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eCommerce, Email Marketing

Did you know that email marketing boasts an impressive ROI of $36 for every $1 spent?

You want to start 2023 with a bang, but you’re not sure how.

It’s tough to know where to start when it comes to email marketing. There are so many different options and strategies that it can be hard to know where to begin.

But don’t worry. Keep reading this email marketing guide because these five email marketing automation will help you get started on the right foot and boost your business in the process.

What Is Email Marketing Automation?

Email marketing automation is a powerful tool that enables you to send automated emails to your customers and prospects. It takes the manual effort out of email marketing and allows you to manage your campaigns more efficiently.

By automating repetitive tasks like lead nurturing, welcome emails, follow-ups, order confirmations, and upselling messages – you can save time and focus on other areas of your business.

With email marketing automation, you can create personalized emails that are triggered by user actions or behavior within your sales funnel. This allows you to target specific users with relevant messages at the right time – increasing the chances of conversion.

You can also segment contacts based on their interests or preferences so that they receive more relevant content tailored specifically for them. Furthermore, you can access analytics and insights to help you measure the performance of your campaigns, and make adjustments accordingly.

Benefits of Email Marketing Automation for Ecommerce

Now that you understand the basics, let’s look at some of the benefits email marketing automation can offer eCommerce businesses.

1. Create Better Relationships With Customers

Automated emails can be used to nurture existing relationships and build new ones. You can reach out to inactive customers with personalized messages, thank loyal customers for their purchases, send special offers or promotions to reward them, and ask for feedback to improve your products and services.

2. Optimize Your Sales Funnel

With email automation, you can set up automated workflows or sequences that will help you identify where prospects are dropping off in the buying process – allowing you to adjust accordingly. This can help you optimize your sales funnel and get more people through it successfully.

3. Low Maintenance & Cost-Effective

Automating manual tasks is a huge time saver, as well as a money saver. You can use email automation to send personalized emails to customers without the time commitment or cost of manual labor. This allows you to focus on other areas of your business and ensure that customer relationship are taken care of.

4. Increase Sales

By targeting customers with personalized and relevant content, you can increase the chances of conversion. Automated emails can be used to upsell related products, drive repeat purchases and boost overall revenue.

5 Types of Email Marketing Automation for eCommerce

Now that you know why email automation is useful for e-commerce, let’s look at the various types of emails you can automate.

1. Welcome Emails

Welcome emails are a great way to create a warm and inviting first impression with new subscribers or customers. Not only do they provide an introduction to your brand, but they also set expectations for what’s to come!

By customizing each welcome email based on the individual, you can ensure that their experience is unique, personal, and most of all memorable.

It’s important to start establishing relationships early on that will not only keep people coming back but convince them this was a worthwhile addition to their lives!

2. Abandoned Cart Emails

Abandoned cart emails can provide an effective boost to sales, so they’re worth exploring if you run an online store. When a customer adds items to their cart but fails to finish the checkout process, these automated messages serve as a reminder that encourages them to return and complete the process.

In addition, you can drive conversions even further by providing incentives with your abandoned cart emails. For example, offering a small discount or free shipping may be just the thing customers need to go back and finish their purchase.

Adding abandoned cart emails to your arsenal of sales tools is a no-brainer, and could wind up making a big difference in your overall conversions and profits.

3. Win-Back Emails

Win-back emails are an incredibly powerful way to revive relationships with your inactive customers and make sure they don’t get away! Everyone loves the feeling of a bargain or the convenience of free shipping.

Incorporate these techniques with your win-back emails when you reach out to past customers and you’ll be sure to lure them back into your store.

Creating a good win-back email is a craft in itself, so make sure you take time to consider what kind of incentives you’re offering and how best to communicate them. With well-crafted win-back strategies, past customers can become future patrons once again.

4. Upsell & Cross-Sell Emails

Upsell and Cross-sell emails are excellent marketing tools. They allow businesses to up the value of each purchase by promoting related or complementary items which may help the customer fulfill their needs and wants.

These emails build on what customers have already purchased and help business owners overcome any objections the customer may have with extra incentives, such as discounts or even free offers.

By utilizing these strategies, businesses can increase their sales and develop a loyal customer base. Customers also benefit from getting additional products that further enhance their shopping experience.

5. Newsletter and Promotional Emails

Crafting effective newsletters and promotional emails is important for any business looking to expand its reach. Not only do they keep customers informed, but they also help build brand loyalty.

The purpose of a newsletter is to communicate the benefits of your service or product in concise language that makes your subscribers feel special and valued. On the other hand, promotional emails are used to drive sales by presenting direct offers.

A clear call to action should be included so that potential customers have an easy time claiming discounts or learning more about products they may find appealing.

No matter which type of automated message you send out, it is integral that you personalize your content so that every customer feels heard and connected to your business.

Need Help With Your Email Marketing?

As you can see, there are many fantastic email marketing campaigns that you can use in 2023 to increase your business. Master the above tactics, and you’re on your way to success.

For more information on email marketing, contact us today.

Ecommerce email marketing-agency

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eCommerce, Email Marketing, Influencer Marketing, Social Media
While you’ve been shopping online for years, you’ve never decided to sell anything on the Internet until now. Perhaps you’ve realized it’s time to invest in your own side hustle or full-fledged business. That’s why you’re interested in what it takes to sell kratom online. Kratom is used by so many Americans who’ve become grateful for this naturally occurring medicine. Kratom is consumed to relieve pain, boost your energy, or simply stay more focused. With all of these potential health benefits, it’s understandable that there’s now an online market for selling kratom. If you’re ready to start selling kratom online, you’ve come to the right article. Below is a complete guide to help you start your online business and maintain profits long-term. From inventory management to budgeting, you need to be prepared for this business endeavor. Keep reading to see how you can ensure that selling kratom online will be a successful endeavor.

