12Mar

Best Practices for Email Marketing

Email MarketingWith over 122 billion (yes, BILLION!) emails being sent per hour, it can be quite challenging for businesses to get seen in a recipient’s crowded inbox. But fear of getting lost in crowded inboxes doesn’t mean you should throw in the towel with creating an email marketing campaign. In fact, for every $1 spent on email marketing, the average return is $44.25, making email campaigns quite effective.

So how do you stand out in the crowd?

  • Tailor Your Content. Learn more about your recipients to understand their needs as a customer. Each customer is unique and is looking for something different to fit their needs. By sending a blanketed message, it can seem as if you aren’t fully invested in them. Instead, segment your customers into buckets based on customer needs, pain points and/or interaction with you. Then draft messaging that is different for each bucket and addresses their needs as individual customer groups. If you don’t have this information, you can start by sending out a survey to get know your customers better, then begin tracking it.
  • Personalization. Are you more likely to open up a letter that is addressed to your name or to ‘To Whom It May Concern’? Chances are you will open the letter addressed to you. The same can be said for emails. Personalized subject lines and greetings increases open rates by 22%. But it goes beyond just addressing your audience by name. People are conditioned to delete mass emails, so make yours stand out by writing as if a real person would by adding a little personality!
  • Clear Calls to Action. It’s hard for someone to convert if they aren’t sure what to do. Be clear and direct with your messaging so each recipient knows exactly what they should do next. Should they print out the coupon and bring it into your dealership for 10% off their equipment rental? Tell them. Do they need to register for your open house in order to benefit from exclusive demo opportunities? Include an online registration button. If you don’t tell them what to do, how can you expect them to take action?
  • Include Downloads. Give your email recipients a little something more. Many are conditioned to think that mass marketing emails don’t provide much value, but by including a how-to guide or a tips & tricks manual, your audience will start to see value with your dealership’s emails. They will begin to enjoy getting them because you are offering something beyond a sale, which will translate to them valuing your dealership!
  • Thank Them and Make Them Happy. Customer appreciation goes a long way. Giving something away to your email subscribers, such as a free hat the next time they come into your dealership to thank them for their loyalty, is an easy way to put a smile on someone’s face and make their day. Even if you aren’t ready to give something away, sending an email that asks how they are doing and recognizes their loyalty, and doesn’t include a sales pitch, can make your subscribers happy and more likely to continue doing business with you.

Email marketing is an important tool for building and maintaining relationships with your current and prospective customers. Be sure to choose your message carefully to match your recipient’s needs. Then, it won’t feel as if you are invading their personal space, but rather offering them a chance to connect and interact with you, or even learn something they didn’t know before. Over the next few weeks we will be highlighting some key email marketing practices, so be sure to check back.

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3 Fresh Ways to Grow Your Email List | Commercial Web Services Blog / April 10, 2015

[…] we’ve discussed in our Best Practices for Email Marketing blog post, email marketing is a cost effective tool that really works for your business. But to […]

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