It is a proven recipe that can be perfectly executed by automated email messages. Reaching your e-mail contact at just the right time with a birthday message can sometimes do wonders.
You probably got them in your mailbox yourself, close to your birthday. A company with which you came into contact with sends you a birthday message, sometimes together with a little present … especially in B2C markets this is a popular and succesful action. Over a quarter of the companies would send digital birthday cards. Obviously these digital wishes should serve the greater purpose of ROI. So birthday campaigns need to meet some criteria – just like your traditional e-mail marketing.
1 Let’s start with the basics.
You have to know the anniversary date of your contact. Obviously the classic opt-in page is the right time to do this. Especially if the date of birth is relevant to your product. Are you still eligible for a youth discount, or you’re old enough to buy something? The question of the date is a logical question in that case. You can also save the question for the webpage where they confirm the opt-in process. You can encourage them to leave the date by giving them a reward when they do so. A present for your birthday if you just fill in your date of birth.
2 Give your timing some thought.
Research showed that a quarter of the digital birthday wishes falls into the inbox on the day itself. Three quarters of marketers do it a few days before the actual birthday. The choice is actually quite logical to make depending on what you want to achieve. Are you sending a simple birthday wish to create some goodwill, then the day itself is just fine. But half of the birthday messages contains a gift. Suppose you own a restaurant, then the coupon with the free appetizer to celebrate it, should best arrive quite a few days in advance. Are you offering a discount on the next purchase, then the next day is just as fine. But, as in classical e-marketing, put a clear expiration date on your offer. It’s the perfect excuse to send a reminder a couple of days after: careful, your birthday gift is about to expire!
3 The content of the message is equally important.
Make sure your birthday message is not just birthday message. Obviously, use some clear images, like a party hat or birthday cake. There’s a reason for celebration! But that doesn’t mean we should throw out all good email practices. Give your logo the same place as always. The brand should be imprinted in the brain. The birthday wish is the opener, but the offer should still come with an eye-catching call-to-Action wrapped in a clearly visible button. Print this message and bring it to the shop for x, to enjoy a 15 percent discount. And if e-commerce is your business, then it will probably be a click here button to claim your birthday discount.
4 Send a fake birthday message.
Birthdays are perfect occasions for email campaigns. That’s because coupons or gift certificates generally receive some additional conversion and thus revenue. So the trick is to collect as much dates of births as possible. With a fake birthday message you can send all your date-less contacts a birthday message with birthday wishes and presents as well. Only the CTA will be something along the lines of ” if we know your birthday date at least – click here to tell us.” Experiments in this area proved to be very successful. Because almost everyone can be tempted with the right gift.
Which presents do you give for your customers’ birthdays? Let us know in the comments!
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