Long gone are the days of scatter gun e-mail marketing, where it is deemed OK to send blanket e-mails to everyone in your database. Today, sending a bulk message to everyone on your list simply isn’t effective, in fact it is likely to do more harm than good.

Misguided marketing

It is a common mistake to assume that the more e-mail addresses on your list, the better your results will be. Targeting all of your contacts with one mass e-mail is not only a huge waste of your resources; it can also result in both your responses and your reputation suffering.

Everyone hates spam and if you send your contacts constant e-mails which offer them nothing interesting or useful, there is a high possibility that they will just hit the unsubscribe button.

Hit your target

E-mail marketing can be a vital marketing tool, when used correctly. By regularly getting in touch with your contacts and supplying them with relevant information, you greatly improve your chances of converting them into potential clients. But relevance is the key to the success of your campaign.

Think about it, would your message to a client be the same as an e-mail to a networking contact? Start by segmenting your database into categories and include as much information as you have to hand, so that when it comes to sending your e-mail it is easier to choose the appropriate audience.

Right time, right place

Understanding behaviour, interests and buyer intent is essential to placing the right message, with the right prospect, at the right time. With the evolution of buyer habits and software capability we can now be much more specific in the way we talk to our customers. One solution is to use a system that enables customer segmentation and self selection.

Above all else, use your data intelligently. This significantly increases the return on investment of e-mail marketing, compared to the outdated tactic of sending out as many emails as possible and hoping someone will buy, eventually!

 

By Carl Barlow, managing director of Digital Eyes Media. 

PrivSec Conferences will bring together leading speakers and experts from privacy and security to deliver compelling content via solo presentations, panel discussions, debates, roundtables and workshops.
For more information on upcoming events, visit the website.

comments powered by Disqus