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Permission-based e-mail is essential to both establish customer loyalty and increase customer lifetime value. However, done incorrectly, it can easily erode your relationships with current customers. Here are some important things to consider:
Get Permission
This seems like a simple step. But for some companies, doing this poorly or skipping this step altogether has resulted in major losses of business and customer trust.
Don't let other Businesses have access to your Customers' E-mail Addresses
This step may seem obvious as well, but many businesses fail to see the trust broken by such practices.
Don't bombard your Customers with Information
If your customers have opted to receive your special offers, limit contacting them to no more than two, maybe three times a month.
Make it easy to UnsubscribeThese two steps not only reassure your customers' trust, but reinforces your reputation as an honest, thoughtful and responsible business.
Display your Privacy Statement in a Prominent Spot
Don't hide your privacy statement from customers, let them know what your practices are up front.
Build a House List
The first step in permission-based e-mail is building your e-mail list. Before you build the list, determine what info is needed from your customers. The information you collect can address their specific needs. The most basic of lists includes your customers' name and e-mail address. But if you want to really narrow your target, dig deeper and find out such things as age, sex, location, household income, as well as their interests and hobbies. Once you gather that information, put it in a database.
Here is a list of common customer characteristics:
- Name
- Age
- Sex
- Household Income
- Location
- Occupation
- Married/Single/Divorced
- Ethnicity
- Household Size
- Hobbies
Great Ways to Build Your Lists
Phone Calls
When your customer service reps contact your clients, create a script that asks customers for permission to collect information or send them something of value.
Invoices
Use invoices to advertise and cross-sell to customers. Your invoices can advertise a certain product or service that would appeal to that particular customer, and hopefully entice them to sign up for it online.
Clinics
Clinics and seminars are great places to gather sign ups. Use these opportunities to get customer permission to communicate with them further.
Order Confirmation
When an order is placed on your Web site, provide a checkbox that asks your customers if they want to receive more information. Additionally, when the order confirmation is e-mailed to customers, you can ask again if they would like to receive further info about products, services and other items.
Internet Advertising
Need a swift, cost-efficient way to build your list? Use Internet advertising. You can quickly build a list through lead generation programs, e-mail list rentals, banner ads, content integration, sweepstakes or newsletter sponsorships.
Here's a list of types of e-mail to send your customers:
Company newsletters - send them monthly and only if it's double opt-in
Company sales offers - either monthly or in response to inventory
Unique alerts - Specific information a customer requests
Goals you Should Consider
Determine Email ObjectivesBefore beginning an e-mail campaign, first develop your objectives and set goals to measure your success.
Reinforcing your BrandPractically every e-mail campaign should be created to meet this objective. But remember that a brand is so much more than the look or feel of what you send, even though e-mail enables you to reinforce this with text and graphics. To truly reinforce your brand, focus on your quality of service, the sense of value you create and the benefits you provide your customers. E-mail is a great way of reinforcing those values. Timely confirmation notices, special offers to your online customers, quick handling of e-mail requests and responses, and conveniently delivered information are just a few ways to build your brand through e-mail.
List Building
There are a few great ways to build your list. Use a permission-based list generated through a third party (preferably an opt-in e-mail company), or grow your list through viral marketing programs. Remember that consumer response to poorly conceived opt in e-mail marketing programs has not been entirely positive. Customers have responded negatively to campaigns where current list members can sign up other people, because this goes against permission practices.
Converting Prospects to Customers
Sure, you have plenty of names on your list, but remember how many have not bought anything from you. The most successful technique for converting browsers into buyers is enticing customers with something extra. Common examples include free shipping and price discounts. Other examples? Free gifts with purchases, bonus points, or special offers that target their specific interests.
Cross-sell or Up-sell your Current Customers
Acquiring new customers is always a good goal. But maximizing the value of current customers should not be overlooked. Current customers are not only your most valuable sales prospects, but your most highly qualified leads. You offer incentives to new customers, why not offer them to current customers? Ideally, your database should contain the purchase history of current customers so you know which targeted products or services to offer next.
Develop Customer Loyalty
Unless your e-mail program is solely created to get new prospects, developing customer loyalty should be one of your top objectives. To achieve this goal, create a sense of relevance and value to your customers.
Drive Click-throughs to your Website
If you run an ad-supported Web site, this might be a primary business objective. If your site is designed to drive online purchases, then this may be an ancillary objective. But remember: getting people to click through is usually the first step toward a purchase.
Drive Subscription Renewals
E-mail is an easy, low-cost method to deliver subscription renewal notices. Adding a clickable URL in the message that links subscribers to a pre-populated.Web form delivers an additional measure of convenience and good service.
Educate and Inform your Prospects and Customers
Every e-mail you send does not need to have a commercial objective. In fact, if you simply provide useful information, you will most likely inadvertently meet your other goals including improving customer loyalty and building your e-mail list. Consumers are more likely to stay tuned to your messages if they're not always exclusively promotional.
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