A recent CSO Insights study reveals that email marketing is the best method of generating quality leads, with 63 percent of marketers citing it as a top lead gen strategy. Content marketing proved another valuable method of attracting prospective clients, with new media, such as blogs, "getting a fair amount of hype" this year. Marketers should remember that emails and web content should work in tandem to build trust in a brand.
Chick-fil-A, a sandwich chain, revamped a page of its website earlier this summer to promote its Spicy Chicken Sandwich prior to the item's official debut. When consumers went to the Spicy Chicken page, they had the chance to sign up for an exclusive event to taste the new sandwich before its launch date. As Julie Waite, email marketing strategist and Chick-fil-A patron, explained in the Bronto Blog, consumers had to include their email addresses at sign-up to receive their "personal invitations."
The confirmation email, posted by Waite, shows a subject line that matches the keywords from the sandwich's landing page to clearly remind users about the promotion. It also includes an attached invitation that prominently boasts the key phrase "Spicy Chicken Sandwich," making it easy for recipients to type in a quick query to be directed to Chick-fil-A's relevant web page and learn more about the event.
The consistency between the email and the content on Chick-fil-A's website legitimized the event and made the promotion appealing to customers – including Waite, who attended the event. In the end, the campaign brought both traffic to Chick-fil-A's site and helped them boost their subscriber list. (Waite attests to the fact that she became an "Insider.")
The promotion went a long way in boosting the Chick-fil-A brand. When Chick-fil-A posted its annual sales report earlier this month, the company's president, Dan Cathy, cited the campaign as something that helped develop the business this year.
According to the report "the Spicy Chicken Sandwich marked the largest product introduction in the chain's 42-year history… Based on the success of the Spicy Chicken Sandwich, the company plans to continue new product expansion with the introduction of a Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Biscuit in January 2011." The company is already using a similar strategy to promote its upcoming Spicy Chicken Biscuit.
Marketers should remember to create a consistent experience for prospective clients to establish trust in their brands, and optimizing web content according to email promotions (and vice versa) may help convert consumers.
