Are you using email marketing in your small business? If not, it’s never too late to start! With many free or inexpensive email marketing tools available you can get started and reap the rewards almost immediately.
Email is a powerful medium and, in 2021 4.03 billion people around the world are using it to communicate. Experts predict that number will grow as high as 4.48 billion by 2024. There is no other platform that comes close to the potential reach of email. In fact, email marketing is even more likely to drive sales than social media according to OptinMonster.
In a recent study, it was discovered that in 2021, a huge 87% of B2B marketers use email marketing, closely followed by 79% of B2C marketers (Kinsta) So, while you’re not using it in your marketing strategy – your competitors are!
What is email marketing?
On the surface, email marketing is the practice of marketing via email. However, it is a multi-faceted approach to marketing that can be used to build ongoing relationships with customers, build brand loyalty, and sell all at the same time.
Email marketing is versatile and can be used to convey messages to a large audience of subscribers or segmented to deliver a more personalised experience. Different types of email marketing formats include promotional emails, informative emails, and automated emails.
How to use email marketing effectively.
- Target your audience. Segment subscribers and deliver highly personalised messages to each group. This allows you to reach your audience on a more personal level and tailor content that is relevant to them. You can segment your audience based on any parameters relevant to your business. For example, sorting them by location, age, or even purchasing history will help you to deliver a unique message to each group. This makes it easier to connect with your audience and become relevant to them.
- Avoid the hard sell. Email marketing is like preaching to the choir. When people sign up to your mailing list it’s because they’re interested in your business, products & services. This means you don’t have to try to sell ‘cold’ to them – they already want to hear about your company and products. This established interest makes it even easier to sell and cross-sell and is one of the reasons that email marketing is so powerful. However, we recommend only emailing subscribers that have expressly signed up to your mailing list. Avoid purchasing lists and emailing people when you don’t have the right permissions. This can have the opposite effect and drive people away from your business.
- Build strong customer relationships. Email marketing gives you the opportunity to keep in touch with your customers and build strong relationships – especially if you use these emails to provide extra value. A great way to do this is by sharing tips, offers, and informative content.
- Analyse and assess. The process of effective email marketing is a learning curve. You need to understand what works for your audience and what doesn’t. After sending an email campaign, always remember to analyse the results to see how effective it was. Some key metrics to keep track of are the open rate, click-throughs, forwards, and unsubscribes. By analysing each campaign, you can fine-tune your next campaign for optimum results.
For advice on marketing your small business give our team a call on 01827 219437 or drop us a message.