The Basics of Selling Kratom Online

People seek kratom for all kinds of reasons, which means it can be a great product to market online. In many cases, kratom is used as a way to help people recovering from opioid addiction. Others use kratom as a stimulant, such as coffee, giving them an energy boost and higher focus levels. While the United States Food and Drug Administration hasn’t approved any official kratom health benefits, many consumers still believe in it. Plus, it’s not a scheduled drug, meaning selling it online and even in some stores throughout the country is completely legal. You might want to start by researching where you’d source your kratom inventory. Be wise enough to do background research on any kratom provider. You don’t want to work with a company that sells low-quality products because then your customers wouldn’t be satisfied. Once you’ve found the kratom provider you trust, it’s time to build your online store. Optimizing this website is going to be crucial for your long-term profitability in selling kratom online. Your website, after all, will also be the foundation for all other digital marketing. Here are the marketing tactics we at Forge will use for marketing Kratom and botanical herbs online: 1. Search Engine Optimization Use SEO to establish inbound organic traffic that can be retargeted by Programmatic Ads at a later date. 2. Email Marketing and Email Automation Flows Use an offer pop up to begin collecting emails from the new organic traffic going to your website. Then set up the following flows to automate your customers getting to know your kratom business: Welcome/Nurture Sequence, Abandoned Cart, Browse Abandonment, Post Purchase and Customer Winback. Once these are established, also begin to send regular emails to your new list to offer helpful tips and tricks as well as timely promotions for holidays and social media holidays. 3. Programmatic Display Advertising Forge offers a unique opportunity for kratom companies to advertise their products digitally and legally through our large display network of whitelisted publishers who will run your ads on their website. We can prospect new top of funnel customers with interest based targeting as well as retarget those who have visited your website once or more, in attempts to get them back and convert with an offer or deal. This is one of the only advertising solutions for kratom companies to advertise online today. 4. Social Media Organic Growth & Influencer Marketing Social Media can be challenging for kratom brands so you need to make sure you’re not making medical claims about your products or even suggesting they are for sale intended for human consumption of any sort. This is against FDA regulations and can get your brand in trouble, let alone your pages shut down for Community Guidelines Violations. It’s best to stick with the seasoned pros to run top of funnel organic social media content for your kratom brand. Influencers can promote your products as well but the same rules apply: no medical claims, no showing consumption of the products and as always, you must have them prominently state that their posts are #ad or #sponsored for FTC rules and regulations. Let’s talk about some more ways to set up your kratom company for success marketing online.

Make Sure Your Website is Optimized for the Best User Experience

When online users visit the website where you sell kratom, you want to turn those visits into sales. For that reason, it’s critical that you optimize that website specifically for sales conversions. That means, for one thing, you need a strong visual appeal throughout the website. Content needs to be readily accessible and arranged in a way that is easy to navigate. Everything from the color scheme to the tone of voice you use in the messages should be cohesive and unique to your brand. In addition, don’t underestimate the power of search engine optimization (SEO). SEO content makes use of keywords and phrases throughout the website. These words and phrases are what online users might look for on search engines such as Google or Yahoo! While proper SEO strategies can be in-depth, these efforts will be worthwhile for your kratom business in the long run. It’s your best chance of getting found online when people are looking to buy kratom. For more specific digital design guidance, take a look at this article outlining tips for website optimization.

Learn as Much as You Can About Running a Successful eCommerce Business

With so many competing eCommerce websites these days, it can be hard to stand out ahead of your market competition. Nonetheless, investing in your marketing and business will give you the best chance of financial success when selling kratom. After all, the eCommerce industry continues to grow and expand. Studies show that the market size will be worth over $6 trillion by the year 2024. That’s why you should spend as much time as you can learning about what it takes to optimize an eCommerce platform. For instance, have you researched what ways you can market your kratom products? Do you know what consumers are looking for when it comes to buying kratom online? In addition, don’t be afraid to work with experts on this matter. Hiring third-party marketing agencies might be just the ticket to skyrocketing your online kratom business.

You Can Use Social Media for Promotion, But Be Cautious

Another way to help your kratom online store succeed is by using social media marketing. Be careful, though. Selling kratom directly through some social media platforms can get your profile taken down. It’s essential that you research the posting guidelines of each social media platform you plan to market your kratom on. Some platforms, such as Instagram or Facebook, might be stricter than others. The wisest way to get around some of these guidelines on the stricter platforms is by not advertising that you’re selling kratom directly. Sure, you can include your eCommerce link in the profile of your Instagram, for example. When you post content about kratom, though, make it educational instead of sales-y. You can create an entire social media campaign about what a kratom supplement is and how it might be used. Again, be careful not to make any direct medical claims about its benefits without having reliable studies to cite. Overall, social media can be a great way for consumers to know that you’re all about kratom – as long as you don’t get yourself banned in the process.

Remember That Any Marketing Plan Should Be Ongoing

The last important thing to remember when it comes to selling kratom online is that the more work you put in, the more likely you are to succeed. It’s going to be up to you whether you want your kratom eCommerce store to be just a side hustle or your full-time income. Again, that’s why it can be so wise to work with third-party professionals. They can guide you on this eCommerce journey and help you sustain those profit margins.

Start Selling Kratom Online in No Time

If you think you need expert marketing guidance to make the most of your new eCommerce kratom business, look no further. We prioritize helping people establish their brand and succeed at selling their online products or services. For that reason, we hope you reach out to our team of expert marketing professionals. We can help you sell kratom online in an efficient, organized, and profitable way. Start by learning more about how an eCommerce-specific marketing agency could be just what you’re looking for.
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Email Marketing, SMS Marketing

Did you know that there are about 600,000 new businesses in the United States each year? However, many of these businesses tend to fail within the first few years. As you might expect, part of operating a successful company includes investing in effective marketing strategies.

SMS marketing is something every entrepreneur should prioritize, but not everyone knows where to start. We’ve created a useful guide that conveys all you need to know in order to succeed when developing an SMS marketing campaign.

Let’s dive into all you need to know about SMS text marketing.

Leverage A/B Testing

As you might guess, A/B testing (also called split testing) compares two versions of something to see which performs better.

You can A/B test all sorts of things in your SMS marketing campaigns, from the send time to the message itself. Once you’ve found a winning combination, you can be confident that you’re getting the most out of your SMS marketing efforts.

It’s best to start small when A/B testing your SMS campaigns. For example, you might want to test two different send times to see which gets better engagement. Once you’ve found a winner, you can move on to testing other elements, like the message itself.

Don’t Neglect Personalization

Personalization is key to any successful marketing campaign, and SMS marketing is no different.

