Email Marketing is an excellent tool to connect, promote and update with your customers. You might be using it frequently to communicate with your customers but are you doing it correctly? Email Marketing can make or break your sales and brand depending on how you use it. Below are top 10 email marketing mistakes that are commonly made by business, are you one of them?
1. Purchase Database from External Sources
Many businesses prefer the easy way out by purchasing customers’ database or mailing list from external sources instead of building their own in-house list. The result of doing so is poor response and great damage to their company’s reputation. Today, recipients are more prudent over what they will receive in their in-box so any unsolicited emails will be straightaway labeled as spam.
In addition, the messages sent might not be targeted to their needs so it would be a waste of time and money purchasing customers’ database and setting up email campaign. The recommended solution is if you do not have your own customers’ database then start building one now.
2. No Clear Email Marketing Strategy
I’ve seen many clients who sent their email marketing without any planning or strategy. They send only when they have something to send or they feel when it is necessary, which in a way defeat the whole purpose of email marketing. The main purpose of email marketing is to frequently connect with your customers with updates and build a long-term relationship. It is highly recommended that you align your email marketing campaigns with your business marketing plan and plan it one year ahead. Determine what you want to achieve for your marketing goals and then plan the content, design and delivery schedule of your email marketing accordingly.
Once you have established a consistent plan and schedule for your email marketing campaigns, you will see more positive and consistent results for your efforts.
3. Unsure What to Send to Customers
Due to lack of clear email marketing strategy as mentioned above, many businesses sent email messages haphazardly. The email messages are either too long, lack of focus, boring or not effective. Many of my clients are also not sure what exactly to send to their customers besides products announcement and occasionally special offers. Some run out of ideas and content for their monthly newsletter and eventually abandon the whole email marketing campaigns as they couldn’t see the benefits coming.
If you one of them, the more you have to have an email marketing strategy. Once you know your overall marketing objective, it will set the roadmap for your email marketing campaigns. The roadmap will provide you a direction and help to determine the type of emails send to your customers. In addition, it helps to generate ideas and content for your email campaigns.
4. Send to Customers Only
If you think that email marketing is only for connecting with your customers then you are wrong! Email marketing is an excellent tool to connect with other stakeholders as well. For example, your suppliers, contractors, sponsors, advertisers and other vendors, these groups of people are often neglected by most businesses. They are as important as your customers; they do not just help complement your business but sometimes add more values or revenues to your business. So remember to connect with them frequently, let them know the update of your business and what you have in your pipeline. Keep them in the loop and you will find it will be easier if you need their co-operation and assistance in future.
5. Sent on the Wrong Date and Time
Did you check the appropriate date and time before you send to your customers especially when they are overseas customers? Are they having holidays or any special occasions at their countries? If your email messages are business-related, most probably they will not in their offices to read them. If you are however, sending holiday-related emails, will it be too late? Did you check the time zone of your demographics?
It is recommended you segment your customers’ database or mailing list to achieve optimum results. Remember not every customer is the same.
If you are making the above email marketing mistakes, try to resolve them soonest or avoid them at all costs. Make it a habit to adhere to good email marketing practice and you will soon see positive results for your efforts.
If you, however, find the greatest problem is lack of resources to manage your email marketing campaign, please feel free to contact us for a discussion on how we can assist you.