Business success can manifest in different ways. It can be in the form of happy employees that have no immediate plans of leaving. Perhaps the company has a product mix that gets more and more dynamic, to the delight of consistently curious customers. Meanwhile, for some of the luckiest, business success shows in their capacity to pivot globally.
Going global has its perks. The most obvious of which is the opportunity to tap a fresh market. If the execution hits just the right spot, expect your profit margins to increase. However, such will not happen without aggressive and on-point campaigning. In this regard, you can maximize the potential of email marketing.
Email marketing is a cost-efficient and reliable means of raising awareness about your brand among a global audience. According to HubSpot, “99% of consumers check their email every day, and it is by far the preferred way to receive updates from brands.”
You could get behind the following strategies to harness everything email marketing has to offer.
1. Understand Your Global Audience
What works for the US market might not be as effective for audiences in the global south and vice versa. That is the first bit of insight you need to internalize when going global. Different factors will affect the efficiency of the messages you send, including culture, religion, and language, to name a few.
For example, while a large percentage of your global audience might be conversant in the English language, you nonetheless have to be careful with crafting messages using idiomatic expressions. The meaning of those might get lost, as you’re dealing with audiences using a second language instead of a mother tongue.
Another example would be the use of certain types of imagery. While they might prove effective for the Western market, they can be, at worse, offensive to audiences of a certain background.
Here, cultural sensitivity is key. That’s manageable via thorough research of the market you hope to tap.
2. Create Compelling Content
Two indicators point to whether your email campaigns succeed or not. Those are open and click-through rates. The open rate refers to how many of your recipients check the email you send. The click-through rate accounts for how many recipients engage with the message by clicking a link in it. To increase open and click-through rates, you require compelling content.
Open rate hinges on the potency of your email’s subject line. Ideally, it’s intriguing enough to pique your recipient’s curiosity. If you succeed with a powerful subject line, the next order of business is getting them engaged with a message that speaks to their wants and needs. Marketing terminology calls it a customer’s pain point.
Here, understanding your audience becomes even more integral. After all, you won’t be able to craft compelling content if you have no idea what would resonate with your message recipients. Then, make your call to action a clincher.
3. Optimize for Local Preferences and Regulations
Countries differ in terms of email marketing restrictions. Do not try to get away with marketing infractions, no matter how seemingly inconsequential.
Remember that you’re trying to get in the good graces of a foreign market, and overstepping the bounds of the law specific to the country in question communicates disrespect. That can quickly turn off your target audience. Ideally, have your legal team peruse email marketing rules in the country where you hope to do business.
For example, the UK and the European Union established the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018 to safeguard customers from unwanted campaigns from brands. As part of GDPR compliance, email marketing should include an opt-out. Meanwhile, Brazil has one of the laxest relationships with email marketing, without strict rules for consumer protection.
4. Personalize Email Marketing Campaigns
Customers want to build personal relationships with brands. They do not want to feel like a mere means to an end or just a number but as people. Then again, consumers do not want businesses that are only after selling. What customers want is a lasting and mutually beneficial engagement. Cater to those preferences by crafting personalized content.
On the most basic level, you can personalize your global email marketing campaigns by knowing your recipients’ time zone. You can use automation to prevent your emails from hitting recipients’ mailboxes at ungodly hours. In the same manner, you should refrain from sending emails during hours when your contacts are least likely to click open.
Another aspect of personalization is profiling. Segmentize your target audience and send specific content to an exclusive demographic most likely to resonate with a particular message. Here, the idea is simple: the more targeted your message is, the more likely it will drive your desired results.
5. Use Localization Strategies
The world has become globalized. While that holds water, it does not mean you can speak to customers from different parts of the world in the same way. To make your email campaigns more effective, learn how to localize.
Jumpstart your localization efforts via language adoption. Why use English if you know that a specific foreign market has a stronger preference for their mother tongue? Think, for example, customers from countries like Korea, China, and France.
You can hire experienced translators to localize your messages. Alternatively, you can opt for AI support. Either way, aim for unquestionable accuracy. The last thing you want to happen is to come off like a fraud by misusing words or phrases whose nuances your team has failed to consider.
You can also localize by recognizing the currency of the country you do business in. Accompany your list of products and services with prices in local currency.
6. Test and Optimize Your Campaigns
Test your emails before launching a full-blown campaign. Adjust the messaging based on your findings. You can involve your target audience in the process by conducting surveys that zero in on the type of messages they are most likely to open and click through. Then, apply the insights you gather when crafting new content.
Do not forget to optimize your emails for mobile access. Email apps on smartphones have become the go-to means for email users, which you must take into account. Your email campaigns should look as seamless on an iPhone as it does on a desktop. Otherwise, your readers might need to rotate or zoom their gadgets so that they can read what you’ve written.
Email Marketing for the Win
Going global is no easy feat. However, it’s an opportunity worth exploring, especially if your business has shown sustained growth. Plus, with all the technologies available for global expansion, there’s no acceptable reason for delaying your business’s local-to-international transition.
Harness the potential of email marketing. This strategy can help you reach out to a global audience. To achieve the best results from your efforts, understand who you’re selling to. Craft compelling content that’s personalized and localized. And lastly, do not skip testing your campaigns and recalibrating according to insights gleaned from the process.
Email marketing remains a go-to strategy for marketers for one simple reason. It works. And that’s for a fraction of the cost you’ll have to pay for other digital campaign methods. So, maximize this opportunity and see your business go places.