Your subscribers are more likely to engage with a message that’s been tailored specifically for them. There are a few ways to personalize your SMS marketing messages.

First, you can segment your list so that you’re only sending relevant messages to each group. For example, if you have a list of both men and women, you might want to send different messages to each group.

You can also use merge tags to insert each subscriber’s name into the message. This helps create a more personal connection with your subscribers.

Finally, you can use dynamic content to show different content to different subscribers based on their interests.

Use a Strong Call to Action

Every SMS marketing message should have a call to action (CTA). A CTA is simply an instruction to the subscriber about what you want them to do next.

For example, your CTA might be to click a link, call a phone number, or visit your website. Your CTA should be clear and concise. It should also be relevant to the content of your message.

For example, if you’re offering a discount, your CTA should be to take advantage of that discount.

Track Your Results

It’s important to track the results of your SMS marketing campaigns so that you can see what’s working and what isn’t.

There are a few key metrics you’ll want to track. One of the most important is your open rate, which is the percentage of people who open your message.

You will also want to track your click-through rate (CTR), which is the percentage of people who click on a link in your message. Finally, track your conversion rate, which is the percentage of people who take the desired action after receiving your message.

By tracking these metrics, you can see how successful your SMS marketing campaigns are and make changes accordingly. This will be one of your most important responsibilities when developing an SMS campaign.

Focus on Deliverability

Deliverability is the term used to describe how often your SMS messages actually reach your subscribers’ phones.

This is an important metric to track because it can have a big impact on your open and click-through rates.

Primarily, you should use a dedicated short code, which is a special phone number that’s used solely for SMS marketing. This will help ensure that your messages are delivered to your subscribers’ phones. You can also use a reputable SMS provider, which will help improve your deliverability.

Be sure to follow the best practices for SMS marketing, which will help ensure that your messages are delivered to your subscribers.

Work With a Professional

If you’re serious about getting the most out of your SMS marketing, it’s a good idea to work with a professional. They can help you develop an effective strategy, choose the right keywords, and track your results.

They can also provide you with support and guidance along the way if you encounter issues.

When choosing a professional, ask about their experience with SMS marketing. You should also ask for ecommerce marketing testimonials from previous clients.

It’s also in your best interest to devote some time to researching their past reputation. This will ensure that you find someone who is ideal for your campaign.

What Are Common Mistakes People Make When Creating SMS Campaigns?

One of the most common mistakes people make is failing to personalize their messages or using a bad platform. We recommend Klaviyo SMS marketing.

Getting a generic text message that doesn’t include any form of personalization is sure to cause you to fall short of your goals. Additionally, not using proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling is also a common mistake.

This can make your message difficult to understand and will likely cause people to ignore it. Not having a clear call to action is another mistake that people often make. Without a CTA, people may not know what you want them to do next and they’ll likely just delete your message.

Be sure that you keep this information in mind in the future so that you can make the most of the opportunities and SMS campaign is able to provide.

SMS Marketing Doesn’t Have to Be Complicated

Incorporating SMS marketing might seem complex, but it’s easier than you might expect it to be. Keep the above guidelines in mind so you can avoid problems you may have otherwise dealt with.

Want to learn more about what we have to offer? Feel free to get in touch with us today and see how we can help.

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eCommerce, Email Marketing, Influencer Marketing

CBD is big business, growing by an annual rate of over 21% in the United States. With so many players popping up in the industry, it can be tough to stand out from the crowd.

With a saturated market and strict restrictions on advertising online, it’s important to sort through your options when it comes to CBD marketing. You need to be strategic to ensure you’re getting in front of the right people with the right message.

Here are five of the best ways to market your CBD brand and ensure that you’re getting noticed by consumers.

1. Work with Affiliates and Influencers

Affiliates and influencers are a great way to get your brand in front of new people. When working with affiliates, provide them with high-quality images and content that they can use to promote your products. You’ll also want to consider offering them high commissions on sales or leads generated, so they have an incentive to sell your products over your competitors.

When working with influencers, be sure to choose those who align with your brand values. You’ll want to send them product samples and give them plenty of information about your products so they can create accurate posts. Be sure to monitor their posts closely to ensure they are representing your brand well.

For both parties, you want to guide them on any regulations with regards to posting CBD content to protect both your brand and their accounts.

2. Use Organic Social Media Content

Social media is an effective marketing tool that may help you reach a large number of people in a short time period. The guidelines for advertising CBD on social media are strict, so check the platform’s rules before you start posting. As of right now, most platforms will allow you to advertise topical CBD products, but any ingestible is strictly prohibited.

Make sure to post engaging content that will capture people’s attention and use hashtags to get discovered by new users. Each post should have a strong call-to-action (CTA) so that the audience is encouraged to visit your website, join your email list or take some other worthwhile action.

3. Write Informative Blog Posts

One of the best ways to educate people about your products is to write informative blog posts. Cover topics like how to use CBD, the benefits of CBD, or interesting case studies. This will help build trust with potential customers and show that you’re an expert in your field.

Make sure to do keyword research and implement other cannabis SEO tactics to get your content ranking well in the search engines. CBD SEO involves optimizing your website and content for relevant keywords so that people can find you when they’re searching online. Use these keywords in your title tags, meta description, and throughout your content.

4. Invest in PPC Advertising

PPC, or pay-per-click, advertising, is a great way to get your brand in front of potential customers who are already interested in CBD products. You can target specific keywords and demographics with your ads to ensure that you’re reaching the right people.

As of right now, all CBD advertising is strictly restricted by Google. There are other advertising networks that will work with CBD businesses, so do your research. You should still be able to participate in display advertising and other PPC advertising once you stay within the network guidelines.

5. Email Marketing

Email marketing is a great way to keep in touch with your customers and build relationships over time. You can send out updates about new products, special offers, or helpful blog posts. You can also segment your list so that you’re only sending relevant information to those who are interested.

Make sure to get people’s permission before adding them to your list, and always give them the option to unsubscribe. Be sure to comply with all anti-spam laws in your country or region.

How to Advertise CBD Online

Knowing the regulations in your region will be critical for advertising CBD online. The laws are constantly changing, so it’s important to stay up-to-date. You should also have a clear understanding of your target market and what platforms they’re using.

