Email Marketing Implementation – Market Week posted about a study done recently by Experian Marketing Services saying that email marketing is on the rise. Compared to 2012, the volume of emails sent by the consumer goods industry as well as others, like travel and publishing, increased over five percent. In addition to this good news, Market Week did their own independent survey on business success rates using email marketing. Sixty six percent of business owners stated their return on investment was rated either “good” or “excellent.” If this information isn’t enough to nudge you towards paying more attention to your email marketing, I don’t know what will.
It turns out though, even with these promising numbers, there are still hundreds of thousands of businesses who are not taking full
E-mail marketing blue puzzle pieces
advantage of everything email marketing can do for them. The success rates published this week could be doubled or even tripled if business owners enlisted the help of email marketing professionals. It’s time to stop trying to do it all on your own and get a grasp on this marketing of the future.
Here are three common mistakes businesses make with their email marketing:
Chasing After Quick Money
There is no such thing as instant gratification in the business world. Same goes for email marketing. You will not suddenly become a millionaire from one campaign. Focus on getting the right message out to your customers. A successful first campaign won’t mean a huge ROI, instead it will bring a foundation for your next campaign to grow on. The first email is the seed. You have to keep watering that seed to get your sale out of it.
Ignoring Your Target Market
Sending out 1,000 emails will do you no good if those emails aren’t to the right demographic. You should work on quality and purpose over quantity in your emails. Also, watch your timing. When will your target most likely be receptive to your communication? And not just specific hours of the day, watch the actual days and weeks themselves and be conscious of the season. All of these things matter. Your email needs to be relevant to your target.
Marketing A Specific Sale
It may seem like a good idea to email potential customers and try to entice them with an upcoming event but what happens when that event is over? Your customer forgets you ever existed. Instead, focus your efforts into writing an effective marketing email by making mention of your sales. Include coupons if you wish but make the body of your email campaigns about something more, something memorable and lasting. The point is to make sure you are not forgotten. You do not want to put a deadline on when customers can give you a chance by posting about a sale that ends 7 days from now. It may take them weeks or months to finally show up. (Remember #1 about getting that momentum growing.)
Marketing “the right way” is never easy. If you’ve done any of these things in the past, don’t fret. Luckily, these aren’t high crimes in email society. You should however make note and revamp your strategy if you’ve found you aren’t having as much email marketing success as the studies say you could be having. Small business owners need to be aware that great email marketing exists and they don’t have to settle with mediocre results. Take your business to the next level. Keep thinking outside the box and keep building on that momentum to grow that tiny seed.
Megan Totka is the Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She specializes on the topic of small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and facilitates connectivity between local businesses and more than 7,000 Chambers of Commerce worldwide.