so much so that they are willing to share preferences with retailers and receive more emails from them if the merchandise featured is customized to their shopping behaviors and past purchases and helps them in their shopping journey.”

Marketing strategists reevaluate their fundamentals
It is clear that great email marketing campaigns feature personalized content to drive sales, but many companies are limited by the appearance of their email messages when they arrive in recipient inboxes. According to Business 2 Community, certain email marketing practices are becoming outdated as customers grow skeptical of scams and cyberattacks. This means that marketers should focus less on details such as including customer names in emails, timing the delivery of their messages with traditional business hours and making subject lines too long. Companies will find that creating quality personalized recommendations will pay off more than any of these gimmicks.