When advertising your CBD brand, make sure to promote the health benefits of CBD without selling it as a cure-all. Don’t make any medical claims that can be held up to scrutiny. Instead, use customer testimonials and other user-generated content to promote your brand.

Once you know the rules, you can start creating engaging content that will help you reach a larger audience. Be sure to use strong calls-to-action and track your results so that you can continue to improve your campaign over time.

Can a CBD Marketing Agency Help?

If you don’t have the time or resources to handle your CBD marketing in-house, consider working with a CBD marketing agency. A good agency will have experience with the ever-changing regulations and be up-to-date on the latest trends. They can also help create content, manage paid advertising campaigns, and track results.

CBD Marketing Services from Forge Digital Marketing

At Forge Digital Marketing, we offer a wide range of CBD marketing services to help you reach your target audience. Our team has years of experience in the industry and knows how to compliantly promote your brand. We can help with everything from SEO to email marketing to social media management.

We know what it takes to market your CBD business in this ever-evolving climate as we already rank for a large number of CBD keywords and can help you to do the same.

Check out our services here and get in touch with us today to craft your CBD SEO strategy online.

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eCommerce, Email Marketing, Marketing, SMS Marketing

When surveyed, business owners said that email promotions accounted for 40% of their company sales.

That’s a figure that’s hard to ignore. Email marketing is an exceptionally effective way of selling to your most valued audience: those with enough interest in your products to sign up as subscribers. 

But did you know that there are lots of newer strategies that some companies now use to help boost those revenue figures? That is down to email automation, and it’s helping to transform how businesses use email to sell. 

If automation is new to you, read on. We’ll explain what it means to your company and the specific automation strategies you can use to help your e-commerce business achieve record growth. 

Email Automation: A Brief Introduction 

Savvy marketers and technical innovators have helped make significant strides in email marketing. One of those areas is automation. It’s a basic form of AI.

Automation allows your email platform to market to customers on your behalf using rules and conditions that you set up in advance. For example, you might set up a new automation rule as follows: 

When a customer clicks on this product link in an email, add that person to a list of warm leads. 

Using automation helps you create a more personalized experience for your audience. Your subscribers get more of the content they want. And less the content that doesn’t pique their interest.

And when you set up the right automation strategies, it’s one of the most effective ways to optimize your email marketing. You should see better sales and leads conversions without having to expand your email list’s size dramatically. 

Strategies to Boost Your Revenue

Let’s explore some of the most popular email automation strategies. By putting these in place, you’ll increase conversions and help boost your revenue and profits! 

Email Your Abandoned Cart Visitors 

You might have already seen this feature if you regularly buy products online. It happens when you browse products and start adding items to your basket.

Suppose you’ve got far enough through the checkout process to supply your email address but didn’t complete the purchase. In that case, you might get an email from the business that looks something like this:

“Oops, did you forget something?”.

That is known as abandoned cart automation, and it’s a great way of scooping up extra sales.

There are lots of reasons why people don’t complete a purchase. They might have got distracted by a knock on the door or their favorite program starting on TV.

This little nudge will encourage some people to return and complete their purchases. The result? More sales for your business. 

A Thank You and Surprise 

When you’ve made a purchase or signed up for a free offer, you want to make sure everything went through as it should.

That’s where a short thank you email comes in handy. It provides reassurance and helps bridge trust between the business and the customer. You did what you promised. 

This small automation also has another significant benefit.

The subscriber will recognize your brand by seeing that first thank you email in their inbox. They won’t act surprised when you send a promotional email in a week because they forgot they signed up. 

Another way to improve this automation sequence is to include a surprise gift in the thank you message. That could be a discount code or a free ebook, for example.

But it will show the value of your business emails and make your subscribers more likely to open subsequent email promotions that you send through. That’s another helpful way of improving your sales conversions. 

Win Back Cold Subscribers 

All email lists contain a percentage of subscribers you can classify as “cold subscribers.” These people might have signed up to your list but never opened an email. Or haven’t opened an email recently (within two to three months). 

A high number of cold subscribers can hurt your email marketing because you’ll see a drop in your email open rate and a more frequent amount of bounced emails. So you’ll need to tackle this.

Part of that is regularly cleaning your subscriber list and removing cold emails. 

But you can also use automation to win back some of these subscribers, those who signed up with good intentions but forgot to check in on your emails because of other life demands. 

You can set up a simple automation rule to email those who haven’t engaged for a while. Use a carefully crafted subject line to get the reader’s attention (“are you still interested in receiving our emails?”).

Some will reengage, so it will help improve your overall email performance and possibly boost your sales figures. 

Personalized Special Offers 

You can use email automation technology to discover more about your audience when sending content out via email.

For example, suppose you sell gifts.

Someone on your list frequently clicks on links related to one category of gifts, say, children’s soft toys. You can create a bespoke automation rule to send a discounted, time-limited offer on a top-selling soft toy.

Send that email advertising to all those who showed a recent interest in the topic “toys” in your emails. 

These are your high probability buyers, and personalized offers are the best way to maximize your conversions when sending sales promotions to your list.

The personalized nature will also make your subscriber feel valued and listened to and help you become a more trusted brand in their eyes. 

Email Automation: Getting Smart With Your Marketing 

Don’t despair if your email isn’t performing as you’d hoped. By setting up some intelligent email automation, you can find multiple ways to improve your open and conversion rates and directly impact your sales revenue. 

There’s a lot to do to get these rules set up and working smoothly, and that’s where we come in. We can help fast-track your marketing success by using our industry expertise and technical know-how for your business.

If you’d like to know what we can do to support your email marketing, get in touch today to have an informal chat with our team. 

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eCommerce, Email Marketing

Introduction – What is Retention Marketing?

Retention marketing is also known as customer retention. It’s a strategy that helps businesses to keep their current customers and increase the lifetime profitability (also known as lifetime value, or LTV) of each customer. Put simply, it’s the way of thinking about your business’s marketing scheme, how it works, and how it can work better for your customers.

Why is Retention Marketing Important for Your Business

Retention marketing is a relatively new concept that is gaining popularity in the business sector, specifically with the meteoric rise of ecommerce business due to the various economic shutdowns, forcing customers to shop online. It is an approach to customer retention that focuses on the customer experience, as opposed to acquisition. It aims to create a positive and memorable experience for customers so they will want to stay loyal and continue doing business with you.

