Take That, Social Media!! Long Live Email As Marketing Tool

The headlines all say that email marketing is dead; a rotting corpse of a bygone marketing fish.  Don't tell that to my clients or their customers.  And, by the way, the science is in on this. 

The first one I noticed a week ago.  Yes, Mildred, people prefer to be sold by email.   Especially repeat customers.  But people hate getting all that email, right.  They will tell you that, but they are not telling the truth.  Here's the stats on email customer attitudes

Check out the influence of social media.   WOW!  Now that doesn't mean we can't use social media effectively to get emails or to engage folks.  It just means that it isn't turning into $$.  And I hate to say it, but I've been saying this for a long while.  My clients just aren't getting a bunch of action from social.  (Unless you count YouTube).

Add to that study, this study by Pew Research.  Tablet and smart phone users, are using these devices primarily to send and receive emails.  Go figure.  Not text, not games, not social media.

When you send out an email at almost no real cost to a list of folks who already know you, and 20% to 30% open it, you have a fantastic chance of some kind of connection.  Moreover, you are controlling the message, not hoping they find the message among all the other competing matter on the page or the screen.

Want more business? Develop your email list.  Send out emails monthly or more often depending on your business.  Refine your email to make certain you are speaking to your followers and sharing things they want to know and deals that will drive them in. 

Small Business Marketing - Marketing Secrets from a Serial Entrepreneur

Small Business Owner?  Who Are You? If You Don't Know, How Will Your Customer?  Marketing Secrets 11-20 Out of 101

The marketing of any company or product should start with the first ten elements that we have just completed in our 101 Marketing Secrets of a Serial Entrepreneur.  Figure out your personal and business goal, add strategy and tactics.  Once those are in place you can review your profit picture, including the cost and the revenue sides.  You will want to evaluate customer service levels, which will be directly related to your reputation, and largely dependent on the type of people you hire.  My last Secret in the top ten was quality.  Determining the quality you want to be known for is a perfect opening salvo into the next ten secrets. 

The quality issue is one of the 11 elements of your identification that we will tackle next.  Your company has an appearance, a personality, a feel, a place, a reach, etc.  Are you projecting what you intend to project?  Are you proactively determining the images you believe will make you successful, or merely allowing the market to decide who you are? 

Starting with the first of the identification issues in the next post?  Let me know in the comments what you think the 10 additional elements will be in addition to quality. 

Email Still Rules For Small Business Marketing

What if I called you today and said you could send a letter or brochure to 4000 of your customers who've visited you over the last three years for $150.  Layout, design, paper, printing, postage, everything.  You'd be happy if 2% of those resulted in some kind of action or 80 people calling or coming in.  Of course, $150 is a joke.  You'd pay $1200 to $1800 just for the postage.

So explain to me why it is so hard to get clients to put together an email list and send out emails on a regular basis to their client list?  The cost is $150 at the most even if you use an outside resource to create the content.  Now, let's say only 1% buy something or even .5%.  So 40 or 20 folks take action for $150.  Tell me where on or off the internet there is a better deal than that.

You can get started today by signing up at Constant Contact or by giving us a call.  Randy at 310-910-1848