As a business owner, the choices of media available to communicate your message to your target market can be confusing. Media Representatives will cite statistics to support their argument that you should use their particular medium and faced with data where it is hard to compare apples with apples, for most of us it becomes an expensive exercise of trial and error.

Email marketing offers exceptional benefits over any other medium. The ability to target specific market segments with tailored messages that are welcomed, opened and auctioned. Our mantra is to develop the right message, targeting the right people at the right time. If we can do this our emails will be welcomed, opened, read and we stand the best chance of them being acted upon!

And there are many ways to use email – not just for your customers, it may also be relevant for you to consider your own internal staff, media and investors.

No matter who is the target market, if it’s relevant it will build the relationship and build your business? Let’s start by looking at the most important use of email campaigns targeting your customers.

We need to ask ourselves;

Who is our target market?

What do they want to know?

When would they like to receive our email?

Who is our target market?

No matter what your business is, if you think about what your customers want, you will be able to put them into segments. For instance you might be a florist and your customers comprise; corporate customers that you supply fresh flower arrangements weekly, regular customers (men) who purchase flowers for special occasions, wedding organizers, hotel function organizers etc.

You can do the segmentation along any lines you like. Some of the main categories of segmentation can be by age group, gender, employment status, location, lifestyle, buying patterns etc. It goes without saying that it is important that when you set your database up, you reflect this segmentation. Otherwise you will not be able to sort your customers into their key groups.

We mentioned before investors and your own staff. It’s worth taking a moment to identify all those people that surround and make your business and consider whether you can build the relationship with relevant email messages. An example could be a franchise with multiple franchisees scattered across the country or the globe. Communicating with your franchisees would be imperative to providing continuing support and value.

Similarly you may be a publicly listed company with many investors. Again it’s imperative you provide relevant and timely information to this market. And it may be a great idea to send snippets of announcements rather than leave it all to the annual report.

What do they want to know?

Creating Relevant Email Messages

You have segmented your database and the basis of this will inform what unique messages are relevant to each segment. These unique messages will address the particular needs and wants of the individual segment. It’s important that when you write your email messages you think about the tone and style that suits your target market and will have the greatest impact. Again it’s all about being relevant and therefore highly interesting to your target market.

Think about the subject line

You want your customers to know immediately before they open the email, that it is from you and they can trust it. Your email-marketing document should have a subject line that is straightforward - include your business name, the key subject matter and be as short as possible, e.g. XYZ Sale Preview, Newsflash from XYZ florist.

When would they like to receive your email?

Timing

With your Echoplus software you can set up your email campaigns at any time and schedule them to go on a particular date and at a particular time. When you choose the time think about your target market's lifestyle and decide the best time to launch your email marketing campaign.

Use common sense and take a stab at then would be the most ideal time when they will not only check their email but also have time to give it their attention.

Testing

We should also mention that the Echoplus software will not let you send your email to multiple people until you have checked it on yourself. Fail-safe ways of ensuring you don’t embarrass yourself with a dodgy looking document! Emails are very versatile!

The following list illustrates the many ways you can use email:

Data collection via Surveys and questionnaires

Growing your database

Triggered communications

Newsletters

Viral Campaigns

Brand marketing

Reminders & Notifications

Promotional campaigns

Event registration

Renewal notices

Birthday/Special Event messages

Database management

Integrated campaigns

Internal communications