While some might believe email is a dying marketing channel, studies show it is still one of the most robust, effective tools businesses can use to keep in touch with their customers. In fact, 91 percent of consumers use email at least once a day. Email marketing has consistently proven to increase overall sales; it’s the number one marketing tool used by businesses of all kinds and at all sizes.
“For most small businesses, email marketing remains one of the only cost effective methods to send personalized communication to clients,” says Ran Oelgiesser, CMO of vCita. “It serves as a reminder to existing clients to come back when they need your services again, and helps prospects to make a decision to work with you.”
Pamela Jesseau, senior director of marketing at MECLABS, notes email marketing is a direct communication channel to customers.
“It provides businesses an easy opportunity to test different marketing messages and identify which offers, product benefits, etc. resonate most with customers,” she says. “Email also allows for passive, one-to-one communication, meaning you can send prospects personalized messages as opposed to mass media, and can do so without being too intrusive like with unsolicited phone calls.”
George Schildge, founder and CEO of Matrix Marketing Group, LLC, says less than 3% of website visitors make a buying decisions the first time they visit a website.
“That leaves 97% of visitors who did not buy,” he says. “So what do you do? This is where email marketing helps to keep connected with the remaining 97%.”
Here are some top tips for using email marketing from experts in the field:
Be Personal
Adding a more personalized touch helps your messages stand out in a crowded inbox. “If you’re a small business and your customer knows you by name, leverage that huge advantage over the big brands,” Oelgiesser says. “Use your name for the communication, and give your email a humanized feel that will resonate with customers better than the generic emails the big brands are sending.”
Communicate the message
Jesseau says it’s important to clearly communicate what you want the customer to do (i.e., click this link, watch this video, call this number, etc.) and provide a reason why they should do it. “We call this the value proposition of the email message,” she says. “Our research has found that it helps to provide an incentive to take action. For example, although an offer may sound attractive as-is, like buying new tires, people are more likely to accept the offer if an incentive is involved such as a $200 discount if you buy before Sunday.”
Timing is key
“Consider not only your audience’s preferences for messaging, but also their habits,” says Marie Homne, marketer at Yes Lifecycle Marketing. “You can’t sit on a list of 300 names then send your first email six months later. Consumers won’t remember who you are and will be frustrated you didn’t reach out with a timelier offer.” As a general rule, send a welcome email within 24 hours.
Less is more
Don’t try to mimic the big brands with fancy graphic emails. “They invest a lot in those, and yours won’t look as good,” Oelgiesser says. “Also, if you don’t do it right it, graphics will increase the chance your email will end up in the junk folder, or won’t be readable on mobile phones. Keep the email simple, brief and textual.”
Map out the buyer experience
“Find out where and when an email is appropriate in the buyer’s experience. Create a landing page with a call-to-action to capture contact information,” Schildge says. “You have to be sure that your copy is solving a problem, making their life better, or offering some sort of utility to the reader. It’s the ‘what’s in for me’ factor.”
Put yourself in the customers’ shoes
Understand what is relevant and important to them and direct your email marketing toward those. “No one reads emails about things they don’t care about,” Jesseau says. “We don’t scan our inboxes to look for interesting things to read, we scan our inboxes to look for unnecessary messages which we can delete because we have no interest in the topic.”
Call to action
Don’t just tell a story – make your customers act. “Have a clear offering in your email – a free consultation, a special discount, an appointment to book, a survey to complete or an event to register for,” Oelgiesser says. “Without it, they are unlikely to come back as customers.”
Don’t abuse
Don’t constantly inundate people’s inboxes with new emails. It’s a bad idea to send customers email messages every day, unless they explicitly ask for it. Use email the way it was intended — as a communication device.