The goal of retention marketing is not just to keep your current customers but also make them happy so they will want to come back again and again. With retention marketing, you are focusing your efforts on making sure that your customers have a good time each time they interact with your company, rather than just trying to get them in the door for the first time.

Retention marketing is important because it’s a lot cheaper to retain a customer than acquire them. Acquiring a new customer is typically 5x to 25x more expensive than the cost to retain one.

If you’ve established a solid foundation of customers, you should aim to split your time 70% on Acquisition and 30% on Retention. If that sounds like you, read on to learn ways to begin working on marketing retention tactics.

What are the Best Ways to Improve Customer Retention and Loyalty

Retaining customers is one of the most important aspects of a business. Customer retention strategies are a great way to increase customer loyalty and help businesses grow. In this article, we will discuss some strategies that you can use to retain your customers.

Customer Service

The first strategy is to ensure that your customer service is on point and that you are providing the best possible experience for your customers. This starts with having an efficient customer service team that knows how to solve any problem and provide fast responses in order to satisfy the needs of your customers. You can leverage site chat if you have a support team or email support at minimum. You should also have a comprehensive FAQ page with all the answers for the most common questions so that customers do not need to wait for a response from a member of staff.

If you have a live chat you can turn questions into sales or resolved complaints into a smooth resolution and preserving that experience. At FORGE, we love Hubspot’s built in chat feature but you can also leverage plugins for Facebook Messenger or Customer Specific Support like Tawk.To which even offers the ability to hire remote chat staff to support you as you grow.

Gifting

If you have the margin to do so, consider adding free gifts at checkout or within your packaging to encourage the “law of reciprocity”. When people get something from you without asking or expecting it, they will be delighted and often times want to give back. This can encourage referrals or return business.

Another simple way to delight your customers is handwritten thank you notes. You’d be surprised; a little goes a long way.

Customer Loyalty Program

Part of effective marketing retention strategies is consumer psychology. You want to help each customer achieve what they set out to when they first opted in to try your product or service. One way to help

Email Marketing

This is the #1 Retention Marketing tactic. Specifically, we’re talking about Email Marketing Automation.

Email marketing is one of the most effective marketing tools for companies. However, it can be time-consuming for marketers to manually send personalized emails to their customers. This is where email automation comes in.

It allows marketers to automate and schedule the sending of personalized emails so they don’t have to worry about sending a message at the right time. It also saves them time by automating repetitive tasks like creating a welcome email and following up with people who haven’t opened an email in a while.

Email automation is one of the best ways for marketers to save time, money, and energy when trying to create customer engagement campaigns.

If you’re an ecommerce brand looking to increase your retention and improve your conversions, you will be hardpressed to find a better all-in-one solution than Klaviyo, our preferred Email Marketing and retention platform.

Klaviyo is a comprehensive retention marketing tool that provides a number of templates for high impact email automations, or as they call them, Flows.

Here are just a few of the Flows we recommend at Forge to get you started on your retention strategy:

Welcome Series: Get your subscribers to close the first deal by teaching them about your brand and services while increasing trust and building the foundations of a long-lasting relationship.

Post-Purchase: Will increase customers retention and lifetime value turning them into loyal buyers.

Re-engagement: Save money and stop sending emails to people who don’t want it. Using the re-engagement tactic will improve your email deliverability and make sure that you keep your list clean.

Abandoned Cart: 73% of shopping carts are abandoned. Recover them at the right time, while they are still considering your product.

Browse Abandonment: They can help remind your subscribers of their early interest and potentially bring them back to your online store, softening the sting of your initial disappointment that they didn’t buy on their first visit.

SMS Marketing

Text marketing is a type of marketing that uses text messages to promote and sell products or services. It is also called SMS marketing, short message service (SMS), mobile marketing, or by the abbreviation “texting.” Text messages are delivered to a cell phone via an SMS message.

Klaviyo doubles as a SMS marketing tool allowing you to reach your customers where they are constantly looking: their phones. You can also send MMS messages, or text promotions with images included. Check out Klaviyo for SMS here.

Loyalty Programs & Referrals

If you’ve been able to retain a loyal customer for a long time, this will feed acquisition naturally through referrals. Make sure to encourage referrals from your loyal customers by rewarding them for referrals.

Measure your Retention Strategy

Your Repeat Customer Rate is the number 1 thing to monitor to see if your retention strategies are being effective. Shopify will calculate this for you in your dashboard, but if you’re using Woocommerce or another CMS, use this quick equation to establish your Customer Retention Rate:

# of Customers Who Purchased More than 1x

————————————————————————————————————

# of Unique Customers

 

Next, you’ll want to manage your AOV, or average order value. Calculate it thusly:

 

Yearly Revenue

————————————————————————————————————

# of Orders Your Store Processed

 

Lastly, calculate your Customer Value:

Purchase Frequency x Average Order Value = Customer Value

 

If you’re in need of assistance setting up a high converting retention marketing strategy, please feel free to reach out. Forge Digital Marketing is your go-to partner to establish your ecommerce retention strategies and grow bigger than you ever thought possible!

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Email Marketing

If you haven’t considered using SMS marketing in your digital strategy — think again. 9 out of 10 customers prefer to communicate with businesses via text.

But how exactly does an SMS marketing strategy work? And what should you look for in an SMS marketing service?

Below we include a guide explaining SMS marketing services and the 6 considerations for choosing the best SMS marketing services.

Basics of SMS Marketing

SMS marketing has been around for a while, but many businesses haven’t tried it for themselves. Here’s a quick refresher on what SMS marketing is and the benefits you can receive from an SMS campaign.

What is SMS Marketing?

SMS marketing involves using text messages to promote your business’s products and services. It’s a digital strategy also known as mass texting. It works like emails do but is much more effective – research shows that Americans check their phones 96 times a day.

What Do SMS Marketing Services Do?

your SMS campaigns through the use of a team and relevant software.

The team will be responsible for writing and researching all of the messages behind your campaign. They’ll then use their top-notch technology to schedule texts to be sent to people on your contact list.

What Are the Benefits of SMS Marketing Services?

