Since the invention of the email, businesses have been using it to promote their products and services to consumers. If you’re a small business owner who isn’t onboard yet, you have already fallen behind the pack – and you need to catch up, fast! Want to know why it is worth investing dollars and time into email marketing? Here are eleven reasons why it will be worth your while.
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- Builds Credibility
Regular communication with customers through email marketing enables you to build up a sense of credibility. If you send high quality EDMs (electronic directing marketing – email) the judgement the customer makes is more likely to be positive. When you include appropriate language, aesthetically pleasing visuals, important links and a disclaimer, you instantly become a more credible business due to your transparency. - Instant Professionalism
Along with your boost in credibility, utilising email marketing can impress customers with your professionalism. Consumers are more likely to buy from, and trust, a business that conducts itself professionally. Providing them with important information via email (like sales, vouchers or announcements) is a responsible action, because it shows your dedication to giving your customers the best opportunities to purchase from your business. - People Prefer Email
Of all the methods out there, reports show that people find email to be the fastest, easiest and preferred way to communicate. Most working professionals will check their email on a daily, if not hourly basis, as will many students and parents.
- Builds Credibility
Did you know that Zintel has an Email to SMS call feature that can send your customers an SMS directly from your email?
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- Strengthens Rapport
Creating loyal customers requires building strong relationships. Using email as a regular method of communication will allow you to stay in contact and stay “fresh” in the mind of your customers, even when they aren’t buying from you. You may even give your brand a “voice” or “personality” through your EDMs, that leads customers to feeling a more personal connection. - Increase Leads and Sales
When you are asked to sign up as a loyalty member for a store, it isn’t necessarily because they want you to build points or earn rewards. The main reason is because you are automatically subscribed to that businesses’ mailing list – though the rewards are the way most customers are enticed to join. Even those who aren’t regular shoppers or fans of the brand become more open to buying, or at very least considering to buy, from your business when you send out EDMs. Email marketing is extremely successful because the majority of people are willingly subscribed to, and therefore interested in, your business. Those who have absolutely no interest or need to fulfil will unsubscribe in time, slowly narrowing down your list to active, loyal customers that will be more responsive to your email marketing. - Opportunity to Analyse
There are many services on the market that allow you to get a deeper insight into your customers by analysing your email marketing. For example, MailChimp enables you to see your opened, clicked, forwarded bounced and unsubscribed rates – as well as monitoring your sales and website activity. You are able to discover the best day or time of day to send out an EDM, amongst other information. - New Customers
Email marketing can effectively attract new customers for a number of reasons. Firstly, a business can entice people to sign up to EDMs with an incentive (many online stores utilise a percentage off your first purchase strategy), which will hopefully result in them purchasing a product from the website. Secondly, newsletters and email marketing content is shareable across other platforms like social media. As well as attracting new customers, this process simultaneously saves time because content only needs to be created once. Both email and social media enable users to share or “forward” the information onto friends – hello new customers! - High Return on Investment (ROI)
According to Campaign Monitor, email marketing yields an average 3,800% return on investment (ROI) – the average return being $38 for every $1 spent. With such a high and documented success rate, it’s not hard to see why so many businesses utilise email marketing to boost their profits. - Wide Reach
Nowadays most people have access to their email from the mobile, tablet, laptop, computer or similar devices. In the past, a business’ email marketing campaigns would only be accessible from a home computer. Thanks to the mobility of the latest technology, EDMs are able to reach customers anytime and anywhere. - It’s Not Going Anywhere
Before Facebook there was Myspace, and many people were amazed at how quickly the former took over the internet. Unlike social media, which although popular now could become dissolute at any time, we’re stuck with email far into the foreseeable future. Even with potential updates in technology and the platforms we use to receive mail online, the basic concept will remain the same, meaning the email marketing is a long-term investment that isn’t at risk of being abandoned.
- Strengthens Rapport