ARK Blog
The Power of Email Marketing
Most feel like email marketing is the ugly stepchild in their general marketing mix. Simply because it’s been around for a long time and it’s highly competitive. Think about the number of personal emails you receive a day and how many you delete without even opening. Therefore, email gets a bad rap but it’s surprisingly one of the most underutilized tools in your marketing toolbox. If done right, email marketing can be a vital extension of your marketing efforts; capable of retaining and growing your customer base.
The Facts
If you’re thinking about venturing into the email marketing realm, research the facts before investing. Here are a few stats pulled from Hubspot to put the value of email marketing into perspective.
- Active email accounts are expected to hit 5.6 billion by the end of 2019
- 35% of emails are checked on a mobile device
- 73% of millennials prefer communications from business via email
- 99% of consumers check their email every day
- 80% of business professionals believe that email marketing increases customer retention
The Difference
Many like to compare social media to email marketing when considering their overall marketing mix. Social media is considered a passive type of exposure with a lower barrier to entry. It’s easy for someone to hit “like” on a post or even share a post they feel is relevant to them. However, with email marketing, it requires a great investment from an interested party. Often, they must give their first and last name, their email address, and various other information. Therefore, you have a captive audience that actually signed up to hear what you have to say via email correspondence. If you think about it, that’s half the battle; getting someone interested enough to snag their info and start making connections with them that go straight to their inbox.
The Strategy
Email campaigns can flop for a number of reasons. It all boils down to your goals for reaching and connecting with your audience. Do you want to educate them on your product or service? Do you want to lure people in the door with coupons and incentives? What is it that you believe your audience will respond to and what will build their trust? Thinking of your core customer and what they want is key. And if you don’t know what they want, then survey them to find out.
The answers to all these questions will become your framework for developing a marketing strategy through email. And even though you’ve got your content squared away, you’ll also want to make sure your emails are branded and consistent with your website and social media channels. This helps create a highly recognizable and consistent brand image.
So, there you have it. Email marketing is a way more valuable tool than you thought, huh? If you’re a small business and would like a little help getting started, we’d be glad to get you up and running. While email marketing is great on its own, it works even better when combined with social media and other marketing levers. Contact us to learn more about how we can develop a well-rounded marketing strategy, tailored to your business.
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Check back soon for more useful tips on how to leverage your small business in a big world of competition. If you need help managing certain aspects of your small business or you’d like to know more about the services ARK Marketing has to offer, email us or comment below! Also, follow us on Facebook and Instagram for industry news, inspiration, and helpful tidbits for finding small business success.
Sincerely,
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