There is a lot of evidence supporting the contention that the effectiveness of an email marketing campaign is improved if it is run in conjunction with other marketing methods, such as website, periodical adverts and even direct mail. Email lends itself to a whole range of marketing applications, all of which can be brought together using bulk email service providers.
We have covered the many roles that e-newsletters can be used for before on these pages. Email can also be used as a conversion tool, it shines at customer support and research and viral marketing can be used to generate referrals. Given that the main incentive for email marketing is how straightforward it all is, marketing managers might well be a bit concerned about the above procedures.
They will be relieved to find the medium lends itself to automation. Your bulk email service provider will have systems which limit the degree of input required from customers. Testing, that most vital of all procedures, can mean little more than you interrogating a database.
The variables in email marketing are considerable. You will want to test copy in headings, subject lines and From addresses. Your clients are unique and there is no definitive answer as to whether a reduction of 35% is as attractive to your email list as a one off £35 discount, even if the original price was £100.
You will, no doubt, be disappointed to be told I cannot say how effective a secondary offer might be in increasing the overall return on investment. Only you can, or rather your bulk email service will tell you and at just the click of a button.
Email marketing effectiveness depends on constant checking and testing, which thankfully takes little effort. It is still a developing and evolving medium and there are few definitive answers. You need to test your own clients on how they react to your offers.
In the first paragraph I mentioned bulk mail. Did you know Royal Mail loses its VAT concession in April? The competition will increase and the only sensible way of fighting off competitors is by using your bulk email service to its limits. If you do not, your competitors will.
