Articles

Rediscover the Power of Smart, Strategic Email Marketing

As seen in Greater Charlotte Biz Magazine, bizXperts, November-2009
Author: William H. (Kip) Cozart, III, CEO, President, Co-Founder
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More than 247 billion email messages are sent over the Internet each day.* With so many messages circulating online and cluttering our inboxes, is the use of email for business sales and marketing purposes still a viable option? The answer is “yes,” but only if you utilize email strategically. Keep in mind, nearly 60% of all U.S. users open, read and send messages daily. For connecting to these customers, email marketing remains the most cost-efficient and most impactful business communications tool available. If your broadcast email messages are getting lost in the shuffle, perhaps it is time to fine tune your process. Re-think “Email.”

Establish a relationship with the customer…You wouldn’t open your front door to a stranger, recipients won’t open email from a stranger either. The stronger the relationship between sender and receiver, the greater the chance that the message is opened, read and generates a positive response. Make sure to clearly identify your company within the message’s subject line and reply address. If you have never contacted the recipient before, leverage your established brand awareness in the marketplace for added attraction and credibility to increase your open rate.

Make it count…Build your relationships by consistently presenting content that is relevant and addresses a compelling need. No one has time to waste. If your email content is typically irrelevant, prospective customers will ignore and block your future mailings. Sharpen your relevancy by soliciting feedback, inviting customers to choose the type of information they want to receive, submit their own content suggestions, and participate in online surveys to better define their interests.

Deliver a valued service, not just words…Use email as a tool to provide a clear, tangible and desired service to your customer, not just a sales pitch. For existing customers, blend personalized account information, product application tips and important service reminders within your messages. For prospective customers, use email to deliver useful training tips, offer a free trial, explain industry trends, present a case study, or demonstrate a solution to a common problem.

Timing is everything…For best results, messages should address the client’s specific need, at the moment the need arises. Consider offering an automated, self-service email “knowledge bank,” allowing customers to request immediate product guides, white papers, service appointments, coupons, and rate quotes through an interactive request form. Individual email messages can also be pre-scheduled and triggered by defined milestones, such as anniversary dates, purchase levels, buying habits, or through an incentive rewards program.

* Pew Internet and American Life Project

About the author:

As one of the region’s earliest pioneers in the field of online communications, Kip Cozart, along with CC Communications owner/partners Russ Husky and Loretta Cozart, has consulted with hundreds of businesses and organizations to enhance and produce effective web, email, multimedia marketing initiatives and business process improvements for more than fourteen years. Contact kcozart@cccommunications.com or call CC Communications at 704-543-1171.