The other day I gave up on catching a plane to New York. Actually, every beginning of January for years now, I give up on catching a plane to New York. As certain as every December I plan to take it in January. NRF. National Retail Federation. The world’s largest retail trade show.
It’s school vacation time, and I always end up prioritizing family, sun, and warmth. But that doesn’t stop me from reading, watching, and listening to the fresh trends coming from the Big Apple. This year, the #boravarejo podcast by Alfredo Soares featuring Mariano Gomide, co-CEO of VTEX, really caught my attention. The guy gave a masterclass on entrepreneurship, retail, management, and e-commerce in 40 minutes. And about NY.
But I ended up focusing on one point. Which aligns with this new phase of my company, especially post-pandemic. Mariano talked about the importance of brands having some form of direct dialogue with their audience, their customer base. In recent years, we’ve seen the cost of advertising on big tech platforms, especially Google and Meta, increase. One of the biggest challenges for digital marketers is generating leads on these major communication platforms. It’s hard to convert organically, but even harder with paid efforts.
At the same time, social media algorithms have evolved significantly in this same period, and it’s a fact that social networks deliver less and less content to a brand’s followers. So, it’s also becoming increasingly difficult to generate engagement. Mariano spoke about the imperative need for brands to speak directly to their consumers, without intermediaries. The others in the studio agreed. They also emphasized the importance of communication frequency.
There are basically three ways a company can communicate directly with its audience. Phone, direct messaging, and email. I won’t waste time on the phone, which, while still widely used and moderately effective for telemarketing, certainly isn’t suitable for frequent yet non-intrusive communication. Yes, a company needs to communicate several times a week, but without invading/annoying its lead/customer/prospect.
So let’s move on to direct messages. SMS, WhatsApp, and direct messages on social networks. While WhatsApp has become a direct sales channel since the pandemic—and it’s indeed surprising how effective this channel is for closing sales (this was heavily emphasized by Alfredo Soares post-NRF in São Paulo)—it’s certainly not ideal for day-to-day communication between a brand and its consumer. It becomes intrusive too.
We’ve arrived at the ugly duckling of digital communication, the ‘soda pop uncle’ of the internet, the old, boring, and slow email. Wrong. Email never died; and email marketing not only survived but has grown significantly alongside the rise of e-commerce and this post-pandemic world. It’s the perfect bridge your company might not be using. Of all the methods mentioned, it’s the cheapest. But more than that, it’s the most effective.
With advancements in digital marketing automation, it’s now possible to create engagement workflows with a customer base that will communicate based on consumer behavior. And the best part (pun intended) is that email is the central communication, but it’s also automated with SMS and WhatsApp. All integrated.
If a site visitor abandons their shopping cart, they get an email. If they visit your store, they receive a welcome email. On their birthday? An email. They made a purchase? How about a WhatsApp message with cashback? If they clicked on the blog on your site, maybe an email with more content? Voilà—a direct communication channel between brand and audience is established. It doesn’t depend on algorithms, but on the brand’s own efforts. It represents the brand’s own media vehicle. Through it, the company can also exponentially expand its database, enriching it and creating even more precise automations.
Email marketing remains the highest ROI (return on investment) in digital in the US and UK, and here in Brazil, it’s one of the most effective media for e-commerce, according to experts like Rafael Kiso.
And your company? Are you already using this bridge, or are you still at the mercy of the turbulent waters of the powerful big tech companies?
