The Psychology of Retention Email Marketing

Although many people consider email marketing as spam, the practice hasn’t lost any traction yet. It seems to keep growing. Why is that? If people dislike mailing lists so much, then why do they keep signing up for them?

The answer is quite simple. It all boils down to psychology. Anything involving people comes down to psychology, and understanding this is like having the ultimate marketing cheat sheet.

Companies tend to invest so much time and money into creating all kinds of funnels, offers, and other strategies. Their focus is on generating leads and acquiring new customers, instead of nurturing the ones that they have.

Statistically, the cost of acquiring new customers is an estimated five times higher than retaining the existing ones. If current customers are more likely to buy a product than a new one, then why are companies not embracing the psychological approach?

This article will look at the role that human psychology plays in marketing overall. We’ll also explore the main factors of human behavior and how you could implement them when planning your email content.

The Link Between Psychology and Marketing

Engaging your customers to develop a natural relationship and always staying on top of the current trends are two of the essential factors in the link between marketing and psychology. It’s all about knowing your target audience.

• What do they like?
• What are they looking for?
• What would draw their attention to your email?
• Which problem do they wish to resolve?
• If they’re on the fence, what would help them settle on your product or service?

Implementing the above practices in your email marketing strategy could play a significant role in boosting your outcome.

The Science

Taking human psychology into consideration when creating your email marketing content is not as complicated as it sounds. It’s all about knowing the main human characteristics and using them to your advantage. Here are four of these characteristics and how to address them in your content:

Personalization

Despite what people say, it is human nature to crave a personal connection with others. Even if it is only a single connection. Don’t be afraid to put a personal touch into your content. You don’t have to reveal too much personal information here. Try talking about your own experiences related to your product or service. What lead you to your business?

By using this tactic, you’ll make your content and your business more relatable and even have your customers looking forward to your next email. For an extra special touch, include your customer’s name and use birthdays and anniversaries as triggers to create an extraordinary personal experience.

The Exclusive Offer

Who can resist an exclusive offer or limited time deal? People have a severe case of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Creating the illusion of scarcity or exclusivity around a product or service is an excellent way to have your customers tripping over themselves to get in on the deal. If you run something special regularly, they’re also less likely to unsubscribe from your mailing list for fear of missing out.

Appreciation

Generally, people have an extreme desire to feel appreciated. Even when it’s only for something small. Taking the extra step to say thank you to your customers for their loyalty and support will go a long way to having them come back for more.

Consider implementing a customer loyalty “cash back” reward (results in regular purchases) or “thank you” coupon offering a discount on their next purchase.

Giveaways

And that brings us to the free stuff. Whether it’s something they need or not, people love free things. A few ideas to do this include:

• Competitions: This will help boost publicity without having to spend extra on marketing.
• Demos/Trials: Whatever your offer, consider offering a free trial or demo. By setting it just long enough to get your customers hooked, you’re likely to have them begging for more and willing to pay to have it.
• External freebies: It doesn’t always have to be your product or service offered if you don’t want to. If you find something relevant to your business, provide a link for that. Just make sure that you are given distribution permission by the creator of the item given away.

Bonus Tips

1. Have a creative, catchy, and attention-grabbing subject. Make sure that it’s relevant to your content.
2. Clarity is key. Having a catchy subject or relevant content means nothing if the information is not clear to read. Ensure that both your subject and content are clear and easy to understand.
3. Keep it relevant. Always make sure that your content is relevant to your business. Sending irrelevant emails is one of the fastest ways to see your subscriber list shrink.
4. Try to use your emails to showcase the benefits of your product or service, without it sounding like a sales pitch.
5. Never spam. This action is considered a cardinal sin in email marketing. If your customer agrees to sign up for one email a week, then only send one email a week. Treat your customer’s inbox as their home — never overstay your welcome.

Study Your Target Audience

Not many people realize how much impact psychology has on marketing as a general practice. Why wouldn’t it? If you study the possible psychological profile of your target market, wouldn’t it be much easier to get your message across? The points given are generic, so proper research should be done to maximize this email marketing hack.