These next few weeks I am going to cover the main areas you should consider for your email marketing to make sure you are getting the most out of your campaigns. This week we will look at your database…
Your client database
Before you get started with any email campaign, you should make sure you comply with data protection laws by ensuring you have permission from the recipients before adding them to your mailing list. It’s best practice to only email people you have had previous contact with so not to get marked as a spammer, and maintain a good company image (we all hate it when we get loads of emails from people we don’t know!). The second important job is to keep your database up to date. Make sure all email addresses are working and valid and collect new email addresses from each new customer. You could also add a sign up form to your websites to encourage people to be kept up to date with your latest offers!
Once you have the database in place, you should consider segmenting the list into relevant categories. By doing this it means you can target your campaigns accordingly… Whats the point in emailing 2000 people if only 50 of them have the requirement for your service? To do this try and get as much information as you can from your customers. For example, if you are a sport shop, you could ask them what sports they are interested in, so that when you have an offer on footballs, you email those clients interested in football. By targeting and segmenting your database, you may find you are more likely to get a higher response rate.
Finally, if a recipient asks to be removed from your mailing list, its important to action this straight away. Don’t take it to heart, it doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t want to speak to you ever again, but I can guarantee if you ignore their request they are less likely to use you as they will just know you as the company that won’t stop contacting them!
If you need any help with your email database or email campaigns then please feel free to give me a call on 0116 281 5733 and I would be happy to help.
Next week I will cover your email content, including getting the right email subject and call to actions.
Speak soon!
Jenni