SMS marketing has numerous benefits and has come a long way since its inception. With SMS marketing, you can boost sales, engage your audience, earn consumer loyalty, collect and nurture leads, and create buzz around a product or competition. 

SMS marketing services will amplify all of the positive effects of an SMS marketing campaign because you’ll have a team of experts dedicated to crafting and delivering the perfect message.

What to Look for in SMS Marketing Services

Not all SMS marketing systems are created equal. Here are a few things you should consider when looking for your SMS service.

1. Combined Platforms

Aside from SMS marketing, email marketing is one of the best revenue-generating channels – especially for e-commerce businesses. It only makes sense that you try to build your SMS and email strategy together. This is why we recommend Klaviyo to our marketing clients 9 times out of 10.

When selecting your SMS provider, look for one that can manage both SMS and your email at the same time. That way, the services can merge customer data into one profile and provide a more comprehensive understanding of how the customer interacts with your brand.

You’ll also have an advantage when contacting your customers because you can make smarter communication decisions. For instance, if the customer doesn’t open an email, you can send them a text with the same information since you know they haven’t seen it yet.

2. Flexible Contract

Having contract flexibility with digital marketing services is key to any positive relationship. Your business needs will grow and change over time, and so will your marketing strategies.

Look for providers that charge you based on the size of your subscriber list, not based on the size of your business as a whole. You may only want to send targeted messages to a small number of people.

Also, consider the length of your contract. It should be flexible enough so that you can change it every month or even every quarter. You should not have to sign a multi-year deal that leaves no room for change.

3. Seamless Functionality

Selling directly to your customers via SMS is of course meant to increase sales. But it’s also meant to be a tool that gives you data for more personalized experiences in the future.

You want services that will use your SMS to create a seamless customer journey. Messages are only the first part – next, the user should visit your website and have a positive experience there

This means that the SMS team should be sending text messages based on your customers’ actions – not based on a random timeline. They’ll only send messages when it will optimize the sales funnel.

4. Communication Expertise

Text messages may be short – but that makes them even more difficult to get right. In just a few lines, you have to attract the customer’s attention and encourage them to engage with your call to action.

Your SMS marketing services should be expert communicators, able to reach people of all different backgrounds and positions in the sales funnel.

And they also should know how to personalize messages based on what the target audience will respond to best. It could be anything from opening with a customer’s name to only texting them about sales in their size.

5. Clear Tracking Tools

SMS has some of the best returns for any digital marketing method. But of course, this is if you have the right data available.

Your SMS marketing service should be using software and tools to accurately track customer actions and interactions.

For instance, say a customer receives both an email from you and a text message within the same 48 hours. They then place an order.

With the right software that manages email and SMS together, only the message the customer saw the most recently would get credit for the sale. Otherwise, both channels would get credit and you wouldn’t have a true understanding of what was working.

6. High Compliance & Deliverability Standards

SMS compliance may not be complicated, but it’s required. Your SMS marketing services need to be completing all tasks above board. Messaging subscribers who haven’t given explicit consent or failing to provide an opt-out option are grounds for trouble.

Make sure that the provider you select has run numerous SMS marketing campaigns before and knows the ins and outs of the law.

Deliverability is another important element of your SMS campaign. How often are messages going through? Your SMS provider should have a deliverability rate of 90% at the very least.

Transform Your Digital Marketing Strategy

Your business can’t thrive without a strong digital presence. SMS marketing services and other strategies are the keys to standing out.

And you don’t have to do it alone. The Forged team is here to guide you through your digital strategy, whether you need text message marketing tips or a new website.

Contact us to get started!

ecommerce marketing service

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eCommerce, Email Marketing, Marketing
One of the top challenges marketers face today is innovating their marketing strategies. Other top challenges include engaging customers in real-time and creating a cohesive customer journey. Following the latest digital marketing trends could help you overcome these challenges. Here are eight important trends to consider using in 2022. Following these trends can help you get ahead of the competition. Meanwhile, you can remain relevant, attract more customers, and set your business up to grow. Don’t fall behind the times! Instead, give your digital marketing strategy the boost it needs. Discover the latest trends with this guide today.

1. Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is empowering many different digital marketing trends this year. Companies can use AI to streamline operations or automate simple tasks. Automation can save your team valuable time and energy. Instead of wasting time on simple, repetitive tasks, you can automate those tasks to boost their productivity. An increase in productivity can improve your output. Your bottom line could improve as a result. Consider using AI to personalize your email marketing strategy. You can automate emails based on specific user behaviors. For example, you can use AI for digital marketing eCommerce. If someone abandons their cart, you can automatically send them an email. The email will show consumers the specific product they forgot. You can also use automation to send customers product recommendations. AI could enhance your content creation strategy, too. Automation components of your pay-per-click (PPC) advertising strategy could save you valuable time and money as well.

2. Influencer Marketing

Consumers want to choose brands they can trust. As a result, many consumers turn to recommendations from their peers. As you explore the latest marketing trends, consider using influencer marketing this year. You can find an influencer your ideal customers already know and trust. An influencer can promote your product, service, or brand. Their recommendation could help you generate more leads and sales. Influencers already have a strong following of loyal consumers who trust their recommendations. You can leverage their existing reach and brand trust. Consumers might feel more inclined to trust your brand as a result. Consider using influencer marketing as part of your social media marketing strategy this year.

3. Chatbots

Some of these digital marketing trends go hand-in-hand. For example, the growth of artificial intelligence created new improvements for chatbot marketing. Chatbots and virtual assistants allow businesses to automate their customer service. Automation can ensure consumers receive the help they need, when they need it. They no longer have to remain on hold for help from a support agent. You can use chatbots on your website, social media accounts, or other platforms to handle customer inquiries. Consider automating a chatbot to answer frequently asked questions. If the consumer has a more complex issue, the chatbot can direct them to an agent. Simplifying the customer’s online experience can improve their experience. You can offer them the ease and convenience they’re looking for online. Otherwise, consumers might get frustrated if they’re left to remain on hold for too long. If they struggle to find answers to their questions, they might take their business elsewhere. You can also use AI to personalize the customer’s online experience. Instead of treating consumers like a number, personalization allows you to treat them like a person. Consumers will remember their positive interactions with your business. They might tell friends and family members, allowing you to benefit from word-of-mouth marketing.

