Unlock the Power of Automation: How to Build a Customer Email Journey

Imagine this: you spend hours crafting the perfect email campaign. You hit “send” with a triumphant flourish, only to be met with…crickets. No clicks. No conversions. Just the deafening silence of an unengaged audience.

Navigating the world of email automation is a common struggle for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs). You know the power of email and its ability to nurture leads, build relationships, and ultimately drive sales. But translating that potential into reality can feel impossible. 

At Green Apple Strategy, we’ve helped businesses of all shapes and sizes leverage the power of email automation. We’ve collaborated with brands with dedicated marketing teams and bustling sales departments as well as smaller businesses with a single sales representative. Through these experiences, our digital team has identified key best practices that every SMB can utilize to build a customer email journey that fosters engagement and drives results.


How to Build an Effective Automated Email Journey

Chart Your Course Before Setting Sail

It’s always important to map out where you’re going before you invest time and energy building your automated campaigns. Think of your email journey as a roadmap. Where are potential customers in their buying journey, and where do you want to take them? Identify your goals (e.g., brand awareness, lead generation, customer retention) and use them as guideposts. Continually review data to ensure your journey aligns with these goals.


Leverage Automation for Key Customer Journey Milestones

Another helpful tactic as you build your automation roadmap is to take a deep dive into your typical buyer’s journey. Are there specific touchpoints where potential customers seem to stall? Can email automation free up your sales team’s time by providing support during these crucial phases? Identify these opportunities and design targeted email sequences to nurture leads and guide them toward the next step.


Segmentation is Key: Speak to the Right People.

When it comes to email automation best practices, it’s essential to remember that targeted messages resonate better and drive higher engagement. As you consider the automated email campaign you’re building, take the time to understand your audience and segment your emails based on demographics, interests, or past behavior. For example, you may want to start with an automated welcome campaign that introduces your brand to new email subscribers. From there, you can build out more specific campaigns to support your sales process. 


Humanize the Interaction: Because Robots Can’t Build Relationships

Personalization is key, especially in automated emails. Wherever possible, use subscriber names and tailor content to their interests. Maintain a conversational tone—imagine you’re having a one-on-one chat with a potential customer, not blasting a generic message to a faceless list.


Don’t Be a Set-It-and-Forget-It Marketer

Email automation shouldn’t be a “set it and forget it” strategy. If you truly want to maximize its potential, it’s important to regularly assess performance metrics and glean insights from subscriber behavior. You want to monitor results and use this data to refine your messages and optimize your email journeys to achieve your intended results. 


Test, Learn, and Optimize: Because There’s Always Room for Improvement

One of the most powerful aspects of digital marketing is that it provides the opportunity to constantly learn and improve as you go. Do you consistently send out the same emails and workflows? If so, this is a prime opportunity for A/B testing! Experiment with different subject lines, email structures, and calls to action. This allows you to gather invaluable subscriber data and continuously optimize your email journey for maximum impact.


Bonus: Don’t Forget about People Who’ve Fallen Off the Radar

There’s a reason that email open rates rarely rise above 50%. People are busy. Not everyone will actively engage with every email. Once you build out your initial email campaigns, a bonus tactic is to design re-engagement campaigns to reignite conversations with unengaged subscribers. A well-crafted email sequence might be a powerful tool to win back valuable leads—or it can be an opportunity to invite them to unsubscribe, which would clean up your email list and lead to better results. 

 

Experience The Transformative Power of Email Automation

Email automation offers a powerful tool to connect with potential customers, nurture leads, and cultivate lasting customer relationships. By implementing these best practices, you’ll be well on your way to developing an automated email journey that drives results and fosters brand loyalty.


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Navigating the Marketing Maze: The Crucial Role of Omnichannel Strategies in Customer Connection

Do you ever feel lost in the world of expanding marketing channels? As a small or mid-sized business (SMB), building strong customer relationships can feel like navigating a maze. New platforms emerge constantly, and juggling them all seems daunting. The good news is there’s a way to simplify your approach and create a more connected customer experience: omnichannel marketing.

