Any retailer knows the puzzle of the "last mile" when delivering goods. This is the term for the difficult and costly final leg of delivery — getting the product to the customer's door. But, this concept applies to digital messages as well. 

In this final installment of our Digital Marketing in 2022 series, we'll look into how you can ensure an effective last mile for your marketing messages, and then we'll wrap up the series with a quick review.

Message delivery: The last mile for marketing emails and SMS messages

With ISPs aiming to control email flow, marketers need to have a handle on their current message inbox rate. Why? These metrics help them understand how changes in segmentation strategies can improve or hurt domain reputation or delivery. When marketers track these delivery metrics, they can make the requisite changes to improve them. 

"Consult the deliverability team at your email/SMS partner to identify issues and develop related tactics that improve your delivery rate to maximize engagement, "says Listrak's senior director of strategy Karen DiClemente. Taking this crucial step is especially useful ahead of peak periods when message flow will likely increase.

Also, ensure the entire retail team knows how to reach all the key points of contact for their accounts at your email/SMS provider(s) and other vendor partners — so they can reach out if there's a glitch, regardless of the time of day or day of the week. And if you work with a vendor who doesn't offer 24/7 phone support, understand what the potential response time will be, especially if the emergency occurs outside of the vendor's business/support hours.

Don't neglect this vital step

Just like in logistics, the last mile is the step in your message delivery process that most directly leads to happy customers. Even if all other steps go smoothly, neglecting your delivery rate can leave your customers frustrated, uninformed, and eager to look elsewhere. 

Your entire marketing and customer identification process could be spot on — from collecting customer data to identifying shoppers to setting up strategic trigger messages and personalizing offers. But if you don't get message delivery right, customers won't receive your personalized messages, and they'll be less likely to move from browsers to buyers. 

However, if you work with your service providers to establish strong delivery protocols, you can reap the benefits of every well-organized step in your digital sales process.

Wrapping it Up 

Over the course of this blog series, we've explored strategies your brand can leverage to win with digital marketing in 2022. Here's a quick recap:

1. Prepare for a cookie-less world by focusing on owned channels

As third-party cookies are phased out, use email and SMS messages to build deeper customer relationships. And instead of using disparate partners, consolidate your marketing tools for better cohesion and results.

2. Prioritize zero- and first-party data

Acquire zero- and first-party customer data with creative solutions like a two-step, responsive pop-up. Also, personalize offers based on the traffic source to preserve margin.

3. Turn visitors into browsers and browsers into buyers

Boost engagement during every step of the customer journey. Use identity resolution to help you match customers across devices and touchpoints, and personalize experiences with triggered messages. Ensure optimal send cadence across all your channels for consistent customer interaction.

4. Nurture customers after every sale

Retention is essential to maximize growth and profits, and your post-purchase strategy is crucial to retain customers. Utilize transactional messages (especially during peak periods) for better post-purchase engagement and customer satisfaction. And leverage zero- and first-party data in those messages to deliver relevant, personalized recommendations and calls-to-action.

5. Ensure message delivery

Solidify the "last mile" for email and SMS messages by working with the deliverability team at your email/SMS provider to improve delivery rates. Verify contact points and potential response times during times of need.

With these strategies, you'll be ready to conquer your 2022 digital marketing campaigns and obtain and retain customers. 

How Listrak can help

If executing these strategies looks daunting, don't feel like you have to do it on your own. Listrak is an established leader in the cross-channel marketing industry. We work with more than 1,000 leading retailers and brands to drive higher levels of engagement and revenue through best-in-class email, SMS, identify resolution, behavioral triggers, and cross-channel orchestration. 

Listrak has an industry-leading Net Promoter Score through its singular focus on driving results. With Listrak, retailers gain more than a technology platform; they gain a long-term, strategic partnership with retail marketing experts who become an extension of their team to help execute growth strategies and exceed their goals.

Schedule a demo today to see how the Listrak platform can help you achieve digital marketing success in 2022.