Like many small business owners, you’ve probably developed a presence on the Internet to engage with existing and potential customers. You update your company’s website to keep customers coming back for more information, post to your blog about new developments in the items and services you offer and keep the conversation going through social media services. You also optimize the material you post to keep it fresh for higher ranking in search engine results, possibly issuing press releases to drive people to see what you’re doing on your website and in social media. However, not all business owners are taking advantage of the power of email marketing. If you’re among their ranks, you’re wasting a valuable opportunity to keep your customers and clients in the loop, and attract the attention of prospective customers who are likely interested in what your company has to offer. Research indicates 92 percent of adults using the Internet have at least one email address. Of these users, at least half of their email comes from marketers. This number seems likely to grow over the coming years. Jump on the email marketing bandwagon to make sure your voice doesn’t get left out of the conversation.
Keep your messages relevant and useful
Unlike ads that appear in a Web browser in response to the keywords a customer is searching for, an email message can be targeted directly to an individual, addressing his specific needs and desires. Email is intimate, with your message appearing alongside communiqué your target definitely wants to read from friends, family and coworkers. Because your competitors are also likely showing up in your customer’s inbox, you need to keep your company’s emails short, relevant and useful so they will stand out. Doing so shows you respect your customer’s time and attention.
If you’ve taken the time to ask your customers to give you their email address, don’t squander the opportunity by sending out a generic message. That’s a good way to get customers to consign your messages to their spam box or even opt out of receiving any more email from your company. Don’t look at your email campaigns as a sales tool so much as an educational tool. You aren’t just hyping your company, product or service. You’re providing useful information about your latest offerings, with links for the reader to get more details and make a purchase or to set up an appointment for service.
Format for mobile phones
Remember that people are no longer chained to their desktop or laptop computers. More and more of them access the Internet with smartphones and tablets so they can stay online while they’re on the go. Accordingly, you need to format your emails for optimal display on devices with small screens. Avoid using images and videos and don’t make the reader scroll to the bottom to see the call to action. With so much information competing for your customer’s attention, they might not otherwise get the message. What’s more, when more of your customers are checking their email throughout the day with a smartphone, you can target your messages when you have time-sensitive offers, such as a restaurant holding a lunchtime promotion or a store that seeks to stand out from competitors during a busy shopping season.
Email marketing is an inexpensive and easy method to reach people. A prudent business owner will use it to send out creative messages designed to stand out from the competition and offer recipients something of value, all in the name of increasing conversions.
Originally posted on May 15, 2013 @ 5:01 pm