"What we have here is a failure to communicate."
In the same movie, Luke said, "Sometimes nothin' can
be a real cool hand." Maybe that's true in poker, but
not when you're talking about communicating with your
customers. Communication is the key to building
profitable customer relationships. And with email
marketing, you have a royal flush. Email marketing is
the easiest, most cost effective and immediate way to
reach out to your customers on a regular basis.
I have received a bunch of email from readers
lamenting the lack of ideas for types of email
communications. My advice? Think about what you would
say to your customers if they were standing right in
front of you in your office, at the register, or if a
customer called you on the phone and asked "what's new?"
There is no better time than the present for you to
show your hand. This issue of hints and tips 'ups the
ante' with suggestions to get you started.
Email Newsletters
Use an email newsletter to keep in touch with
your customers on a regular and scheduled basis.
Your newsletter can include articles on topics of
interest to your readers, relevant news, case
studies, your own commentary on the issues of your
industry, useful information about your products or
services, or - my personal favorite - hints and
tips.
A newsletter can help you:
- Build relationships with your customers and
prospects
- Position yourself and/or your company as a
valuable resource
- Obtain and retain the mind share of your
customers
- Educate and inform
- Illustrate the advantages of your offering
- Widen your audience through word-of-mouth
referrals
A newsletter serves as a subtle reminder to
return to your website, buy your product, use your
service or visit your retail store.
Promotions
Send promotions to your in-house list, a rented
opt-in list or both. Promotions are undeniably most
popular around holidays and gift-giving occasions
including the two months before the November and
December holidays, Valentines Day, Easter, Mother's
Day, Memorial Day, Father's Day, Fourth of July and
Labor Day. But don't let holidays restrict you. You
can send promotions any time. The ones you send
off-season may be even more successful simply
because fewer promotions arrive in those off-peak
intervals. So, let your objectives determine the
timing.
Promotions can help you:
- Ensure that you get your share of holiday
business
- Boost sales, appointments or traffic in
otherwise slow months
- Promote your brand
- Clear space for new stock
- Move excess inventory
- Get your name in front of a new or existing
customer
Also, keep in mind that a customer may or may not
take advantage of a given promotion, but they will
be more likely to think of you when they are ready
to buy. And better yet, they may forward your
promotion to a friend, or friends, who may be
interested.
Event-Driven Communications
An event-driven communication is informative like
a newsletter, but is shorter and timely vs.
regularly scheduled. If you are a tax attorney, you
may want to notify your clients about recent changes
in tax law. A realtor could send a notification when
interest rates drop to an all time low. A
restaurant's new take-out menu, a retailer's open
house or a drycleaner's extended business hours are
also good examples.
Event-driven communications can help you:
- Build relationships with your customers and
prospects
- Position yourself and/or your company as a
valuable resource
- Obtain and retain the mind share of your
customers
- Educate and inform
Company Announcements
Every business has news to share whether it is a
press release, job openings, an addition to your
management team, new partnerships or a funding
announcement. When sent to the right audience,
company announcements can help you:
- Generate leads
- Show business momentum
- Entice investors
- Attract new partnerships
- Get press
Communication is the name of the game. You can bet the
farm that regardless of type, all of your communications
have the power to begin a very profitable dialog and
long-term relationship between you and your customers and
prospects. Play your cards right, and you could win the
shirt right off your competitor's back!
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