We know what you’re thinking…every time you hear email marketing the first thing that pops in your head is “spam”. And of course nobody likes spam…even the canned meat induces heavy breathing. But the cold hard fact is that email marketing works. How much does it work? How does 4400% sound? Yeah that is right, forty-four dollars for every one-dollar spent is the return on investment according to Campaign Monitor. We could seriously go on and on about how you reach such massive returns on email marketing, but we’ll hit on just a few main points as to why this works…big time.
Email Invites Participation
How many Target coupons or Burger King ads did you find in the mail that let you buy something then and there? Yeah, zero. The most interactive mail you have probably ever gotten had a little scratch off bar or a tab you could pull to find out if you had a lucky matching number. However, even the most interactive direct mail requires you to put forth work. You would have to drive down to Burger King and show them the ad for the discount, or even go to the computer and put in the Target coupon code. It may sound like not that much effort if you have to walk to the computer, but this is sales 101. If you can get the product in the customer’s hand, you have a much greater chance of actually making a sale. It is a psychological trigger called reciprocity where if you give somebody something, they feel obligated to give you something back. The point being, in email marketing, you can get the whole store right there on their computer or phone. When the email is opened, it’s an invitation to action where they can either email back, visit the store online, forward to a friend, delete, unsubscribe, or even buy whatever you are selling right then and there.
Email Outdoes Social Media…Sorry Zuckerberg
Most businesses nowadays are going to social media as the foolproof solution to any problem. The problem is that in social media, people like using it for social things and most of the time, we don’t really appreciate ads thrown at us in our down time. Statistics from Pew Research show that at least 61% percent of the people they surveyed said that email was imperative to their work. Marketing Sherpa also found that 72% of the subjects they interviewed preferred ads in email as opposed to the 17% that preferred social media. Therefore we can tell that email is much more work related, as are your ads. Maybe you have something they need, or maybe they consider going through the mail as a chore for the day and like to check offers there. So not only is email marketing more successful than social media marketing, the world just prefers it.
It Doesn’t Hurt Your Wallet
Email marketing is one of the most amazing ways to reach customers because it can cost marginally close to nothing per message. All the postage that you would have to pay for in order to reach audiences through mail and not to mention the contract with Google on AdWords, radio, television, billboards, and on and on. This is literally the most effective marketing tool because it is so inexpensive that you are destined to get something out of the little that you put in. Besides, Monetate, the global leader in personalization software, stated that 4.24% of your sites visitors would complete a transaction, as compared to the 2.49% of visitors from search engines and the .59% (yikes) from social media.
Make It Personal
According to Adestra in 2012, an email with a subject line that includes the recipient’s name are 22.2% more likely to get opened. This reaches into social skills 101. How much more do you trust someone if they remember your name? You’re not standing on the street and just handing out flyers to random people telling them to be sure and stop by your store sometime; you’re sending a personalized invitation with their name stamped on it. Of course, it may not have the wax seal on the back and lack a little pomp, but getting their name scores major points that are sure to show significant results.
