Email Still Fuels Emotional Ties
In a digital age brimming with communication channels, email remains a cornerstone for building brand devotion. In fact, 87 percent of brands consider email marketing a critical component of their success. But what makes an email foster genuine loyalty rather than just fill an inbox? Personalization and connection.
Email, when crafted thoughtfully, can transcend its functional purpose and become a powerful tool for building brand devotion. Let’s explore some best practices for forging customer relationships that extend beyond the screen.
Personalize With More Than Name and Transactions
Fostering emotional loyalty by tailoring messaging to specific characteristics, preferences and behaviors is crucial for building lasting relationships with customers. And today, meaningful personalization goes deeper than addressing customers by name and referencing past transactions.
Beauty brand Sephora and clothing retailer Gap excel at creating personalized interactions for their customers. Sephora levels up its personalized product recommendations with tailored tips and advice on how to get the most out of purchases. Gap uses customers’ browsing history to alert loyalty members with push notifications when previously viewed items go on sale.
By crafting communications, offers and experiences that address the interests and needs of individual customers, retailers can show their appreciation and offer a sense of exclusivity. Both help nurture a deeper emotional connection, loyalty and advocacy.
Create a Sense of Belonging
Supporting a sense of customer community or creating a brand fan base is a powerful strategy for developing emotional brand connections. A community atmosphere encourages customers to engage with a brand by cultivating camaraderie with other brand enthusiasts. Additionally, connecting directly with a customer community reveals valuable feedback and ideas that can help brands improve their products and services.
Pet retail powerhouse PetSmart nurtures a sense of collaboration and shared decision-making to build deeper emotional connections with customers. PetSmart shows members their opinions matter by establishing a two-way communication channel and collecting feedback by inviting program members to vote in monthly polls and sharing the results in the next month’s e-statement.
This two-way engagement fosters a sense of belonging while reinforcing PetSmart's commitment to listening and evolving alongside its customers and transforming passive email recipients into active participants in the brand’s journey.
Share Your Brand Values
Email offers ongoing opportunities to deliver your brand story, mission and values directly into your customers’ inboxes wherever they are. Brands that clearly communicate what they stand for — and why — create a sense of shared purpose and connection with customers who hold similar values.
In its Year in Preview campaign, Yeti flips the year-in-review script by focusing on the future rather than on past accomplishments. Known for its rugged outdoor gear, Yeti leverages this annual opportunity to inspire customers to plan their next wilderness adventures. Rather than showcasing achievements that have already been met, the brand invites members to generate a custom adventure calendar, complete with a customized hype video to encourage goal setting for the year ahead.
Seamlessly integrating commerce with inspiration, the Year in Preview campaign begins with a personalized email featuring product recommendations tailored to each user’s needs. Yeti directs members to a microsite, where they can curate a list of recommended outdoor events based on their interests. The two-pronged messaging promotes adventure while reinforcing Yeti’s brand mission to support outdoor exploration.
By launching its Year in Preview campaign at the start of the calendar year, Yeti strategically inserts itself into the lives of customers during a time when many are focused on setting personal goals and embracing new adventures. Rather than simply selling products, Yeti taps into the emotional and aspirational mindset of its audience, positioning itself as a trusted companion on their outdoor journeys.
As you plan and refine your brand’s email marketing strategy, remember that personalization and connection a vital part of turning your subscribers into loyal advocates. Brands that master this art can use emails to nurture relationships, build trust, and foster deeper brand devotion.
Madison Fisher is a manager, strategic services, The Lacek Group, a company perfecting the art and algorithms of brand devotion. The Lacek Group is an Ogilvy One company.
Madison Fisher is a manager, strategic services, with The Lacek Group. For more than 30 years, The Lacek Group has been innovating the art and algorithms of brand devotion. We help world-class brands identify their highest-potential customers, engage them across channels throughout their lifecycles, personalize each relationship for optimal long-term results, and measure the true effectiveness of those efforts. The Lacek Group is an Ogilvy One company.
