Small Business E-Mail Marketing: Why You Should Be Doing More

When it comes to small business e-mail marketing most small businesses fall short. With online presence management and social media at the forefront of everyone’s minds, it’s easy enough to think that e-mail marketing is a thing of the past. This is simply not true and today I want to chat a little bit about why you should be making a concerted effort to focus on your e-mail marketing strategy this month.

The Importance of Small Business E-Mail Marketing

The focus on building social media networks and managing your online business reputation is necessary, but it shouldn’t come at the price of your e-mail marketing campaigns.

As someone who specializes in online presence management and online reputation management, I have many irons in the fire, but I can’t stress enough the importance of maintaining “old habits” in addition to focusing on new ones. You want to add to your arsenal of business management tools, not simply trade one for another. But just where does small business e-mail marketing play into the picture these days?

It’s All About Building Relationships

It doesn’t matter what type of business you run, your objective is to build relationships with potential clients and maintain the relationships that you already have in place. There are many ways to do this, but one of the best remains e-mail marketing. Why?

Customers Prefer to Hear from You Via E-mail

Social media marketing, print marketing, direct mail marketing, television ads, there are plenty of ways to get in touch with your audience, but customers still prefer e-mail. E-mail marketing is much more personalized, but more than that, it’s convenient. Customers can access their e-mail on the go which makes using coupons more accessible, they can immediately access pertinent information when needed, and they can archive e-mails for future reference.

It’s One of the Cheapest Ways to Market Your Business

I can’t emphasize the importance of marketing your business enough, but as a small business, your marketing budget likely doesn’t hold up to that of the “big boys”. E-mail marketing, however, gives you the opportunity to level out the playing field and reach the masses with minimal expenditure.

E-mail Marketing is a Versatile Way to Hook Your Customers

Using e-mail marketing you can “hook” your customers with a variety of devices — offering coupons, running contests, promoting giveaways. These methods attract new and existing customers by offering something for nothing and the cost to you is minimal.

Small Business E-mail Marketing Puts Your Customer in Control

When you use e-mail marketing to promote your business, you allow your customers control of what they see, when they see it, and what they do with the information you are giving them. This method of “soft selling” takes away the pressure many customers feel from other marketing methods and avoids making your customers feel as though they’re being forced into something they don’t want.

E-mail Marketing Allows You to Gently Nudge Existing Clients Without Overwhelming Them

As a small business, it’s important to maintain existing customers as well as expand to reach new ones. The problem is that as a small business owner you can’t exactly e-mail previous clients and say “So…are you going to come back or what?” What you can do is send out an e-mail with your latest sales, promotions, coupons, newest products, and recommendations. You can even use your e-mail marketing system to remind customers if they’re due for a “refill” on a product they have purchased, due for an annual check-in, or eligible for rewards based on their patronage.

It’s All About Staying in Touch

Using your e-mail marketing system allows you to stay in touch with your client base and should be done on a regular basis (although not so regularly that you annoy your customers). I advise a once daily or once weekly e-mail depending on your business type, but no matter how often you do send out those e-mails, make sure that they offer value. If there’s nothing new, nothing special, and nothing appealing about your e-mail updates…well, you’re going to find yourself sitting at the top of the e-mail SPAM folder and you’ve blown your chance.

Don’t Have Time to Manage Your Own E-Mail Marketing Campaigns?

If you are short on time for managing your own e-mail marketing campaigns, an online presence manager can help and I am one of the best there is. Interested in how I can help you? Pick up the phone and give me a call at 833–732–3278 for your free consultation.

Lets connect on Twitter too! @opresencemgr