By Craig Klein, SalesNexus.com CEO
The buzz in marketing circles is increasing about how email marketing has made a huge comeback. Many advocates of social media predicted the demise of emails as a marketing channel because of the bulging volume of emails received today. Since the buyers are in total control of the marketplace, the truth is the exact opposite.
“Spammy”, promotional emails are rejected by your sales leads. Informative, engaging, and entertaining emails are welcomed. The key to profiting in the email marketing world is about seeing the recipient’s needs. Ask yourself what your ideal customer wants to know about your product or service before they connect with your company. Deliver that information to sales leads via email campaigns and you are golden – literally.
Why aren’t more companies getting their email programs going? Here are three common reasons:
- They are afraid of being considered spam.
- They are afraid of the task of writing and don’t know how to find someone cost-effective to do it for them.
- They are so focused on sales that their emails are all promotional and send potential prospects running away.
Overcome these common obstacles and get started creating your email marketing campaign today. Let’s address the obstacles listed above one at a time:
The Spam Factor
This year, a whopping 84% of all email traffic will be spam. No wonder your company is so weary and wary of it. You have reason to think your sales leads will hate getting an automated email marketing campaign. To rise above, your emails must be more than merely promotional. They must be informative and offer intrinsic value that is useful to your prospect and independent of your company, service, or product.
The Fear Factor
Writing effective email marketing articles is a specialized skill set. There are clearly defined techniques which should be effective for anybody. To master the writing is easy. Master your fear and abandon your preconceptions about what you can or cannot do. When you clearly look at what is in your skill set, you will know the next step. Find the time to determine your best way to create your email content.
If the content creation is not something you want to tackle alone, a professional writer can do it for you. The task of finding and managing a writer’s work has never been faster, easier, or more cost effective. The internet connects writers all over the world with clients of every type. Increased competition among writers has made their services more affordable.
The Sales Factor
Your emails should identify and address a prospect’s specific needs or pains. These will be the same pain points your product or service ultimately addresses.
If you provide industrial sprinkler systems, your article may focus on three ways water damage can destroy a building, or the five hidden costs of poorly irrigated or outdated sprinkler systems. If your company provides personal therapeutic massage, you may want to offer articles on the four hidden costs of physical pain and discomfort in the workplace, or the five risks of irreversible damage due to certain chronic conditions.
Don’t include your own product or service in the article, a promotional red flag. At any given time, only 3% of the public is interested in buying a particular product or service. People always want something for free and information has never been a more widely traded or more valued commodity. Give your sales leads valuable information that will win their trust. Build your credibility as an industry expert. When their need is sufficiently excited by the information you sent, they will turn to you to fulfill those needs.
Email Marketing Takes Time
Once you launch your email marketing campaign you must stick with it. You have made a commitment and you should honor it with time, patience, and diligence. An email campaign has several steps including qualifying a prospect and emails to address frequently asked questions (FAQs). Be prepared to see your campaign through every step.
In the old days, you pushed your advertising out to the public hoping that someone would respond. Today, we use email marketing at a much lower cost to pull the sales lead toward what we offer using a marketing automation within our CRM software. Research shows that it is a very good investment. Isn’t it time to get started?
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Craig Klein is the founder and CEO of SalesNexus.com. SalesNexus is the leading provider of CRM, Email Marketing, and Lead Generation Solutions to business-2-business sales teams.
