The real reason customers are deleting your emails

Let's face it, as consumers, we've all deleted emails without even passing it a second thought.As jaded as we consumers are with the overwhelming number of promotional emails we get in a day (especially with the holiday season around the corner), marketing teams to need to re-think their email strategies.E-mail communication is one of the most mature marketing channels we have today and therefore it is no surprise that marketers across the region are doing a seemingly better job of personalising their messaging on e-mail than other platforms such as social media and social chat apps.(Source: Experian - How do you like to receive information from your favorite brands and companies?)However, because it is a tried and tested medium, consumers are also more critical of it.A study by Experian said that e-mail was named as the biggest offender in terms of delivering irrelevant content (70%). Joining email in its irrelevancy is the SMS (56%) and social media (57%) .The figures presented by Experian say that across the board, companies targeting Asia have considerable work to do to develop cohesive and personalised content strategies.While it may not be surprising that the number one reason for unsubscribing to emails was due to the sheer volume (52% for Asia), it is telling in this day and age, that the number two reason is still the influx of irrelevant emails.(Source: Experian - Why do you unsubscribe from emails?)Nearly 56% of Singaporean consumers find the content sent to them to be irrelevant whilst 22% indicated that the emails they received were impersonalised. In Malaysia, these figures are 47% and 17% respectively. The trend also seemed to echo throughout the region.Despite emails remaining a strong platform to engage and convert customers where 64% of consumers make a purchase as a result of a promotional email – companies who do not maximise this channel with relevant and personalised content stand to lose out on conversion.According to the study, what these numbers simply reiterate is the importance of accurate personalisation for companies looking to engage their customer base. Ultimately, an engaged and receptive audience is anchored by content relevancy and accurate targeting.Stop confusing your customersBefore blasting out your marketing promotions on your social media, EDMs and SMS systems, it would be good to speak internally and decide on one promotional strategy in place. Confusing your customers with numerous promotions should be a definite no-no.(Source: Experian - Are you receiving contradictory or conflicting promotions?)Currently, there is still some work to be done in Asia in general to prevent conflicting promotional messages and content reaching customers. Between 29% and 44% of respondents have reported to receiving conflicting messages depending on the channel.No doubt, it would benefit marketing teams to re-evaluate how they communicate internally, as well as inter-departmentally. This will lead to cohesion of messaging and content across various channels, and at the same time, win you some cookie points with your consumers.(Photo courtesy: Shutterstock)