You are, no doubt, concerned what effects the government cutbacks and rise to 20% VAT will have on email marketing post Christmas. There will be the January sales of course, and according to all predictions the promise is that it should be a bonanza, but what about that first Tuesday in February?
You are aware of course, that you will need a business strategy with some clever tactics to keep your products and services moving. There are a number of options for email marketing but let us look at four of the most obvious.
Existing customers
You could opt to sell more to those currently on your email lists. But do go for the high risk strategy of increasing the frequency without careful consideration. It is better to try to increase the value of individual sales or increase the number of items in each offer. Discover what your competitors are offering and ensure that your marketing emails are the more tempting choice.
Before making substantial changes to your offers, consider treating you high value customers differently. That unsubscribe box is all too readily ticked.
New or previous subscribers
This is a win : win ploy. Despite the fact that trying for new subscribers to your email lists is the one costly part of email marketing it will still pay dividends especially in the long term.
Do not be tempted to contact those who have unsubscribed in the past. Email marketing depends to a great deal on trust and a reputation for breaking the law is not the way to go. However, that does not exclude a follow-up email when someone does unsubscribe. Ask them why they ticked the box and offer them a discount on their next purchase if they stay. Keep a separate email list for dormant subscribers. They are not buying so you can take more risks with them.
Different methods
Do you extend credit? How about reductions in bulk? If other companies are undercutting you, find out why. Do they use a cheaper wholesaler, or have they just cut back on their number of counters to concentrate on email marketing? Are there cheaper ways to deliver? Look to the comparison in profit between B2B and customer sales. Work out if it would pay you to concentrate on one over the other.
New products
This might have been your first thought as to the route to more profits, and so it should have been, but it is advisable to approach it with care. You could go for something completely different although you will have to consider if you have the necessary contacts, expertise, time and money to invest in the new products. Expanding the current range into fairly similar products is often the safest way to go.
These methods are not mutually exclusive and the data on your email lists will indicate which to favour and ignore. Be prepared for success. The time to find out those who suggested email marketing will expand are right is not when you are struggling with the workload.
