Why is email marketing still important for SMEs?

In the age of social media, many small business owners in Vietnam believe that email marketing is "outdated." However, the reality shows that email marketing remains the channel with the highest ROI in digital marketing: On average, for every $1 spent, businesses earn approximately $36 in return.

This isn't just about statistics. A case study from Birchbox has proven that combining email marketing with marketing automation can make all the difference. With automated workflows and personalized content, Birchbox retained millions of customers, boosted online revenue, and turned email into the most effective channel for nurturing customer loyalty.

So what can Vietnamese SMEs learn from this lesson?

Who is Birchbox?

Birchbox is a subscription box brand specializing in personalized beauty products in the US. Each month, customers receive a "beauty box" containing skincare, makeup, or haircare products selected based on their personal preferences and needs.

Birchbox's unique selling point is its ability to leverage customer data to personalize the email experience. Previously, emails were often generic, resulting in low open rates. But by applying marketing automation, Birchbox segmented customers based on their beauty habits, created workflows to send emails at the right time (e.g., suggesting new products when they're running low on stock, or suggesting seasonal beauty boxes), and personalized content to the point of mentioning the customer's name and specific needs.

Case Study - How did Birchbox achieve success with Email Automation?

BirchBox's initial problem

Before investing in automation, Birchbox faced challenges familiar to SMEs:

• Mass-sent emails with generic content → customers are less interested.
• Email open rates are decreasing, and the click-through rate (CTR) is low.
• The marketing team spent hours doing manual work: filtering lists, entering data, and sending out each campaign individually.

As a result, email costs increase, while conversion rates don't keep pace.

Birchbox solution applied

Birchbox decided to implement Marketing Automation with a clear strategy:

• Detailed customer segmentation: New customers, long-term subscribers, customers whose subscriptions are about to expire, and customers who have previously purchased but abandoned their carts.
• Create automated workflows for each group: Create welcome emails for new customers, send promotional emails to customers whose subscriptions are about to expire, and so on.

Example 1: Send a welcome email introducing the beauty box as soon as the customer registers.

Example 2: Email instructing customers on how to register.

Example 3: An email providing a discount code to encourage customer action.

• Personalize your emails: Go beyond just saying "Hello [Name]", and suggest products that match your stated preferences.
• Continuous A/B testing: Email subject lines, CTAs, and images to optimize open rates and CTR.

Results achieved

After a period of implementation:

• Email open rates remain more than double what they were before.
• CTR increased significantly thanks to personalized product recommendations.
• Email has become a stable revenue-generating channel, accounting for a large proportion of total online revenue.

This proves that email marketing is far from outdated – it's just a matter of implementation.

What can Vietnamese SMEs learn from the Birchbox case?

Lesson 1 - Personalization is vital.

Today's customers no longer accept mass spam emails. They want messages tailored to their needs and behavior. SMEs can start by:

• Collect customer data from registration forms, surveys, and orders.
• Grouping by age, gender, needs, or behavior (e.g., new customers - repeat customers - loyal customers).
• Write different emails for each group, instead of a single email.

Lesson 2 - Automated workflows help save resources.

SMEs often have small marketing teams, sometimes as few as one or two people. Sending emails manually can easily lead to errors and missed opportunities. An automated workflow will solve this problem:

• Welcome email when guests register.
• Shopping cart reminder email after 24 hours
• Birthday email with special offer
• Email reminders for appointments or service renewals.

As a result, the business maintains consistent customer service without needing additional staff.

Lesson 3 - Measurement and Continuous Improvement

Birchbox not only sends automated emails but also conducts continuous testing. Vietnamese SMEs should learn from this approach:

• A/B testing of email subject lines to select the most engaging version.
• Compare the CTR of each type of CTA to optimize performance.
• Analyze open-click, conversion reports to improve scenarios.

GTG CRM - A Marketing Automation solution specifically designed for Vietnamese SMEs

If Birchbox succeeded in the US thanks to automation, Vietnamese SMEs can do the same with the support of GTG CRM - an all-in-one marketing platform designed specifically for small businesses.

Key features that support SMEs

Email Builder: A library of beautiful, easy-to-use drag-and-drop email templates, suitable even for those with no design experience.

GTG CRM provides beautiful, professional email templates.

AI-powered email content creation: Simply enter a few commands, and the AI will suggest subject lines, calls to action, and personalized content tailored to your target audience.

AI creates professional email content.

Automation Workflow: Set up automated email scripts (welcome emails, appointment reminders, birthday greetings, etc.)

Setting up an automated customer care flow via email is easy.

Integrated CRM: Customer data from multiple channels is automatically saved to the system, allowing you to easily categorize them by status.

Automatically collect multi-channel customer information on a single platform.

Why is GTG CRM suitable for Vietnamese SMEs?

• Affordable cost: Starting from just 208,000 VND/month ($7), significantly lower than international tools.
• Simple - Easy to use: No IT knowledge required, SMEs can set it up in just a few minutes.
• All-in-one: In addition to Email Automation, GTG CRM also features AI-powered Landing Page builder, multi-channel social media and messaging management, easy Facebook and Google Ads management with AI, and Messaging → Saves costs by eliminating the need to purchase multiple separate tools.

Conclude

Birchbox's story shows that email marketing combined with automation remains a powerful weapon for nurturing customers and increasing revenue. Vietnamese SMEs can absolutely learn from this, with the right tools and reasonable costs. And that's where GTG CRM becomes the smart choice – a comprehensive, cost-effective, easy-to-use solution that is still powerful enough for SMEs to thrive.