At Green Apple Strategy, we’ve witnessed a massive shift towards omnichannel marketing in recent years. Customers increasingly expect seamless integration between traditional advertising, digital channels like social media and email, and the growing field of mobile marketing, text marketing, and loyalty programs. This growing demand is one of the driving forces behind the launch of our sister brand Olive + Leo, a platform that provides hospitality businesses with an affordable solution to build a comprehensive and effective omnichannel experience for their customers. 

This article aims to provide valuable best practices for developing an omnichannel customer experience for both B2B and B2C businesses.

What is an Omnichannel Customer Experience?

Think of it this way: traditionally, businesses interacted with customers through isolated channels, like email or print ads. Omnichannel marketing takes a more holistic approach. It’s about nurturing, selling to, and supporting customers across various interconnected channels.

Imagine a customer researching a product on social media, then receiving a personalized discount code via email, and finally making a purchase through a mobile-friendly website. This interconnected approach fosters a cohesive brand experience that builds trust and loyalty.

The power of omnichannel marketing is undeniable. Here are some key statistics that illustrate its impact:

  • Marketers report a 250% higher engagement rate when using an omnichannel strategy compared to single-channel marketing. (Source)
  • Studies show an average order value increase of 13% when businesses leverage omnichannel marketing. (Source)
  • Businesses employing omnichannel strategies boast a remarkable 89% customer retention rate, compared to 33% of companies with weak omnichannel engagement. (Source)

These numbers clearly demonstrate the power of connecting with your audience across all relevant touchpoints.

Developing Your Omnichannel Customer Experience Strategy

Building a successful omnichannel strategy requires careful planning and execution. Here are some essential best practices to consider:

Know Your Audience

Before diving into channel selection, take the time to create buyer personas. Clearly define your ideal customers, understand their online behavior, and identify the platforms they frequent most. This will allow you to prioritize your resources and tailor your messaging to the channels where your audience is most actively engaged.

Start with the Basics

Building a robust omnichannel experience takes time. It’s essential to get the basics right before expanding. Focus on optimizing your website for a seamless user experience across all devices. Establish a strong presence on relevant social media platforms to ensure consistent engagement. Remember, customers expect a cohesive experience—neglecting questions or inquiries on your website while actively engaging on Instagram creates a negative brand impression. Consider using social media management tools to provide timely responses to customers and build brand integrity.

Prioritize Mobile Messaging 

We live in a mobile-first world. First, ensure your website is optimized for mobile devices. Next, know that many customers also prefer to engage with businesses via text message. Studies show that a significant portion of consumers (statistics vary, but some report upwards of 90%) are open to receiving marketing messages via text, making it a powerful channel for reaching your audience.

Craft a Consistent Brand Narrative

Develop a clear and consistent brand narrative that resonates across all channels. Your messaging, visuals, and overall brand personality should be recognizable and engaging, regardless of whether a customer encounters your brand on social media, on your website, or through traditional advertising.

Measure Impact Through the Customer Lens

When evaluating your omnichannel marketing experience, prioritize the customer experience. Move beyond simply asking, “Are we getting our message across?”  Instead, focus on whether your message and approach are actually making your customers’ lives easier and more enjoyable. Track relevant metrics such as customer satisfaction scores, website conversion rates, and social media engagement to gauge the effectiveness of your omnichannel strategy.

Building Customer Loyalty in the Age of Choice

While embarking on an omnichannel marketing journey may seem daunting at first, the rewards are substantial. By combining marketing and technical expertise with data-driven insights, you can develop a strategy that fosters positive customer experiences and drives loyalty. 
 

Ready to take your marketing efforts and customer experience to the next level?

Green Apple Strategy can help you develop a comprehensive marketing strategy tailored to your unique needs. Learn more about our approach to building a marketing strategy or contact our team.

If you work in the hospitality industry, we’d love for you to check out Olive + Leo, a customer loyalty platform to help hospitality businesses create an omnichannel experience for customers through mobile messaging, social media marketing, and email automation. Visit Olive + Leo to see how this innovative platform can streamline your communication and elevate your customer experience.

