There are many advantages to forming a relationship with those on your email marketing list but it can be difficult to break through the barrier of seller/buyer. Yet you know what to do to become closer to your customers as you do it in your work and social life every day. You try to be likeable, in varying degrees depending on your relationship with the other person.
One of the basics of management is that it is vital to remember the names of your staff. The reasoning behind this is that people prefer being recognised as a person and not by what they do. It also shows that the boss has bothered, that they’ve put in a bit of effort.
We can do the same in email marketing. Dear Sir/Madam shows that the company can’t even be bothered to research one’s gender, something a midwife does in the first few seconds of a baby’s life. I’m getting used to my first name being used in marketing emails, but I prefer to be called Mr. Smith so knowing my preferences is a bonus.
This shows another factor which encourages people to like you: remembering who they are. This goes beyond simple names and onto remembering their likes and dislikes. If you want to upset an acquaintance, a quick way is to ask a question you asked of them the previous time you met. It is the same in email marketing. Don’t offer someone a product they have already bought from you. I can’t be the only one who deletes the email immediately.
Empathy is not so much underrated as a marketing tool as ignored. It works well in a personal one-to-one. Who hasn’t tried to make a friend feel better by saying, “I know. It must be terrible.” Do the same with your customers, but take it a step further. Identify their problems and point them towards a solution. Don’t only use it as a route to one of your products.
Nothing disarms people as much as a smile. It is not, as you have no doubt worked out, easily transferable to an email, so we have to do it in another way. Be bright and happy in your text. Being positive reassures.
Lecturing people or trying to impress them with your knowledge, even when you are an expert, will make them switch off. It is the same with an email. If you are going to give them information then do it in a helpful way. Allow them to read evidence rather than hitting them with conclusions. Nothing works better in social or business circles than someone being allowed to come to the same conclusion as you.
“D’you know, I reckon you’re right.” Who wouldn’t feel chuffed at that?
You are not in business to give things away, but little gifts, even if not valuable in themselves, make people feel happy and, normally, grateful. So that little extra, that costs you little, but increases the value of your product by a greater degree, can repay you.
In the same way you are glad to see a friend, if you build positive relationships with those on your email marketing list they’ll be happy to open your emails.
