One of the biggest challenges for small business owners can be promoting offerings effectively and gaining new clients. Email marketing is a powerful and conversion driving communication method that often gets overlooked in favour of social channels and other marketing tools.
However, for small companies that are seeking to connect directly with buyers and build a relationship, email marketing can be the ace-in-the-hole. Email marketing drives 40% better conversions rates than popular social accounts and can bring a return on investment (ROI) of just over £30 for every pound spent.
For small business owners, this can be invaluable in driving sales and generating revenue, maintaining relationships with existing customers, and generating renewed interest in past customers.
Here are some other reasons why you should add email into your marketing mix.
1. Email is highly personal
By using email tools you can target specific groups, segment email by interest and even make sure every email you send starts with the name of the recipient. This can help to build meaningful relationships with customers and build trust in your brand. Unlike social media posts that are designed to span a broad audience, email marketing can be directed to specific users, and with mobile devices growing ever-popular it can put your email and company message directly in front of the customer.
2. Tailor the customer journey
From sign up to purchases emails can be crafted that are triggered at various stages of the customer journey. A welcome email can be sent at sign up, a series of emails can promote products and services at set intervals, and even incomplete purchases can trigger an email reminder. Designing emails that support and direct the customer journey helps to keep customers engaged and can even promote re-engagement among inactive leads.
3. Email is cost-effective
While building an email list may take a little bit of time, sending emails to your audience is relatively cost-effective when compared to paying for social media campaigns or pay-per-click advertising. Communicating with your customers can be performed quickly and easily and using A/B testing tools can help to identify the type of email messages that work best. Optimizing your email campaigns using the results of A/B tests can help you to optimize marketing messages to improve their effectiveness.
4. Customers prefer email
While other channels can be used to promote your business, the truth is that email is the best method of communication for most customers. In fact, many customers expect you to contact them by email and cite this as their preferred channel. As emails can be designed to feature interactive tools and clickable links, it is an easy way for customers to learn more about your business or purchase a product.
5. Email is versatile
No customer wants to be bombarded with dozens of email messages each week so consider how often you are sending communications. Once the optimum number has been determined, email offers an almost unlimited choice of uses. From special offers, promotional deals, and company information, to the latest news and features, emails can be used for any number of reasons.
6. Measurable analytics
In a world where analytics are increasingly important, understanding the success of email campaigns is crucial. The good news is that email statistics are delightfully simple to monitor and confusion-free. Email opens rates, links clicked, and actions taken can be tracked easily and the data insights used to improve future campaigns. For business owners, this can provide important feedback on the email content that is working well. Sometimes just a couple of tweaks can result in improved open and click-through rates or driver higher conversions.