Keeping your customers with email

In our journey to provide great eMarketing tools and processes we talk to a lot of businesses.

We all network in one form or another. Making connections and generating referrals in that sphere is a very manual process. However, some of the characters and stories that come out of these events are absolutely priceless and almost worth the effort for that alone.

We always ask the question “How do you communicate with your customers and prospects?”

Generally it takes them a few seconds to mull it over, but you would be amazed at how many just send a Christmas card in December. While this is lovely, most businesses couldn’t survive on one mass outbound client contact a year and it’s surprising that some do! How many cards have you still seen up 4-5 months after Christmas?

Of course we have drawn this extreme example to get you to think about your own organisations communications strategy. Did it work? If so, are you communicating enough?

For us it really does come down to some basic common sense areas. You don’t need a degree in a marketing or work for Saatchi and Saatchi to create your own marketing campaign for your business. Ask yourself some questions…

How many times a month or year do your customers need your product or services? Let the answer guide your newsletter frequency, use it as a base number and increase frequency as required.

One of the great things about running an eMarketing business in Sydney is the range of diverse businesses we engage. Whether you are an accountant, charity, florist, bank, car dealership, real estate agent or folk band your success is based around creating a loyal customer, client or membership base.

It is up to 12 times less expensive to sell to an existing customer as it is to acquire a new customer? The value of customer loyalty and repeat business is too high to ignore.

A recent Australian study found that…

A 5% increase in client retention can produce profit increases of between 25 to 100 percent.
On average repeat customers spend 67% more than new customers.

It’s ALL about the communication…

Communication is a critical part of any relationship

Small businesses more so than any other, nurture customer relationships learning preferences and interests specific to each. This is gathered via face to face personal interaction, they keep in touch with them regularly ensuring that their business is “top of mind” with their customers.

It will take somewhere between six to eight contacts before a prospect turns into a customer. This contact can be expensive and very time consuming exercise, especially on a larger customer base. This is where eMarketing really comes into its own.

Email converts prospects and visitors into loyal customers

Email enables proactive communication with your existing customers instead of passively and patiently waiting for them to discover a need, possibly finding you again either through your website, at your store/office or 1300 number. Email marketing allows you to solidify your existing relationships, create new ones while converting one your off web visitors, buyers and your members into repeat purchasers, long terms clients or even contributors to your newsletter.

When email is on your team, it really doesn’t matter how your customers, prospects and web visitors found you. You may have rented an opt-in list, sponsored a newsletter, run a Google Ad Words campaign, used SEO, sent a flyer or even hired a hot air balloon!

Email marketing will add to your bottom line EVERY time because it maximises your investment in time consuming and expensive marketing efforts and in turn improves the return on investment of every single dollar you spend to develop and maintain new and existing client relationships.

Double Click demonstrates in the figures below good email marketing wins over consumers:

Well-executed permission email marketing campaigns can have a positive impact on consumers’ attitudes towards companies.
58% of consumers said they opened those companies’ emails, while 53% said that such emails affected their personal buying decisions.
66% of Australian consumers said they liked companies that, in their opinion, did a “good job” with permission email marketing.

Why is email marketing so effective?

Email marketing is one of the most powerful marketing tools available today.

It is an easy, affordable, direct, actionable and highly effective electronic platform. When you add email to your marketing mix, you spend less time, money and resources than with traditional marketing vehicles (e.g. direct mail or print advertising). It allows you to communicate quickly and more effectively meaning your time-sensitive information can be accessed in minutes, not days or weeks - and you can track your results in real time.

Email marketing performs at its peak when used to communicate to your existing customer list as a means of customer retentionm

Communicate more information, more often…

If you are working on a tight budget email marketing is the best way to get “bang for your buck”. It literally costs a fraction of a cent per email.

Emails response rates. The statistics:

Emails response rates are 5 times greater than direct mail.
Email response rates are 25% more responsive than banner ads.

Unlike direct mail, there is virtually no production, materials or postage expense. You can easily create more communications to provide further value to your customers. You can easily design these communications to enhance and support your brand, in a way that really differentiates you from your competition.

Just a few of these communications could include exclusive events, seminars, newsletters, sale notifications, product registrations and many more.

Educate your customers

By using information and education in your communications you will actually increase the value of your customers. People are more likely to buy when they have access to all the information and can make an informed decision. Why force any of your prospects to look elsewhere and risk them finding one of your competitors. Your emails can gently guide your prospects through your sales process, provide relevant information and drive them to your website for immediate purchase.

This medium is uniquely suited to accomplish long term customer loyalty and retention, well thought out campaigns can also deliver calls to action that provide some very real short term benefits.

A well educated customer will use your products and services to their best advantage. This not only ensures that your customers are getting the best from your business, but builds a great word of mouth base for your business. So when you launch your latest product or service, guess who will be first in line to buy it from you.

Recent studies show that both recipients and senders increasingly prefer email marketing, Double Click tell us that:

Permission-based email is far and away the preferred method of online communication for consumers.
75% rated it as their preference
25% preferred postal mail
0% chose telemarketing.

Build long-lasting relationships

The benefit of building long lasting relationships with your customers is priceless. If you talk competently, truthfully, and in an educational manner to your clients, their perception of you changes. It changes from that of a salesperson to someone capable of addressing their issues and needs, even better they may look on you as an expert. This develops trust, the real power of email is then opened and the ease of two way communication allows them to share their “pains” with you.

Engaging your clients in this way will allow you to better serve their ongoing needs. As you get to know your clients better you will be able to hone your unique selling proposition and gradually shut your competitors out. As almost a by product of this communication you can discover hidden sales opportunities that have missed by the market.

Test, measure and improve your results

Discovering the actual marketing benefit from most types of mediums is a difficult process to measure. With eMarketing, the figures are at your disposal and its easy to measure number of emails sent, opened, temporary and permanent bounces, unsubscribed, forward to friends and even the click through rates of each and every email.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg! You can view which links motivated the most clicks and who clicked on them. This allows you to profile and target your customers in a way you have never been able to do without a marketing department to help you!

Kevan Baker

Web2Grow

Phone:1300 13 89 31
Tel: 02 9572 9797
Fax: 02 8221 9610

Suite 44a, Level 1, The Italian Forum
23 Norton Street
Leichhardt NSW 2040

We will show you how you can make money in the new economy!

Our aim is to Show Mummy the Money!

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