by Chris Selland, Founder & President of
Reservoir Partners, Inc.
Getting Going with Email Marketing
In October 2001, I decided to test the old dictum "a
down economy is the best time to start a new company"
and launched Reservoir Partners, a Marketing & Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) Strategy consultancy based
in Cambridge, MA.
Almost immediately, I made one of my first management
decisions - and far and away one of my best. I decided
to get started with email marketing. I'm proud to say
that our first campaign went out before our business
cards were even printed! Admittedly, that first email
campaign was quite simple - creating a holiday card in
late 2001 to wish people well and let them know that we
were in business - but it was also inexpensive,
(literally) done in 5 minutes, and most importantly,
effective.
After that, it wasn't long before we started getting
more creative. As a content company who primarily works
in the realm of ideas, we thought that a newsletter held
promise - and we titled it 'Reservoir Reflections' - the
first issue produced in February 2002. We've been
publishing 'Reflections' for nearly a year now and have
built our readership to several thousand subscribers.
I'm extremely proud to say that we regularly achieve
double-digit click through rates - some in excess of
30%!
What we've found is that there is simply no more
cost-effective (or effective - period) way to market our
business - and despite the fact that 2002 was one of the
most challenging years on record, we've grown, are
profitable and I believe we are extremely
well-positioned for much more success in 2003 and
beyond.
So what have we learned?
It's never too early.
We often consult to companies who aspire to reach many
of the same goals we've achieved with email - regular
communications, and enhanced relationships. Amazingly,
many of these companies are considerably larger than us
- but yet object on the grounds that they 'aren't
ready.' Baloney! Email marketing is incredibly easy to
get started - and in my opinion it is most effective
when it is done with a philosophy of simplicity
Constant contacts are key.
Email marketing does not work as well for a one-time
quick hit marketing strategy. Email allows you to build
a regular, ongoing dialogue with your best clients and
prospects. And that becomes self-selecting - those who
most wish to do business with you will appreciate the
regular communications. Those who do not can opt-out. It
truly is a win-win.
Be regular.
One of the real keys to success is how frequently (or
not) you communicate. We occasionally provide special
alerts (for instance, if we are speaking at an industry
conference) but generally, for us, once a month is
plenty often to communicate. I firmly believe - and our
results have confirmed - that regular but respectful
communication is optimal.
Content is King.
Ultimately, for professional service firms like ours it
is ideas that build relationships - and ideas are driven
and supported by content. I strongly recommend the
creation of a regular communications vehicle - whether
an e-Newsletter or other vehicle. It has worked for us
and it works for a number of our clients.
Be brief.
We also have found that is is critical to keep the
content out of the newsletter. While this may seem to be
a contradiction to the previous point, it is not. You
should let people know about your ideas, but not force
them down their throats. Use the newsletter to point to
your content (on your site or elsewhere) but don't try
to cram it all in. It shouldn't take someone 10 minutes
to decide if your newsletter is worth a read. An overly
long, dense, hard-to-read newsletter simply wastes
people's time. In addition, by keeping the content
external, you can use clickthrough analytics to see who
is really interested in what content - and tailor your
follow-up appropriately.
Keep it entertaining.
Some may disagree (after all, a consulting business like
ours is supposed to be serious) but I'm still shocked by
the number of dry, boring newsletters that clog my
inbox. I subscribe to those to keep up on my
competitors, but I read those that keep me entertained.
Don't hard-sell.
The flip side of the coin is when we see companies who
feel as though they need to close business in every
sentence. Email marketing is about relationship
building, and it is something you're doing for the
long-term - not a quick revenue hit. Even for
consumer-oriented retailers, this fact still holds true-
customer relationships are profitable when they are
long-term, so your marketing efforts need to be oriented
that way.
Mix it up.
Don't get 'locked in' on a particular topic. Reflections
addresses various topics - from Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) strategies (our primary business), to
Marketing Best Practices, Venture Capital (we work
extensively with startups), Economic Commentary, and
various other topics we believe will be of interest. We,
of course, are constantly checking to see what people
read - and often find that it is the 'off the wall'
topics that get the best response. For instance - the
most frequently read piece we ever have had was a story
from the New York Post on baseball and how the number of
triples has declined due to the fact that most batters
no longer run hard to first.
In closing, we've been absolutely thrilled with the
results we've gained - but we'll never be satisfied. The
greatest compliments we receive are when we hear things like
"I actually look forward to receiving your newsletter every
month" - and our goal is to continue to do better. The best
learning any company can gain, ours or yours, comes from
experience. And the best way to learn is to get started
today!
I'm a big believer that in the business-to-business
market, your success as a company is determined by your
relationships. Relationship Management is what Reservoir
Partners is all about. We hope we've given you some insight
into how we do things - and invite you to contact us if we
can be of any help. Good luck in building your business in
2003 - now get going!
Chris Selland is Founder & President of Reservoir
Partners, Inc., an innovative research, advisory and
management consulting firm that creates powerful
Relationship Management strategies. We apply strategic
thinking to your most critical issues, and develop and
implement high-value solutions that bolster your most
critical relationships, as well as your business.
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