4. Personalization

About 74% of people get annoyed when website content doesn’t appeal to their interests. Consumers might leave your brand for another if you don’t personalize communications. As you start using these trends, try to personalize your overall marketing strategy. Create content and messages for distinct buyer personas. Show consumers you understand their unique wants, needs, and pain points. You might have an easier time connecting with customers on an emotional level. Personalizing could improve your marketing strategy by generating eight times the ROI. It could lift sales by 10% as well.

5. Shoppable Posts

If you want to enhance your social media marketing strategy this year, consider creating shoppable posts. Consumers want an easy, convenient, fast online experience. Shoppable posts can improve your digital marketing eCommerce strategy. Consumers can make a purchase straight from social media platforms like Instagram. They won’t have to visit your website, find the product, and waste valuable time. Instead, shoppable posts streamline the experience. You could generate more sales as a result.

6. Hybrid Events

The pandemic forced businesses to close and follow social distancing requirements. In response, more marketers hosted virtual events to reach customers online. Today, virtual events are still an effective way to engage customers in real-time. Now that businesses are opening back up, you can still use virtual events to engage and attract customers. Instead of remaining completely virtual, however, more businesses are creating hybrid events. Hybrid events will allow you to engage customers online and in person. You can still reach consumers who prefer to interact from the comfort of their own homes. Meanwhile, you can also cater to audiences who prefer in-person interactions. You can use technology like AR and VR to create an immersive experience for customers, too.

7. High-Quality Content

One of the benefits of digital marketing is its ability to demonstrate your experience and expertise. Demonstrating your expertise could help brand trust grow. Consumers might feel more confident in shopping from your brand as a result. To demonstrate your expertise, consider updating your content marketing strategy. Create blog posts that provide consumers with helpful advice and tips. They’ll start to rely on you for help in the future.

8. Cookie Alternatives

Consumers want greater privacy protection and more control over their data. As a result, Google announced a plan to phase out support for third-party cookies. You might need to gather and exploit first-party data in the future as a result. You can use tools like FLoC and Google’s Privacy Sandbox to accomplish your personalization goals instead.

Set for Success: 8 Essential Digital Marketing Trends for 2022

Following the latest digital marketing trends can help you stand out from the competition online. You can improve your marketing strategy and start reaching more customers. As you expand your reach, you can generate more leads and sales. Set your business up for success by following these trends today! Need help leveling up your marketing strategy? We can lend a hand. Contact us today to get started. ecommerce marketing service
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Email Marketing
If there’s one constant in today’s digital world, it’s the power of email. This service may have been around since the 1970s, but it’s more vital now than ever before—especially with an estimated 293.6 billion emails sent each day! Given the massive number of messages we exchange on a regular basis, it’s hard to overstate the benefits of email marketing for your brand. With the power to send content right to your audience’s inbox in seconds, email marketing is an essential tool for any online business. If you’re skeptical about the advantages of this classic marketing tactic, we’re here to change your mind. Let’s take a look at the key benefits of email marketing—none of which you’ll want to pass up.

It’s Affordable

Let’s start off with one of the most obvious email marketing benefits: if you’re looking for a cost-effective campaign, you won’t find anything better than email marketing. There are no fees to send a basic email (unless you have a large list hosted on a private platform), nor will you pay if someone clicks on it. There are no printing or mailing charges as with traditional marketing. In fact, your starting campaigns can come at no cost at all. Down the line, you may want to invest in expert content creation or automation services, but these minimal fees won’t cut into your budget much.

It Offers a High ROI

Because email marketing comes at such a low cost, the ROI can be astronomical. Experts once found that email hascbd email marketing cbd gummies a jaw-dropping average ROI of $38 for every $1 spent. Even better, it’s possible to outstrip this average with the right strategies! The highest ROI platform we’ve worked with is Klaviyo. Specifically grown as an ecommerce email marketing powerhouse, Klaviyo boasts an average 46% revenue increase for brands in first two months of switching to their platform. The average ROI of email marketing though the Klaviyo platform (when managed by a Klaviyo Partner like Forge) is 4:1 return. Sound intriguing? It should! Imagine grossing $64,000 from a single email campaign. Stats like these are possible with the right ecommerce email marketing team.

It’s Easy to Create Personalized Content

If you’re hoping to personalize your marketing strategy, email is the way to go. Because this tactic allows you to segment customers based on demographics and preferences, you can create personalized content that speaks to customers right where they are. Regardless of their stage in the marketing funnel, this approach helps you show value and build trust instead of sending messages that won’t resonate with readers. What’s more, you can fine-tune your personalization with minor tweaks, like including the person’s name, changing up your subject lines, or adapting your images based on location.

It Builds Brand Awareness

Communicating with your audience through email on a regular basis is a great way to build brand awareness. Over time, your messaging will help your audience understand your brand and its vision. Of course, this only works if you put a lot of thought into each message, considering your tone and curating everything according to the recipients!

It’s a Great Forum for Your Brand

Because customers must opt-in to receive messages from you, email marketing can be a great platform for promoting your products and company. Knowing that the recipients have sought out your messaging, you can self-promote with more confidence. This makes it a great tactic to partner with SEO strategies, as it can help you send more traffic to the right pages on your site. Whether you’re sending info about updates, new products, sales and discounts, or fresh content, it’s safe to say that your subscribers are interested and engaged!

ecommerce email marketing agency | klaviyo marketing agency | klaviyo partner agencies

It Provides Value to Your Audience

Beyond self-promotion, email marketing is a solid opportunity to provide value to your audience. Sharing industry news, explaining your brand’s take on recent events, offering tutorials and helpful hints, and sharing advice and success stories can educate and inform your audience on an ongoing basis. This, in turn, can help build your brand’s authority online. With your subscribers looking to you as a source for helpful information, you can cast yourself as an expert and advisor they can turn to when they need support or knowledge.

It’s a Direct Line of Communication

Unlike other online marketing tactics, email marketing offers a direct line of communication to your audience. In contrast, it’s harder to assume that your audience will see your ads, social media posts, or other online strategies. The key benefit of email marketing is that you can be sure that most of your messages are hitting the inboxes of everyone on your list every time. On the flip side of the coin, email marketing is also a great line of communication from your customers back to you. Whether you’re hoping to collect feedback via replies or send out surveys, this can be a great way to see how your customers perceive your performance.

