Buying advertising can be expensive and creating the ads can also be a time-consuming and difficult process. While there’s no doubt that advertising and other traditional marketing efforts can be helpful in growing your client base, knowing what options are available and which are the most effective can often be the biggest challenge to a small business owner.
One of the best options, and one of the most underutilized, is e-mail marketing. When used effectively, e-mail marketing can establish an ongoing, personal relationship with customers without taking much of your precious time. If you haven’t considered e-mail marketing as an option for your organization, here are six reasons to consider launching your own campaign:
1. Effectiveness. A recent study by the Direct Marketing Association notes that every dollar spent on e-mail marketing has a return of $45 to $51. You’ll still be competing with other businesses for your customers’ attention, but the study shows that open rates for e-mail marketing pieces are 10 times higher than conventional direct mail.
2. Ease. Anyone with basic computer skills can build an e-mail list and compose an e-mail to send out to customers. However, business owners should take care to not send out poorly developed, poorly designed or irrelevant messages which can cause your customers to turn away from your business. If you need help, consider services that offer e-mail marketing software services to help you get started. Providers, such as Easy Contact (www.easycontact.com), offer services that will help you create an e-mail newsletter, simplify the process of sending marketing e-mails and help you track customer responses.
3. Affordability. With the help of easy-to-use, affordable tools, e-mail marketing is more cost effective than almost any other marketing or advertising alternative.
4. Speed. There are few ways to get your message out faster than through e-mail marketing. If you send out an e-mail coupon in the morning, you could see customers using it at your business by the afternoon.
5. Personalization. By offering exclusive information or personalized specials to your customers, you’ll build a relationship with them and gain their loyalty. E-mail messaging also offers an easy platform for your customers to share your message with their friends. It also allows them to share the message with their friends via social media.
6. Measurable results. If you have the right software, you can track how many people opened your e-mail, clicked on website links in the message or forwarded it to others, among other things.
E-mail marketing provides a platform to reach your customers without expending a ton of time and energy or spending all of your available marketing budget. A simple, affordable program that allows you to create, send and track your e-mail campaigns quickly and easily. For more information and tips on e-mail marketing, visit www.easycontact.com.
