Recent trends in entrepreneurship are building relationships with clients according to the “client – friend” scheme. E-mail marketing is a kind of bridge between the company and the consumer. A series of letters with offers and promotions from the company sent to interested consumers. The more stable such a bridge, and the more pleasant it will be to go along it, the higher customer loyalty will be, and, accordingly, the number of sales will increase.
The average Internet user is noticeably oversaturated with information. In an era when the Internet is literally teeming with selling content and commercial offers, it is difficult to choose something suitable. Usually, businesses hire an email marketing agency for curating and organizing such campaigns. Therefore, the audience, flipping through the tape every day and stumbling into thousands of attempts to sell something, prefers not to even read about these materials.
How to Attract Attention?
Email marketing comes to the rescue here. Correct mailing is always a personalized call to the client. A future buyer should see that a distant and unknown company is not so distant and unknown. Sorry for this easy tautology. We are talking about building “good neighborly” relations with the target audience. In this case, the main thing is not to slip into a completely open familiarity.
“Hello, N!
We have prepared something unusual for you. Take a look and see how it works. We tried to make product X very convenient and easy to use.
A discount on this something at a rate of 25% will pleasantly please you.
Come to us. The doors of our company are always open. We will be glad to see such a beautiful and responsive person like you! ”
Agree, the example looks warm and vibrant. The Tolika flattery and lack of a haughty attitude towards the consumer are doing their job. The purpose of commercial mailing is always sales. But, this does not mean that “sell” must be openly and intrusively. In this case, there is a risk to end up in a place where it is cold and damp. This refers, of course, to the spam folder. In a letter to potential clients, the company can tell about its work, offer the client to take an entertaining test, vote for the picture they like, and even just talk about “10 most incredible things on the planet.” It is important not to overload the client with useless information. To find a balance between “interesting” and “selling” is extremely necessary.
How Often Should Emails Come? Types of Newsletters
Experts disagree about the frequency of informing potential customers. Email marketing should be unobtrusive, but at the same time regular. For businesses to grow, it plays a vital role. A newsletter that you have to literally “clean” from your mailbox due to the abundance of letters is unlikely to be effective. But letters that are lucky enough to find once a year in their mail, absolutely will not attract new customers to the company.
There are 3 options for sending letters:
- Automatic or “serial” mailing . This is a type of newsletter in which a user who has left an email and is interested in a product will receive messages to the mailbox sequentially. Sending such messages is fully automated. That is, first the customer receives a welcome letter, then a story about the company and then a series of letters in which goods and various promotions will be offered. The advantages of this mailing list are that the company does not need to write separately for each case by letter. It saves time. Cons – not everyone loves a standard attitude and soulless mailing.
- Bulk or “one-time” mailing . With this approach, entrepreneurs should be creative. Mass mailing is carried out once and throughout the subscriber base. A new model of TVs? The letter contains a detailed story about the new product and a couple of interesting facts. Moved to a new office? Letters with promises to improve work and improve product quality. The advantages of this approach are an individual approach to the client and a creative component. Cons – every time you need to come up with “something new to write about.”
- Hybrid Newsletter . Perhaps the most optimal solution. This is a combination of serial and one-time distribution. Set up automatic sending of letters – excellent. Now you need to sometimes dilute it with mass mailing. New arrivals of goods, a change of leadership, a fresh vision of the market – you can tell a lot. Pros: customers are already tied to automatic mailing, but they are also pleased to “see the face of the company”.
Reactive letters
Now let’s move on to the next opportunity that email marketing provides. The fact that not all mailing recipients are ready to part with their money and buy something is no secret to anyone. So, what to do in this case.
A reactivation letter is a message that a potential client receives after a long time of its inactivity. We explain. The reader subscribes to the newsletter and at the start has the “hottest” interest in the product. After time, having not decided on a purchase, he stops reading advertising letters. The consumer simply “forgets” about the company. Reactivation letter is designed to “wake up” a bored customer and return his interest in the product.
“Hello, dear N!
You seem to have completely forgotten about us. We are bored here without you. During that time, until you read the newsletter, we managed to achieve a lot and expanded the range.
Look, we have something new for you!
Come in when the time appears, and choose what you like. Come back. Thank.
Best regards, Company X! ”
Users who, for some reason, postponed the purchase, thanks to such treatment will be able to return to getting acquainted with the company. This is a kind of “second chance.” Do not underestimate the power of reactivation letters. If the client did not immediately contact the company, it does not mean that the activities of this company disgusted him. In most cases, this means that the client simply “thinks long and deeply.” The percentage of such customers is high enough to treat them negligently.
Provocation in letters
Let’s talk about cases where provocation in letters can be both in the hands of the company and become its worst enemy.
Let’s analyze two similar unusual cases from the practice of e-mail marketing. When the provocation caused an ambiguous reaction of users. So, gentlemen, email marketing in all its glory.
A webinar service company has started mailing out reaction letters. However, the style of this newsletter was chosen as provocative. The letter looked as follows (pay attention to the topic):
All would be nothing. Gape customers like cold water from a teapot in the morning. That is, the creativity and idea here are at a very good level. If not for one but. The system sending the letters mixed up the customer bases and began sending them to literally everyone. I was lucky to read the letter marked “we had a better opinion of you” and existing customers. The reaction was immediate. Social networks literally exploded with comments (often negative) about the company. Say, “how can one treat clients with such neglect?”
In this case, the provocation can be called not entirely successful. However, as the project managers themselves assure, there have been an order of magnitude more requests for their services. The error was an excellent news item that accelerated the promotion of the service.
Qlean Service
The cleaning company has decided to reanimate clients who have not requested services for a long time. The mailing text was something like this:
From the first lines, a dismissive and defiant tone of writing is noticeable. However, here fate played a cruel joke with the company. The system failed again, and the letter flew away to absolutely loyal customers who were actively ordering this service. Controversial comments swept through the waves in forums and social networks. networks. Again, the provocation was unsuccessful at first glance. However, a detailed examination reveals that such an unexpected and aggressive letter gave impetus to numerous discussions and increased attention to the brand.
And the apologies brought by the company to regular customers smoothed out a reputation mistake. The result is a good news item and attracting new users. Black PR is also PR, what can I say.
Conclusion
The advantages of e-mail marketing over conventional product advertising are undeniable. However, in order to achieve results, you must learn to use this sales tool.
Advertising and banners on all pages are already familiar to users. No one pays attention to the inscriptions in the bright blinking windows. The consumer needs a simple friendship. Marketing “with a human face.” Companies that understand this in time will keep up with the times. The rest will remain at the back of a vibrant facade advertising with a couple of clients who have accidentally wandered. In today’s market, building relationships with customers and building a product-loyal audience is perhaps the most important area of marketing.
Millions of people use mail, even despite the rapidly growing social services. network. A personal mailbox is the last outlet that a person has left. And do not clog it with spam. It is better to turn to the client the right place and tactfully and in a cozy atmosphere to build an advertising campaign.
