10 Point Checklist for Email Marketing FAILURE!

by | Aug 17, 2013


10 Point Checklist for Email Marketing FAILURE!A well-conceived email marketing strategy continues to be one of the best marketing tools available to small and medium sized business (SMB).  Yet many companies are actually driving away customers with bad
email automation.

  • Always promote.  People get weary of a constant stream of ‘great offers’.  What they crave are companies that keep them educated, informed and entertained – without selling.  Make sure there is a balance between promotions and information.
  • Ignore customer preferences.  One of the biggest complaints people share about email campaigns is the lack of relevance to what they want and need.  Learn about your prospects and customers by observing their activity in the CRM. 
  • Don’t  track buyer behavior.  Long before the internet, Edward Deming coined the “Plan-Do-Check-Act” system of constant improvement.  60+ years later, it is a simple thing to do you in a good online CRM system.  Set up and monitor metrics for email automation to improve your messaging.
  • Treat all prospects as equal.  Sure, it sounds fair to them…but treating all prospects equal in today’s internet world is a certain path to failure.  The great majority of sales leads require lead nurturing.  Discover the few leads that are qualified to talk to a sales representative and send the rest to an appropriate lead nurturing email campaign.
  • Save money on content development.  While no one wants to spend any more money than necessary, poor content will often be a total waste of money.  Take the time and spend the money needed to get compelling content your sales leads want to see.  Not only is it important to the sales lead, it is also critical to getting good SEO.
  • Send haphazard, inconsistent emails.  A stop and start strategy of emails will alienate customers.  Your open rates will plummet.  It’s important that you carefully think through your email strategy and use marketing automation to assure that they are delivered on time and according to the plan.
  • Focus on the benefits of your company.  Not long ago, sales trainers convinced sales teams to stop focusing on features and focus on benefits instead.  Sales leads will delete your emails if all you have to share is the benefits of your product line.  Focus on giving information your sales leads find valuable – even if they don’t purchase from you.
  • Use big promises in the subject line.  If you studied copywriting a decade ago, you may be accustomed to using bold words like “free”, “limited time offer”, “act now”, “Winner”, etc.  First, this type of subject line may be stopped by the spam filters and if it does reach your sales lead, they will be suspicious and avoid opening it.
  • Don’t use a CTA (Call to Action).  A lot of copywriting techniques don’t work on the internet-enabled buyer, but a CTA is still critical.  People want you to tell them what to do next.  Ask them to click on a hyperlink to a document, video or infographic with information … or simply ask them to call you.
  • Avoid talking about pain.  Trigger the emotional pain of your sales lead.  When they see that you understand their pain and struggle, a relationship of trust is developed.  Trust in a relationship is the first step toward customer loyalty.