We’ve seen the progression from printed direct mail to email marketing, to now the over usage of email marketing. Who wants to open their email to over 100 promotional emails every day? So here marks the question; is email marketing still relevant? The answer is yes, if executed in the right way, and that doesn’t necessarily mean sending out emails right away.
Email marketing is essentially about data collection; building a target audience, and then fine-tuning that audience into specific sectors that best suit the customer. You most likely offer a variety of products or services that don’t necessarily match all of your customers. If you are sending pet promotions to a customer who doesn’t not have any pets, chances are, they will unsubscribe from your email campaign. The data collection needs to begin when you have them sign up and opt in to receive your emails. When creating your opt in form, keep the following things in mind:
- Always ask as many questions as possible without being overwhelming. You are going to need their basic info; first name, last name, email address, phone number etc., but you will also want to learn more about their interests and products and services they already use and like.
- Break out your products / services and allow them to choose which products they are interested in learning more about. Allow them to create their own email campaign by telling you what they are willing to open and read.
- Ask them if they have shopped with you before and ask for a 1-5 rating on their experience. Having a return customer list is essential for retention and is an opportunity to offer incentive to come back and purchase again.
- Ask them how often they would like to receive email correspondence from you. Give them a few options such as once a week, twice a month etc. and make sure to adhere to the schedule they have given you.
- Craft a custom auto response for when they submit the form including appreciation for signing up, and when they can expect their first email from you.
Now you can start creating your segmented list from your target audience. Most email marketing platforms have systems in place to help you map out your send lists. Start creating your lists based on the products / services they have selected, and then continue to break out those lists by how often they would like to hear from you. As your opt in list grows, so will your target audience along with your segmented product lists.
Now it is time to start crafting your message based on the feedback your customers, and potential customers, have given you. While there will still be blanket promotional emails sent out that fill inboxes, there is potential for your company to stand out in the sea of emails by allowing your customers to build their own campaign.
This can be a big task for someone to take on while running a company. Hire a digital marketing company to maintain your data and email campaign for you to ensure you stay compliant with data and email marketing laws.
