Strange as this may seem, as I would have to agreed with them, but done correctly email is still the best form of communication. Social media is what is being muted as the next big thing, and as someone very cleverly pointed out to me recently, it is all about the media. It is not worth just turning up to social media, you have to work to get the message out within a social environment. So in conclusion, no I do not think that email marketing is dead, it just needs to be handled properly and used as a communications tool. Get the message?

And it’s not just us that say it, here’s some statistics on email marketing:

• Email marketing generated a ROI of £43.62 for every pound spent on it in 2009 (Direct Marketing Association)
• Email and e-newsletter marketing are considered a second-most effective tool for conversions (just behind CEO) (Ad Effectiveness Survey, Forbes Media)
• A 2009 survey of retailers found that “email is the most mentioned successful tactic overall” (Shop.org)
• In 2008, Marketing Sherpa did a survey of hundreds of marketers; pay-per-click ads ranked tops in ROI, with email marketing (to house lists) at a close second.
• A 2009 Marketing and Media survey had 80% of industry executives saying that email channels performed strongly for their company (Datran Media)
• Cost per order of £6.85 for email marketing, vs. £19.33 CPO for paid search (February/March 2008 survey, Shop.org)
• Datran Media’s 2009 Annual Marketing and Media Survey had 58.5% of industry executives planning to increase their investment in email, while only 5.7% planned to cut back.
• An April 2009 survey of senior marketing executives revealed that 46% of respondents planned to invest more in email (European Interactive Advertising Association)
• Across the board, it’s estimated that expenditures in email went from £600 million in 2008 to £700 million in 2009.
• A 2008 survey showed that 95% of marketers surveyed were using email marketing, with 4% planning to get on board with it by year’s end (Forrester Research)

In tough economic times, it is crucial to continue marketing your business, and maximise your marketing spend. Email marketing is a perfect way to keep your business in front of your customers’ and prospects’ eyes!

Targeted mailings to an interested audience will result in high email open rates, and an opportunity to build relationships with your customers and make some sales.

The following is a list of five reasons why you must start email marketing now!

1. Email marketing is inexpensive.

Email marketing is an affordable way to stretch a tight marketing budget. Email marketing can cost as little as a penny per email.

Our solution provides you with an easy to use online platform for reporting purposes and plus our managed approached allows you to have as little involvement as you like.

2. Email marketing is highly targeted.

You can easily segment your email database into different groups, so that your promotions go to individuals most likely to respond to your offer. For example, you may send one offer to existing clients, and send a different one to prospects who’ve expressed interest in your products or services.

3. Email marketing is proactive.

Email marketing enables you to proactively communicate with your existing customers and prospects, instead of passively waiting for them to return to your website or storefront.

It is a highly effective way to communicate promotional offers, news, events, which may result in an increase in sales, drive traffic to your website or store, and develop customer trust and loyalty through relationship building.

Sending out a monthly email campaign will keep your business in front of your customers’ and prospects’ eyes.

4. Email marketing generates an immediate response.

Promotional emails include a call to action that can result in immediate responses. Initial campaign responses generally occur within 48 hours of the time the email campaign is sent; testing and refining your campaigns is immediate. You can gauge the open rates of your email campaigns, which provides useful and immediate information you can use to tweak your campaign messages.

5. Email marketing is easy.

Our Web-based email marketing products are easy to use. The services available, list segmentation and targeting capabilities, as well as automatic tracking and reporting of your email campaign effectiveness, such as for open rates, bounces, and spam reports. Worried about the work involved? Our designers can provide you with a professional HTML template.

If you’re not a “techie”, have no fear. You don’t need a Webmaster or technical person on staff to handle the development and distribution of your email campaigns. Our managed approached will do all the work for you.

Email marketing works because it allows precise targeting of your marketing message, it builds loyalty with your customers, it is inexpensive, and best of all, it drives sales. Include email marketing in your arsenal of marketing tools today!

Here are a few essentials that every business may want in their sales pack:

Standard Sales Letter (Introduction)

A standard sales letter should explain to a prospect just who your company is – what your goals are, and why you feel your solutions are important to your prospects.

Contact Us

Designate a page on your website strictly for information on how your company can be contacted.  It should be easy to locate and clearly list your important contact information.  When someone wants an answer, they are often left leaving unsatisfied if all they have available to them is a phone number.  So, even if your office is closed for the evening, allowing a visitor to fill out a Contact Us form can help keep the lines of communication open.

This information should feed directly into your Marketing system for your Sales team to follow up on.

Landing Page

Create a landing page that is hooked up to an easy-to-remember URL… Perhaps,
YourDomain.com/Info.  This way, your sales reps can quickly tell people about this address when they are talking to prospects.  The advantage of sending them to a landing page (instead of directly to your home page) is that you direct people to the important details about your company and services.  Also, if you put a response form on the page, you can increase the chances that the prospect will request additional information, or provide more data about their interests.

Email Blast

You should have a standard email blast that can be sent out by your sales reps, at any time.  The email blast should focus on a key solution that your company provides – perhaps it’s your ability to offer marketing services.  This way if you ring in a new contact from an exhibition, webinar, etc.., you can get something out to your prospects right way while they still remember meeting or hearing about you.