It seems old fashioned.
In a Slack, Facebook, Dropbox world, using decades-old technology like email may make you feel like you’re the old person at the farm-to-table, community seating restaurant. The last thing you want right now is to seem out of touch with the customers you’re hoping to win over.
But take heart old friends! There’s a reason why this decades-old technology is still a cornerstone for how business gets done around the world.
When it comes to marketing your business, there’s simply no better way to connect directly with your customers than leaving them a message in their inbox. (Unless you’re sliding into their DMs, then that’s a whole other discussion.)
At the Social Brand, we believe this powerful marketing tool can be the difference-maker to increase sales and build brand awareness across a wide customer base. Here are three reasons why.
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Email Marketing is more effective than Social Media:
This may seem ridiculous considering the space social media consumes in modern life.
But according to a study from eMarketer in March 2016, 81 percent of 254 retail professionals around the country at companies with annual revenues under $100 million said email marketing drives customer acquisition and retention.
“Email’s usefulness was followed by that of other digital tactics like organic search at 62% for acquisition and social media at 44% for retention—both rated effective by far fewer respondents than chose email.”
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Cost-Effective:
Email marketing may be the most cost-effective thing you do with your business.
Your initial overhead cost is minimal outside your own time. According to research by VentureBeat and Direct Marketing Association (DMA), for every $1 spent, email marketing generates $40 in ROI.
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Personal and Specific:
While a social media post is intended to speak to a wide range of people, email marketing can speak to individual recipients. It can even be customizable to address the recipient by name.
Allowing access to an inbox is a very personal act, and even more so if the recipient's name appears in the subject line. According to research from Campaign Monitor, emails with subject lines that include the recipient’s name are 26% more likely to be opened.
So fear not fellow entrepreneurs! Email marketing is far from heading to the retirement home to play shuffleboard with the Yellow Pages. This consistently successful tool for communicating directly with customers is as useful as ever, and The Social Brand has some of the best strategies to get the most from your next campaign.