Spring Cleaning Your Brand: Inspiring & Effective Examples of Brand Refreshes

Spring is in the air, and so is spring cleaning. While we organize and reset our living spaces, let’s consider another area that could benefit from a refresh too: your brand. 

It’s normal for a brand to update its visual identity, messaging, and digital presence to stay fresh and relevant. A brand refresh also helps re-engage your existing audience, attract new customers, and re-emphasize your core values. A successful brand refresh can include updated logos, messaging, and visuals that connect with your constituents and work together to improve your bottom line.

To inspire you to spring clean your brand, here’s a look at some of our favorite refreshers and why they worked.

Brand Refresh Versus A Rebrand 

Keep in mind that a brand refresh is different from a rebrand. While a rebrand provides an entirely new identity, a refresh involves smaller tweaks that freshen things up without a total overhaul. A refresh can be a good fit for brands that want to keep the same core values and mission statement, have existing customers with a high level of brand engagement, or update a few elements to stay competitive.

Inspiring and Effective Brand Refreshes

Burger King

As one of the oldest fast-food chains, Burger King has a longer history than many of its modern-day competitors. In 2020, the burger chain updated its logo, typeface, and employee uniforms to pay homage to its retro roots. While other brands are leaning into a more modern aesthetic, Burger King’s rebrand drew inspiration from their 1969 logo, a strategic decision that allows them to stand out in a market that is otherwise full of clean lines and sleek designs.

Dunkin’

Your brand’s logo communicates an important message about your business. So, if your business changes directions, your logo should too. When Dunkin’ Donuts pivoted to an expanded menu beyond serving only coffee and donuts, they decided to reflect the change in their name. The company removed the coffee cup from the logo and dropped “Donuts,” shortening their name to “Dunkin’.” They kept the signature pink and orange color scheme and rounded typeface, showing that a successful update can occur without completely veering from your brand’s original visual identity. 

Newcore Capital

Newcore Capital, a growing UK brand in property fund management, needed a brand identity that would differentiate it from competitors. At the same time, the brand wanted to be recognized as proven and respected and tell an impactful brand story. For this refresh, a new color palette, font, and visuals made sense to elevate the brand and communicate the desired message with an authentic feel.
 

Gucci 

As a 103-year-old fashion retailer, Gucci is having a pop-culture moment—and not by accident. This powerhouse brand understands that it sells more than a product; it sells a story. While Gucci’s popularity has seen ups and downs, it’s currently one of the largest luxury brands in the world because of a pivot in brand narrative. Now, Gucci’s “maximalist, dream-like, and aesthetically excessive universe” allows the brand to be instantly recognizable.


Green Apple Strategy

Our marketing agency implemented a brand refresh of our own in 2023. As part of the process, we chose a new color palette and new brand fonts for print and web use. Green Apple’s previous color palette featured nine vibrant primary and secondary colors, while our new palette has six muted, modern tones. We also simplified our font selection to include one serif and one sans serif option in addition to our logo. The refresh updated Green Apple Strategy’s visuals with a culturally relevant, professional look and feel.

One that Missed the Mark 

WE ❤️ NYC

The iconic I HEART NY logo was created by graphic designer Milton Glasner in the 1970s. In 2023, a WE HEART NYC was unveiled to replace Glasner’s original. The new design was a flop, failing to resonate with residents and visitors. As one person shared on X, formerly Twitter, “I think the city that currently owns the most iconic branding in the entire world should not rebrand.” We must say we agree. It’s essential to consider your brand’s existing equity before making significant updates, changes, or refreshes and get valuable customer feedback before moving forward on major initiatives. As Burger King, Dunkin’, Newcore Capital, and Gucci have shown us, you may be able to build on what you have instead of starting over! 

Develop the Perfect Brand Refresh

Like spring cleaning, refreshing your brand is hard work when it’s done well. Our team at Green Apple Strategy is here to help lighten your load. We can identify which brand elements could benefit from an update, design new visuals, strategize on how to introduce them to your audience, and more. Contact us today to get started.