Perhaps the real question for this article should be: Why not email marketing? Many businesses and organizations have diversified their marketing strategies by heavily engaging in the latest social media phenoms, allowing their email marketing campaigns to fall by the wayside a bit. If this describes your company, then read on for a refresher about why email marketing should remain a core part of every marketing strategy.
Why Email Marketing Works
Consumer Needs
Email marketing works because people love to stay informed, and use smartphones and other mobile devices to remain connected 24/7/365. This level of connectivity has created a compulsion for many people to constantly check their devices for the latest and greatest news, events and happenings with their friends and family and the world around them.
Inboxes are Frequented
Your customers may be using social media on a very regular basis to keep up with current events and other forms of entertainment, but email is where they go for the important, mission-critical information in their lives. This includes paperless delivery of monthly bills and other private communication that keeps their lives organized and moving forward smoothly.
Permission Based
One of the best reasons why email marketing works is because they have invited you into their private, inner circle by signing up for your email marketing campaigns. This offers significant advantages over social media, where there are no guarantees that your message will make it to their newsfeed. The average Facebook user could see between 1,500 to 10,000 posts in their newsfeed every day IF the magical algorithm the site uses allowed that to happen. Instead, it gives priority to certain posts and filters out others altogether. Since you have been given access directly to your customers inbox, you are guaranteed that your message will be delivered.
Why Email Marketing is Effective
Flexibility
Email marketing is a format that is flexible and provides more space for the content that you want to communicate to your customers. This helps you establish and show your brand’s voice and create resonance with your targeted demographics. Consumers support and identify with brands that share their interests and values. Email marketing keeps you connected to your target audience in this way.
Personalization
Personalization is another important reason why email marketing is effective. Your email subscriber list can be segmented in an endless number of ways such as by age, gender, zip code or purchase history. If you wanted, you could even craft a unique message especially for just one specific, valuable customer.
Action-Oriented
Sometimes the email marketing message to your audience is intended to educate them or share other valuable information, but most of the time you will also want to include a specific call to action. What do you want them to do next? It could be to click a link to a landing page to sign up for an informational event or to enter a contest. Do not miss an opportunity while you have their attention to get them to take the next step or to purchase goods/services from your company.
Measurable
Another reason email marketing is effective is because it is measurable. Not only will you know how many people received your message, but you will also see detailed analytics on when the message was opened and which links they decided were interesting enough to click. Pay careful attention to this valuable information as it will allow you to to improve the effectiveness of your email marketing, by giving your audience more of what they are interested in and less of what they are not.
Long-Term
Email marketing is effective over an extended period of time if you take the right approach and consistently deliver value to their inbox. You do not want people to only receive a few messages and unsubscribe. Ideally this is a long-term relationship that will allow you to nurture potential customers and convert them to paying customers for years to come.
Why Use Email Marketing
Reliability
How many times have you moved in the last 20 years? Did you ever have a problem with your emails finding you in your new home? The same cannot be said for snail mail, but email is extremely reliable and stable. Some of your customers have gone completely paperless, and might even be a bit annoyed if you were sending things printed on a piece of paper they would have to deal with.
Cost Effectiveness
Email marketing is also cost effective. Automated email platforms allow you to reach thousands of customers with a just a few clicks. Compare this to the time and expense of creating, printing, and mailing traditional marketing pieces.
Strategic Capabilities
Email marketing also allows your organization great flexibility as to the type of message you send, as well as the intended outcome of that message. You may choose to send a comprehensive monthly newsletter that has a variety of content. It could include new product information, a valuable coupon, customer success stories or other content interesting and valuable to your recipients.
Outside of the monthly newsletter you could decide to strategically send an invitation for a special event or promotion taking place at your business. This allows this single message to stand out and not get overlooked amongst the other content in a newsletter.
Hopefully this overview makes it clear as to why email marketing should be a central part of every business’s overall marketing strategy. Enhance and grow relationships with your customers and prospects. Send them a well crafted, email marketing message today!
