For years, email marketing was primarily to get customers to buy your products or sign up for your services. Businesses spent a significant amount of resources acquiring new customer leads in hopes of selling to them.
It was all about adding new people to their mailing list. Many felt the more names on their list, the more successful they were. This focus on size over substance was commonplace. However, businesses finally began to realize that despite their massive size, their lists were almost devoid of any buying subscribers. The “more is better” philosophy simply wasn’t working.
This philosophy gets even worse during times of recession when many businesses are forced to cut marketing budgets, only to find themselves without any proven marketing resources. In the race to target anyone and everyone interested in buying, businesses typically scramble to rebuild their email lists, focusing more on quantity than quality. Oftentimes, the primary objective is to create a massive mailing list rather than actually selling products or services.
As is often the case with flawed philosophies, these businesses soon discover targeting previous or well-established customers is more effective. With this simple shift in philosophy, businesses discover the ripple effect of gaining new business from the referrals of established customers.
These tips will help you master your email marketing and make the shift from massive mailing lists to focused buyer lists:
1) It’s all about after the sign-ups
What many don’t realize is it’s easier to sell a $500 item to a current client than it is to sell a $25 product to someone new. Establish trust with a small initial sale and you’ll give yourself an avenue for larger, more profitable future transactions. Once someone has purchased from you, make sure you make them feel appreciated; and most importantly, make sure you have a good follow-up system. Online, or email, marketing is all about building trust and establishing yourself as an authority in your particular field.
2) Offer exclusive deals – make them feel special
Marketing “after the sale” allows you to offer your customers an exclusive deal. It makes them feel special and appreciated. By adding language exclusively for existing customers in many of your marketing efforts, and truly giving them an exclusive deal, you can easily create a repeat customer. True exclusivity gives you a marketing opportunity unparalleled in its unique ability to help you stay connected to your customers.
3) Customers are already buying; prospects require your qualification.
Regardless of the method, marketing to a new customer always feels like an uphill battle. It often falls on deaf ears and proves unworthy of your time and effort. A majority of pre-purchase prospects turn out to be duds; and those who do buy are typically the type of customer that would buy without ongoing email marketing attention. Focus on fostering qualified customer connections, rather than indiscriminate customers of little value.
A focus on true exclusivity and one-on-one personalization goes a long way in building your business. Your efforts will be appreciated by your clients, customers, and business contacts, and rewarded by repeat sales and a more targeted customer base. Develop your email marketing list based on these ideas and criteria, and you’ll find your marketing efforts will be much more successful.
