A direct email marketing campaign is still an extremely effective way to increase your reach and win new customers. It has the same effectiveness both for business to business and business to consumer companies. However, the best campaigns are those that have a good strategy and plenty of planning at their core. The central piece of advice we offer our customers, to ensure a maximum return on investment is: To get the right message, to the right person, at the right time Targeting your message to the right recipients will ensure a much higher uptake than a ‘scattergun’ approach, making the most of your marketing budget. There are four main points to consider when planning an effective email campaign.
Know Your Ideal Customer Start by creating a profile of the ideal customer who will be most likely to buy your products or services. What does your ideal customer look like? They may . . . Work within a particular industry or sector. Have a particular job title. Operate within a specific postcode. Generate a minimum/maximum turnover. Also consider who your current best customers are. What is their profile and what defines the success in your relationship? Getting a clear idea of your ideal customer will help you get right message out there.
Who are they and where are they? Once you have created your customer profile, it’s time to find where those people are. Rather than spend multiple hours searching through directories or search engines, consider buying in a data list. A good quality and reputable data provider will provide you with: Names and full contact details. Clean up-to-date contacts. Contacts that are screened against suppression preference files. Buying in good quality data can save an awful lot of time and effort, and can often be the most cost-effective approach.
Getting the message right When designing your email content bear in mind the following: Make your subject header engaging and relevant. Use a personal, not generic sending address. Include an unsubscribe option and ensure you delete anyone who does not wish to be contacted from your data list. Be professional and concise in your content and avoid cluttering it with too many different fonts and large bodies of text. Include how what you do benefits your customers.
Get your timing right Craft your campaigns to drop into inboxes at just the right time. You can do this by: Checking your order book – is there a particular time of year you get a spike and become very busy? Analyse why this is and if you can take advantage of it in future campaigns. Seasonal and holidays – Can you promote what you do around any upcoming high-days and holidays? Industry events, seminars and national awareness campaigns – keep an eye out on what’s upcoming within the industries you sell to and tailor your email to that. Putting a good, targeted strategy in place will undoubtedly maximise the success rate of your direct email marketing campaigns!
This article was written by Joanne Clayton from Data Bubble for more information call her on 01274 483936 or visit www.databubble.info
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