Communicate with customers

As FCC regulations and laws continue to progress and consumers become more outraged about spam, the way companies communicate with customers via e-mail is under new scrutiny. The good news is that if it’s done right, e-mail marketing can be extremely effective, crushing the ROI figures of direct mail and telemarketing. That being said, it’s not enough to merely distribute a regular newsletter or promotion anymore. In order to be effective using e-mail, follow the tips below to ensure that your e-mail communications will be received well and will stand out from the competition:

Build permission-based lists
Spam is bad. Use loyalty programs, such as sign ups at showrooms and will-call counters, Web site registrations or print advertising to capture e-mail addresses for marketing use.

Identify yourself
Your company is not the only one sending e-mails to your customer’s inbox. As e-mail continues to become a mainstay for personal and professional communications, it has also become a playground for companies to compete for customer attention. To stand out, make your company noticed with recognizable e-mail addresses and concise subject lines that convey a relationship instead of a gimmick.

Trigger it
Consider setting up a trigger-based messaging system that delivers customized messages based on triggers such as recipient feedback, external events or specified time intervals. This make your communication even more personalized to the user, and strengthens your customer relationships.

Take a poll
When was your last purchase from our company? How many times a week do you drink coffee? Ask a question in each message that your company can track. These questions, which may seem irrelevant to your recipients, can help you expand the demographic data you own about your customers. Add the results to a database that you can use for current projects or down the road for future promotions and giveaways. Your customers will be amazed at how well you know them.

Learn from your mistakes
Consider sending out sampling messages to a small percentage of your target lists before delivering an e-mail to your entire audience. By doing this, you can ensure your message is effective, or you can tweak your message accordingly.

This article originally appeared in the November/December 2003 issue of Progressive Distributor. Copyright 2003.

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