You spend time and money to get your email marketing campaigns perfect. You want the right images, the right message and the right recipients. You hire help and research trends. And then you launch. But what happens next? On the business side, the side YOU see, you wait and hopefully the new customers start rolling in. But what about the other side? What process does the CUSTOMER go through from the moment they see your email to the moment they help your profits increase?
Time:
Your potential customers have a lot of things going on. They may be married, may have kids. They may be CEOs or doctors. They may be athletes. Assumedly, you’ll know this as you’ve targeted a market for your campaign but remember this, their time is valuable. They will likely spend less than 30 seconds glancing at your email so don’t just send anything. Don’t skimp. In many cases, the customer won’t delete the message but instead flag it for later or let it just rest in their inbox. This can be tricky (and costly for you) depending on how organized the customer is. It may even take 3 or 4 emails from your company before they take notice. Do not waste your customers’ time. This is the step when customers will mark your message as spam and never look back.
Convenience:
The next step of the process is getting the customer to go from reading the email to showing interest in your company. This means something in your email campaign worked. The customer saw information that piqued their interest. They used some of their time to look into your business more. Now is the time they determine if your business is convenient for them. They know the information so they have to weigh their time with what you have to offer.
Commitment:
The final step in the customer’s thought and spending process is transitioning from liking your product in their mind, knowing its worth and then actually committing to purchase. This is what every business strives for. As a business owner, you know and expect only a percentage of your email recipients to get to this point. Remember that this small percentage is still enough to make your campaign worth it.
Word-of-mouth:
In a bonus step following your email campaign, the customer has bought your product and what next? Ideally, they will not only like your business but love it. They will tell their friends and family and continue spreading the word about your business. Your email marketing campaign now turns into a free person to person campaign.
The full process from one step to the next is unpredictable. The customer can drop out at any stage. And there’s no way to tell just how long each customer will take going from the first email to having an enjoyable business reaction to share. You, as the owner will run models. You’ll check the statistics. You may even feature expiring deadlines in your emails to try to control the timing. It’s important to campaign with the customer’s mindset considered just like the age old saying. Walk a day in someone else’s shoes.
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.