Email has become the most popular way of communicating with customers for many businesses. Though often times, companies are not following up on how effective these emails are for them.
Not only is it important to check open, click through, and buy rates, it’s also important to check what your competitors, or similar companies in your area are doing. For example on Cyber Monday this year I got a flurry of emails from companies (easily 35 or 40) with the subject line of “Cyber Monday.” After a while I stopped opening them.
How many of you subscribe to emails from companies in your industry, especially those in your area? It’s a good idea to do so. It keeps you up to date on what’s happening in your industry and helps you to realize whether you are differentiating your business from those around you.
Keep your customers wants, needs and desires in mind when you are planning your emails. Know what is important to your customers and craft your content to reflect what is important to them. You can still talk about your products, reasons to buy and any sales or special offers you have available but if you truly know what your customers want you will do it in a way that appeals to them emotionally.
Send out emails with content that your customers may not be expecting. Most people are interested in people. If one of your staff, who deals regularly with your customers wins an award, graduates from college, raises money for charity, save someone’s life, is leaving your employment or anything else noteworthy, send an email congratulating the staff member or wishing them well. Customers who have built up a rapport with this person will be pleased that you think enough of him/her to publicly mention what they are doing.
Include product recommendations or testimonials from other customers if you want to increase conversion and click through rates.
It’s essential to create an emotional connection with your email. Customers buy because they feel, not because they think. While facts and awards, etc. are important, it’s bringing out their emotions that makes customers click through to your website and buy the products.
A tip of the glass from me to you
-
E Column
by Elizabeth “E” Slater, In Short Direct MarketingA recognized expert in the fields of direct marketing and sales in the wine marketplace. Slater has taught more wineries and winery associations how to create and improve the effectiveness of their direct marketing programs and to make the most of each customer’s potential than anyone in the wine industry today.
Follow E on twitter @esavant and facebook.
- Advertisement -
E Column