It Can Be Automated

Want an easy, hands-off marketing tactic? It’s true that email marketing will require a great deal of thought and attention on the front end, but once you’ve planned out your approach, it’s an easy strategy to automate. Thanks to the plethora of email marketing services available online, you can automate email blasts based on a user’s behaviors, interests, demographics, and more. This, in turn, makes email marketing a fantastic way to optimize your team’s time and budget.

It Reaches Leads at the Perfect Moment

Because email marketing is so easy to automate, you can count on your messages reaching readers at the right time. When you create a targeted campaign, you’re creating messages that reflect exactly where the reader is on their journey. Want to prompt a user to make a purchase after they’ve left items in their cart for too long? Hoping to share a tutorial with someone searching for a solution you provide? No matter where your users are, they’ll appreciate the right thoughtful message at the right time.

Take Advantage of These Email Marketing Benefits

No matter your brand, you’ll want to take advantage of these key email marketing benefits. Offering an amazing return on investment at a low cost, as well as the ability to reach your audience with targeted messages at the right time, it’s hard to pass up on these solid advantages! Ready to level up your marketing? Our team is here to help. At Forge Digital Marketing, we partner with brands of all sizes to create powerful email marketing campaigns designed to nurture leads and create clickable content. Check out what we can do for your brand, and get started today! Ecommerce email marketing-agency
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Email Marketing, Influencer Marketing, SEO, Website Design & Development

Did you know that the global cannabis market is prepared to hit $166 billion by the year 2025?

The industry is fast growing and public opinion on cannabis products is shifting towards acceptance. Dispensary advertising is difficult, but by no means impossible. 

Since cannabis finds itself in a unique situation when it comes to marketing, we have to get creative. Finding the right channels to advertise your dispensary through is a challenge that needs facing.

With the right marketing strategies, you can reach a wide audience inside your geo-targeted area and beyond. 

Keep reading to find out several dispensary advertising techniques that you can start using right now! 

1. Social Media

Social media is tricky when trying to advertise your dispensary. Most social media websites will not permit you to advertise anything cannabis-related, even legal CBD. 

Yet, it is still advised that you create a social media presence for your brand. When speaking about digital marketing, social media is one of the best ways to connect with your audience. 

You may not be able to advertise your products, but there are many ways to get around social media’s advertising restrictions. 

On Instagram, many dispensaries post user-generated content, quality photos of their products, team member profiles, and details about upcoming events. 

LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook have other similar opportunities. You can build a community without advertising. 

2. Digital Ads

Almost no digital advertising platforms allow advertisements related to cannabis. Because of this, dispensary advertising often has to be done by reaching out to publications and websites directly. 

Publications within the cannabis industry are your best bet for securing a deal and reaching your intended audience. Most companies will allow negotiations concerning advertising rates on a CPC or CPM basis. 

Sometimes, advertising with cannabis-friendly platforms or individual publishers is a more successful alternative to large networks.

3. Cannabis SEO

Digital presence is the best way to get recognition for your brand.

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all have restricted the promotion of products related to cannabis. You have to be sure your brand is at the top of google for a search like “cannabis near me”. 

What you can do is create a website for your business. Then, drive people to your website. Create web pages with helpful content that answers questions you know your customers have.

Finding relevant SEO keywords for your website and its content can be difficult. They are marked as prohibited content by Google and other search engines. 

These search engines choose not to display data on keywords like cannabis. Likely, because the product is federally illegal. 

You can improve your search and online presence by investing in your website. Make it mobile-friendly, include your menu, and add your store’s hours. 

Additionally, you can get your business listed in directories. There are both local directories like Yelp or cannabis-related directories like Weedmaps. 

Don’t forget to ask for customer reviews. Customer reviews are often the difference between choosing you or someone else a mile down the road. A good review can go a long way to bring in more customers.

4. Brand Ambassadors 

Many dispensaries rely on brand ambassadors and word of mouth to promote their brand. This has been a very successful approach to bridging the gap that is limited advertising options. 

Cannabis retailers benefit from reaching out to their most influential customers. They have social media accounts with followers that match their customer profile. 

By identifying influencers who match your brand you can reach a larger audience. An audience that is already interested in the product you are selling.

You can collaborate with brand ambassadors or social media influencers to increase your sales. It also helps you build a trusted brand that brings in long-term profits. 

Consider encouraging new customers brought in by brand ambassadors to stay. This can be done with influencer-specific discount codes and/or a loyalty program. 

5. Billboards

Billboards are a popular way to advertise dispensaries. In most legal states, billboards are the best way to direct customers in your area to your store with little effort. 

Live in or visit a legal state that allows billboards for cannabis-related products. You’ll see dispensary billboards all over. That’s because they work! 

Still, billboard advertising for marijuana is illegal in many states or it is highly restricted. Before designing or buying a billboard for your dispensary, be sure you know the regulations in your state

Why Marketing Cannabis Is Difficult 

Marketing cannabis is difficult for the reason that it is not legal federally.

Many platforms do not allow marijuana-related advertisements on their pages. And, some states have strict advertisement restrictions for cannabis products. 

It’s especially tricky because most dispensaries are only looking for customers locally. Unlike chains, many companies that sell cannabis only need to appeal to locals within their state.

State regulations on advertising are different from one state to the next. In Maryland, a state with legalized medical usage, cannabis ads of any kind are not allowed. Yet in Washington, you may advertise on billboards. 

Knowing your state’s regulations on advertising for cannabis is highly recommended. Fines can be expensive for those who go too far.

This relatively new industry finds itself in a unique situation when it comes to marketing. That’s why we have to get creative. Finding the right channels to advertise your dispensary through is a challenge that needs facing.

Dispensary Advertising for You 

There’s no doubt that cannabis marketing is difficult. With a little bit of creativity and finesse, though, your dispensary can stand out in a state that is competitive with cannabis products.

Reaching target audience with dispensary advertising. Use hyper-local tactics and hire a great digital marketing and advertising agency. 

Contact us at Forge Digital Marketing today. Start discussing how we can help you advertise your dispensary successfully. 

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