5 Reasons to Incorporate Ecards in your Marketing Mix

Having a great product or service is vital to any new business. The strategies you employ to market them play an integral role in the success or failure of your venture. So, the more time and effort you devote to your marketing strategy; the more likely you are to have positive results reflected in sales and customer retention.

Why is email marketing so important?

In our last blog we discussed the importance of an individual focused approach to marketing, offering customers a personalised experience. With 91% of users checking their email accounts every day, email marketing is still one of the top marketing strategies. In an article published by Kissmetrics they explain that:

“Email has nearly three times the amount of user accounts as Facebook and Twitter, combined.”

The total is roughly 2.9 billion users, making email a clear winner for potential reach compared with its social media counterparts. Now we’re not saying social media channels aren’t important, they are, but the potential in email marketing is vast. Unlike other options, email marketing can provide multiple benefits, from raising brand awareness to building trust and loyalty.

Ecards as a Marketing Tool

We live in a visual world, images and video engage your audience and convey your marketing message quickly and easily, so sending marketing emails containing entertaining ecards is the perfect way to connect with your customers. Business Ecards are immediate, inexpensive, personalised and engaging. Here are 5 reasons you should be incorporating ecards into your marketing mix.

#1 Track the Impact of Campaigns

If you choose to send traditional paper cards for your annual Christmas greeting, once the card has been opened the conversation stops dead; no call to action, no links back to your website, no open rate metrics or easy responses for your recipients. If you choose to send a company Christmas e card as your holiday greeting, you’re opening yourself up to opportunities for building foundations with clients and consumers to respond immediately.

Not analysing user data from your campaigns is a common mistake in online marketing. Without knowing the behaviour of your users, which subject lines work and which don’t, achieving success can be tricky. Our ecard delivery monitoring tools allow you to track open rates, bounce rates, the number of unsubscribers and other user behaviours. Why not try A/B split testing to determine which campaigns are working and more importantly, which aren’t.

#2 Build Stronger Relationships

While cultivating strong customer relations is important, doing so with partners and staff is equally as important. With a wide range of categories from promotional e cards to birthday e cards and invitations for corporate events, there are many ways to connect.

Customers are looking for something genuine; email marketing should not only be focused on your product or service, it’s about the experience, a user journey. Going the extra mile to keep in touch with customers can have a positive response and huge impact on their loyalty to your business. The same goes for employees and clients; a happy workplace is a productive workplace. Something as simple as sending Birthday ecards to employees, or even a motivational quote, can help to build better working relationships and inspire creative thinking.

#3 Eco friendly Reputation

Due to increased awareness of global warming and our personal carbon footprint, many consumers have a preference to opt for companies with environmentally friendly ethics. Many companies and organisations are choosing to send corporate Christmas ecards. They can send hundreds, if not thousands of Ecards to customers and associates at any given time, without increasing their carbon footprint. An article from Forbes explains,

“With postal mail rates increasing and the cost of printing and postage rising— not to mention the state of the environment and our limited natural resources—the whole concept of a greeting card printed on paper and sent in the mail no longer works for business.”

It’s apparent that there’s more to be gained from corporate ecards than just savvy cost saving. With roughly 6.5 billion greeting cards being sold annually in US alone, discouraging deforestation and encouraging waste prevention is key. When you send one of our corporate ecards, you can create and segment multiple mailing lists, enabling Ecards to be sent to smaller targeted groups. Next time you’re considering a marketing campaign, Corporate Ecards aren’t just a smart financial investment, they’re an environmental friendly one too.

#4 Visual Advertising

The old adage ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ rings remarkably true when it comes to visual advertising. With the vast number of emails sent every day, you have a limited window to make an impact on the recipients. Sending a static or animated ecard communicates your message quickly while leaving a lasting impact:

“Just one month after the introduction of Facebook timeline for brands, visual content – photos and videos – saw a 65% increase in engagement.”

Knowing your clients and customers means understanding their behaviour. When you offer them visual marketing, you’re not only making an instant impact, you’re exuding authenticity, humanising your brand and increasing the all-important trust and loyalty factor.

#5 Clearly Branded Marketing Emails

While you’re reaching out to customers and clients, select or create the design that will compliment and present your brand in a non-invasive way by adding your company logo, social media buttons and a link to your website. Even if the aim of your email is not to direct recipients to your other marketing channels, you’re still giving people the full picture of your brand. The best online marketing efforts are focused on creating and distributing content with the ‘shareability’ factor. With shareable content potentially becoming wide spread, or even going viral, distributing great, branded content is the holy grail for digital marketeers. Our corporate ecards options include static, animated and even interactive games, the shareable possibilities are endless.

Ultimately, when you choose to include corporate ecards into your marketing ‘tool box’, you’re making a smart choice to connect with your customers effectively. It’s more important than ever to stand out from the crowd and ensure that your email marketing efforts are being received and viewed rather than ignored. Ecards provide an individual, content rich experience for your customers so if you’re looking to turbo drive your marketing strategy, look no further.