Effective Email Marketing to Grow Your Business

Businesses of every size need to engage in marketing activities in order to grow and survive. Deciding which channel can offer you the best return on your marketing investment is often a difficult task. Any initiative you undertake requires some investment of time and money. When referrals dry up, you have to have a system in place that continues to work toward customer acquisition and retention. Email remains the most cost effective initiative over the long term, offering you the greatest possible control over campaign variables and measurement.

Define and Target

The goal of any marketing initiative is either to get new paying customers or to keep your existing ones actively buying.

That being said, you need to define the goals for each email marketing campaign you run such as:

It sounds elementary but if you are not absolutely clear why you are sending the email then it probably won’t be developed or accurately monitored for the results you hope to achieve.

Crafting the right message and giving the email an enticing look and feel cannot be done without an understanding of the intended audience. By clearly defining the reason for the email you will have a better understanding of which segment of your potential or existing customer base would be interested in what you are offering and ultimately what type of email to create.

The email must entice the reader first to open it and then motivate them to click through to your targeted landing page. It is very important to send out an email message that is well-written and focused. A skilled online copywriter is the best person for this task because in addition to understanding how to sell your offer she also knows how to write a subject line that will avoid spam filters and ensure your email is delivered.

Landing Page is the Key to Conversion

Although each step in the email marketing conversion process is critical to the success of the campaign, the landing page is ultimately where it all happens. Once your reader has clicked through to the landing page, he expects to see what the email offer promised. If you are offering web specials to anyone who signs up to become a website member then your respondents better land on the page that has the sign up feature and more information about becoming a member.

If your landing page fails to fulfill respondents’ expectations they will click away in frustration and annoyance. You will have wasted your marketing effort and potentially lost a customer for good. It is always your objective, with every piece of online interactive media you present, to create an enjoyable and satisfying experience for your users. You are letting them know you have what they are looking for and that they can get it from you easily because you are going to help them every step of the way.

Schedule for Best Results

Just like a direct mail initiative, it is best to schedule when and how often you are going to send each email. Not every email should be sent according to the same schedule or you could potentially upset your existing customer base. The frequency of a single promotion to a targeted list of recipients who are not currently your customers may be more frequent than a special promotion to your current customer base.

New and existing customers will have different comfort levels about how often you send them emails. The best way to understand what they like is to ask them during the opt-in phase: “How often would you like to receive promotions by email?” Then let them choose: Never, As They Are Offered, Once a Month, and Twice a Month. You can organize your customer list according to how often they wish to be informed by email, balanced with your internal capabilities to handle inquiries.

Measure

You will want to know the effectiveness of your email marketing campaign. There are several ways to accurately track how it performed for you.

1. Encode your email, the corresponding landing page and contact form with tracking capabilities. This will automatically generate statistics for you such as bounces, bounce rate, click throughs and click through rate. If the sale does not occur online, you can still track it offline and combine the results using a simple spreadsheet.
2. Create a special promotion code that is associated only with that particular offer. Ensure that your sales staff enters results into your tracking system when the orders come in.
3. Establish a designated toll-free number. Every call that comes in on that line should be associated with that promotion. Ensure your sales staff enters results into your tracking system as mentioned above.

Conclusion

A clearly defined email marketing campaign that targets the right segment of your existing customer base or potential new clients can be an effective way to generate business if it is thoughtfully developed and managed. With focused email creative and a well-designed corresponding landing page that satisfies the respondent’s expectation, you will be prepared to achieve your conversion goals.

Industrial Web Solutions understands that email marketing is another form of customer relationship management. You can potentially use the channel to grow your business by creating offers and scheduling delivery over time. Your potential and existing customers will want to take advantage of your offer if you provide them with an easy and enjoyable way for them to do so. Help them and empower them through every step by giving them choices that put them in the driver’s seat. Measure their response and understand how you can better serve them as you continue to build good customer relations.

Industrial Web Solutions offers email marketing solutions including design, list acquisition consultation, database design and maintenance, campaign management and tracking services.

Take advantage of the business opportunities offered with effective email marketing. Give us a call in NJ (201) 530-0500 or nationally (800) 399-9859 or contact us through our online form and we'll be happy to help you with all your email marketing needs.

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