Despite classic reservations (spam etc.) marketing via email or email marketing makes more and more sense. This includes all of our own business communication via email and advertising in email messages of other organisations. Granted, email is a mature medium already, yet the development of tools made spamming obsolete and lifted the messaging to a whole new level. Email marketing will remain the driving force of elevating the sales of your company further than other methods at minimal costs.
No spotlight required
The awareness of marketing through email is noticeably increasing in the business world every year. Yet we still sometimes can’t stop feeling email is not as interesting anymore. “Louder” parts of the professional public write and talk mostly about social networks and all kinds of applications, supported by smart phones and tablet PCs. Swift development and attention of the users is of course very attractive. Your business venture (with clear goals, proper accession and persistence) can truly create the right momentum and business effects therefore it certainly deserves attention.
Email marketing gets less attention, yet annual research reaffirms it is still the most efficient direct channel of marketing communication by far. Sometimes it seems it has a hard time competing with Facebook-mania, yet international research confirms there is no competition at all. Quite the contrary. With some skill, deliberate and sensible cooperation of these communication channels within a wholesome marketing strategy, it can bring forth the potential through synergies. The users of social networks actually far more often check their email mailboxes and also check email via phone, which is the most common online use of the smart phone.
Don’t isolate, connect
It is not the best if you split your communication to different channels if you don’t have very solid reasons to do so. Each communication channel has it strengths and weaknesses so they can supplement each other greatly. The user’s “like” can gradually turn into their first purchase and further purchases with the help of email marketing. 74 per cent of internet users over 18 want to receive your promotional messages via email.
They are willing to share the useful content of your email messages with their friends, who of course will be invited to subscribe to your messages.
Modern digital technologies enable easy connecting of individual communication channels which enables you to strengthen the effects. The role of your email marketing is to keep the gained attention of individual interest groups with useful content and to support your online and offline activities. Of course a part of your email programme can be exclusive, even payable.
Don’t just get permission, stir up desire
To even start email marketing you need to gain the permission of the recipient beforehand. The exceptions are those who you have already done business with. By doing that you have implicitly gained their permission to receive information on similar products and services. So says the law on electronic communication. Still, this does not mean the recipient wants to receive your messages. Don’t forget, the law requires only the minimum. For long term successful email marketing you need more.
A thorough consideration of goals you are trying to reach will not hurt. Also ask yourselves why someone would want to receive your messages. What’s in it for them? In email marketing the question of when to send the email notices is often present. If the recipients will benefit from your messages, that is mostly irrelevant.
Replace selling with giving
Even though you will achieve fast results with messages containing classic sales strategies, this tactic is pretty short-sighted. An interesting characteristic of email marketing is a quick fall of active recipients if sales continue to be your only focus. What else can you offer your recipients so they will stay with you even after the purchasing process? Different discounts will not be appealing to them shortly after that.
You probably don’t want to start your relationship with the client from scratch and compete with the competition every time they require your product or service. You can prevent mass unsubscribing by regularly asking yourselves which useful or at least interesting information you have provided to the recipients who just decided to take their business to the competition. At least part of the message should consist of "non-sales" content.
Added value is key. It will often help if you prepare the contents from the viewpoint of an expert and not a sales person. You have a lot of knowledge and experiences. If you share it with your recipients you will attract them every time. This will also build your expert authority as well as trust.
The biggest effects of email marketing will arise when you no longer focus on sales and focus on the recipients. Of course, don’t forget to spice your altruism with an occasional “offer they cannot miss”.
Personalize, test, automatise…
Use the available tools offered by advanced email marketing systems. There is no reason not to improve your results constantly. Even though we no longer deal with each individual recipient, the technology enables us to send everyone a message tailored to their specific interests. By doing that you allow the recipient to develop a need to buy and when the time comes to decide on it, you will make sure this decision is right twice. For them and for you.
