E-Mail Power
People Love It
Of course there are exceptions, and some e-mail is better received than others, but generally speaking, “You have mail” are welcome words when opening your e-mail program.
Yesterday’s Inbox
The same was true in times past when all mail came to your physical mail box. The more there was, the better you liked it.
“Thank You.”
When was the last time that you went shopping, came home and opened up your e-mail to find a simple “Thank you” e-mail from one of the stores where you shopped? Such e-mail would likely be well received, especially if it came from someone you did NOT buy from, and does NOT have a “sales pitch” as a part of it. A link to your web site is enough. Everyone likes being appreciated.
CRM’s
I talk with many companies that have Customer Relationship Management systems (CRM) in place to gather e-mail addresses and other customer information, but in too many cases it stops there. Or, they go into a data base somewhere with good intent to send e-mail about upcoming sales, promotions or new merchandise. In some cases even that doesn’t happen.
Pick One!
A good way to get e-mail addresses is to have a weekly or monthly drawing of some sort with winners posted on your web site. Be sure that you do not ask for too much information on the drawing ticket; name and e-mail address is all you need. I dropped my business card in a fishbowl at a cafe recently and got a return e-mail telling me who the winner was (not me), but offering me a consolation prize of a free bowl of soup with my next purchase.
Get it Together!
The names in your data base are pure gold. Get creative; e-mail is free, and properly used can be the most effective and inexpensive marketing tool of all.
