In this digital age, email marketing is one of the fastest ways for a small business owner to get their message across to the largest number of possible clients. It is an inexpensive, easy process and, if done correctly, can reap significant rewards. Done badly or carelessly, however, and it can lose you clients.
Perhaps one of the most important points to bear in mind with email marketing is to adopt a thoroughly targeted approach. This means knowing your clients inside-out – what their priorities are, what sector they operate in, what their interests are, their gender – as well as doing your homework on potential new clients to ensure you are approaching them in the right way.
If you know every salient fact about your clients then you can categorise them accordingly – and while this takes you a little more time initially, it certainly pays off. Think about it: if you’re a company selling hair-care products and you have a new product aimed specifically at women, why send it to everyone on your mailing list?
If you send every marketing email you produce to everybody on your mailing list then chances are your clients are eventually going to be put off. What works better is a targeted approach whereby the relevant emails reach the most appropriate clients. This way, you also have a better idea in advance of who is likely to respond to a given email, and it gives clients the feeling that they are getting a more personal service. A little time taken researching your clients and segmenting them into groups can work wonders.
Consistency and maintaining contact are also vital. Often, after some initial success with a client you may not hear from them for a while and the phone calls or emails from you may then start to drop off accordingly. By sitting back and allowing this to happen you could be throwing away good business for no reason.
Whilst of course it is not possible to compose an individual email for every single client each week, sending out weekly lists of industry tips and hints, or monthly newsletters, will ensure you maintain that valuable contact. Hearing from you once in a while and only when you have something to promote or sell will not endear you to your potential customers. Clients value consistency, and they’re more likely to buy from you if they see you as a reliable source of information they can trust. Whether you have one lead or a million, each one is valuable.
If a client comes to you for information, such as free reports, then it is vital you follow up on this after sending the information (again always, of course, making sure what you send is tailored towards their specific criteria). Did the information you sent meet all their needs? Is there anything else they want to know, or would they like a trial of a particular product, for example?
Chris Jenkinson’s company Jenkinson & Associates Ltd provides internet marketing consultants to companies looking to grow their sales and profits.