How
can I use e-mail to effectively find new customers?
As small companies search for new customers in order to
grow, many may be tempted to rent or purchase a list of
e-mail addresses. Advertising to a ready-made list can
be appealing for its low cost, immediacy and wide-reach.
But beware -- it's not always a good idea, and those who
prospect via e-mail can actually do more harm to themselves
than good.
In the early days of e-mail marketing, people received
comparatively few e-mail solicitations. Recipients clicked
on anything that appeared in their inboxes, and e-mail
prospecting stood a real chance of success. But the idea
quickly caught on -- to put it mildly -- giving rise to
spam, a ceaseless torrent of unsolicited commercial e-mail
that has become the scourge of the Internet.
As a result, today if you send messages to people who
haven't asked for them, you risk being characterized as
a spammer. Think about it. When was the last time you
bought something from a stranger who sent you an unsolicited
message? What impression did you have of that person or
business? Did you read his sales pitch, or toss it out,
or hit the "spam" button? Studies show that
the overwhelming majority of U.S. Internet users find
unsolicited messages annoying and offensive.
So that's the bad news. The good news is e-mail can be
a key part of your new customer efforts -- if you use
it to build on relationships established through other
channels. In fact, the interactive nature of e-mail often
makes it the very best way to build relationships regardless
of the channel that started it.
What do I mean by building relationships? Companies today
must work to establish and maintain good relationships
with recipients. As with all relationships, success requires
give and take. Offer people something they want, and they
will give you permission to send them e-mail. But flood
them with unwanted or irrelevant offers, and they will
turn away forever.
So before you resort to renting or purchasing a list and
sending messages to people who haven't asked for them,
consider developing your own list of people who actually
want to hear from you. Here are four ways to do it:
- Take advantage of your current customer touch points.
If you have a retail location, ask customers to sign up
for your list at cash registers and other visible locations.
When customers make a purchase at your store, they already
are interested in your brand. What's more, you have their
undivided attention. They are presenting you with a perfect
opportunity to get them on your list.
- If you have a Web site, place an invitation to sign
up for your e-mail list on the home page at the very least,
and every page if you can. The more frequent, convenient
and inviting you make your opt-in, the more people will
use it. Be sure tell visitors about the value they will
receive in exchange for providing their e-mail address,
and that you will respect their privacy.
- Let new customers come to you. Advertise on a local
or target search engine to drive people to your Web site
or retail location. When someone finds you via a search
engine, chances are, he or she already is highly engaged
in your products or services. It's a great time to get
that person on your list.
- Leverage a pre-existing relationship. Introduce yourself
to potential customers through another business that already
has an e-mail relationship with its customers. Getting
another company to vouch for you is a great way for people
to get to know you. For example, if you are a restaurant
owner, you might go to a local real-estate company and
ask it to mention you in its e-newsletter to new homebuyers,
and invite them to visit your Web site and sign up for
your e-mail program in order to receive special discounts,
recipes, etc. Because your offer has value to recipients,
and because it is coming from someone they trust, they
are more likely to respond to the message.
These methods will help you find customers and build your
e-mail list, but to keep them, you must continue to establish
and build trust. Develop high-quality, relevant content,
and send only as often as you have something interesting
to say. And be creative. The medium itself gets you nothing
-- it's what you do with it that counts. Think about a
message you would enjoy getting, and send that one.
If in the end you still decide that renting or purchasing
an e-mail list is appropriate for your particular business
situation, be sure to work only with reputable list brokers
that exercise tight control over their lists. Look for
lists that are targeted to your audience as narrowly as
possible. And, be clear about the kind of permission the
broker has obtained from list members. Will recipients
understand why they've received your message? Will they,
as the law requires, be able to opt-out of receiving your
advertising messages in the future?
However, by building your own in-house list and capitalizing
on relationships instead of soliciting to strangers, you
will be tapping the true potential of e-mail marketing.
And you will benefit your business in the long run, instead
of merely recruiting a few customers -- at the possible
expense of many -- in the short run.
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Bill
Nussey
Inc.com
