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Are you familiar with this scenario? Sales are sluggish, so you decide to send an email campaign with a discount offer. It works and delivers an immediate boost in sales. You might think, “Wow, this is easy!”

 

But can you just keep regularly sending? Not so fast, my friends.

 

Regularly sending discount emails can help deliver short-term sales, but it can also:

  • Erode your profit margins
  • Attract price-sensitive customers who aren't loyal
  • Devalue your brand in the eyes of consumers

 

On top of all that, here's the real problem: relying on discounts means you're not truly nurturing your customer base. You're just bribing them to come back.

 

When was the last time you felt a genuine connection with a brand that constantly bombarded you with discount codes? Exactly. 

 

In the ever-competitive ecommerce market, this approach is unsustainable. Consumers have countless options, and if price is their only consideration, you'll always be racing to the bottom.

 

So how can you nurture your customer base without discounts? Let’s explore 3 opportunities: personalization, loyalty programs, and engaging brand content. 

 

1. Personalization and segmentation

 

Personalization and segmentation are all about making each customer feel seen and understood. Here’s how you can use data-driven personalization to build strong customer relationships:

 

  • Capture zero-party data on your customers’ shopping behavior and purchase history. 
  • Collect first-party data by asking your customers for their preferences via sign-up form or survey email. 
  • Use this data to segment your subscribers and send relevant and timely content based on their preferences and behavior, such as personalized product recommendations, via campaigns and flows.
  • Create personalized landing pages for different customer segments with messaging that addresses their specific use cases and/or pain points.

 

2. Loyalty and exclusivity

 

Loyalty programs nurture customers by allowing them to redeem points from prior purchases for discounts on future orders.

 

You can also keep customers engaged by offering exclusive, value-added benefits in addition to simply points-for-dollars. Perks to consider:

  • Exclusive access to new products or limited editions
  • Invitations to private events (in-person or virtual)
  • Free shipping for loyalty members
  • Tiered system with increasing benefits

 

By focusing on unique perks and experiences, you’ll create a sense of exclusivity and appreciation, fostering emotional connections with your customers. This approach not only encourages repeat purchases but also builds a community of engaged, loyal customers who value your brand beyond just price considerations. 

 

Remember, the goal is to make customers feel special, not just to incentivize purchases. 

 

3. Content, content, content 

 

Content is your secret ingredient for nurturing customer relationships. Leverage your other brand communication channels as the seasoning for your email marketing. A few examples of content to showcase within your emails:

  • Blog with tips and product usage guides
  • Video tutorials for your products
  • User-generated content and social proof (customer testimonials, product reviews)
  • Social media channels and posts

 

The power of genuine connection

 

By implementing strategies like these, you're not just avoiding discounts—you're creating a brand customers genuinely want to engage with. You're building a community around your products, not just a customer base. 

 

Nurturing isn't about constant selling. It's about adding value to your customers' lives, understanding their needs, and consistently exceeding their expectations.

 

Do my fellow Community members have other ideas for nurturing customers without discounts? Please share them in the comments!

 

-Adam ( @Adam Ragsdale )

@Adam Ragsdale - Fantastic summary and recommendations! A few ideas that worked for some of my clients in the past who are always trying to provide more valuable content:

  • Create a “Monday Night Football” expectation of a certain type of content.  For example, you may have a monthly “UGC Community Shoutout” or a weekly “Friday Roundup” or “Tuesday Tips” - this builds some expectation of that email each week (or month) that they can look forward to and something you can have a repeatable process to create.
  • Take your social media posts, and turn them into Campaigns.  You did all the hard work with the photo/videos and storytelling.  Repurpose them as email campaigns, and even link back to the various social media post(s) to get them activated.  
  • Depending on your brand voice and company culture, behind the scenes contact really resonate.  Believe it or not, people are intrigued by what the inside of a warehouse looks like, or a production/assembly line, or literally just seeing hundreds of boxes stacked up in a container or truck.  Embrace your brand’s “smallness” by introducing Bob from accounting, and Susan from customer service!  
  • If your team members are shy behind the camera, then turn them onto the customers.  Adam mentioned a few great ones like product reviews, or customer testimonials - which always have its purpose. But highlighting a customer’s use case of the product, or show its impact, sometimes in unconventional ways, are great way to introduce novel applications.  One of my past clients had a tea/coffee blend product to make instant coffee/tea from powder, but the community would share different ways to use the product in smoothies or even in cocktails. When they highlighted these examples, the response was great.

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