Go back ten or fifteen years … if someone someone had said in the future you would be able to communicate directly to your customers or prospects, anywhere in the world, for free, sending them any message you want … no paper, no printing, no envelopes, no brochures, no postage costs. And … it would arrive with them within seconds … what would you have said, after you stopped laughing of course?

Now we all know this is possible and take it for granted! Welcome to the world of email marketing.

There are still many business owners and managers that still haven’t got to grips with the power of email and the internet. In fact emails can be a source of irritation, right? You get promotional emails, Spam emails, etc. that just annoy you, but failing to see that email has become an incredibly important form of business communication could greatly impact on your business success?

Build email marketing into your marketing mix and I’m confident you will see an immediate return in both profits and enhanced customer relationships. The key is not to think of email as a selling tool – but as a powerful piece of personal communication. Use it to add real value, how your products/services will benefit customers’ lives and to keep them informed on your activities.

Here are some of the fundamental basics of email marketing:

  • Capture everyone’s email address (GDPR compliant of course). Every time a business fails to capture someone’s email address they’re
    turning down the opportunity to contact them for FREE, for weeks, months and years ahead.  
  • Once you have Email Addresses – use them! Follow up by communicating regularly with customers and clients in an
    effective way. You can use email to thank people for their business, make them a special offer, give them a free article or report, send a newsletter, recommend a product or service they may be interested in, ask for referrals, share some news that may be interested in, ask why they’ve not done business with you…the list is almost endless!
  • The point is you could grow your business by up to 30% just by adopting an effective email marketing strategy. Make sure your emails stand out from the masses  in peoples inboxes. The best way to do this
    is to personalise your messages, either manually if you have a
    fairly small list or use one of the many automation systems available.
    Either way, by including the recipients name, your positive response rate will increase massively.

That concludes the series on ‘Ineffective marketing could destroy a small business’ – I hope you have found the information and tips useful.