E-mail Marketing

Part of the “Low-Cost, High-Impact” Smart Marketing Workshop

You probably get them in your inbox frequently: newsletters, announcements, surveys and invitations. In a marketing study conducted by the National Retail Federation, 90 percent of all business respondents identified e-mail marketing as a top priority in their marketing plan.

If you haven’t tried this technique of reaching customers, you should. Not only does it allow you to communicate directly to new and existing customers, there are no printing or postage costs. All you need to get started is a database of customers and their e-mail addresses. If you aren’t already asking your customers for their e-mail addresses, you can ask them to voluntarily sign up for any sales or business news. It’s an easy way to build your own database of customers who want your information and are therefore less likely to treat your e-mail marketing as spam and hit the delete button.

Don’t Think Customer Service Counts?

Desperate times call for desperate measures. And good customer service (see our earlier post from account director Dana Robbins-Murray) is one of the easiest ways to market your business.

These customers went to great lengths to track down the help they should have received on a first phone call to the business.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/personal/05/28/lw.customer.service/index.html

Follow The Baby Boomer Audience Online

According to a report from Forrester Research, nearly two-thirds of Baby Boomers ages 53-63 consume social media – blogs, video, podcasts, etc.

Why should businesses care about how many Baby Boomers are posting pics of the grandkids on Facebook? Because they’re getting braver about participating in social media, that’s why. The same report stated that the number of Baby Boomers responding to online content more than doubled from 15 to 34 percent last year.

Is Your Message Strategy Outdated?

Every business out there can probably say they offer a product or service relevant to today’s consumers. But do you tell your consumers that? Is your message strategy telling would-be customers what they want to hear given today’s economic climate?

First Impressions .. and Second, and Third

When did you last take the time to experience your business as a customer? First impressions, and second and third, often count. How customers perceive you in person, online or over the telephone can impact your bottom line.

When you walk in the front door is this the impression you want to give to your customers?  Are you greeted?  Does the furniture and décor in the lobby fit the image you are trying to portray?  If you are kid-friendly, do you have small size seating, a play area or both?