The Big Red Button

Imagine in your office you have a big red button. Whenever you push this button, customers suddenly start walking through your door. If you know from last year that your business is going to be quiet in February, you're no longer worried because you have your big red button.

You might be wondering what the catch is. There is only one catch and that is the big red button costs money. How much? Roughly $15 a push.

Excited yet? You should be.

E-Mail is your Big Red Button. E-Mail lists are essential in this economic climate. The cheapest and most effective form of communicating with existing customers is e-mail.

If you don't have an e-mail list start building one. Offer incentives for customers to give you their e-mail. Such as a coupon for 20% off next time they visit. Make sure you send the coupon to them through e-mail, and not hand it to them in the store. This ensures your customer checks your e-mail is not in the junk box, and it is a way to get him/her back into your store.

If you do have an e-mail list start using it. Create a bi-monthly email newsletter with info on the latest new stock, events and exclusive promotions. Not every e-mail has to be about a promotion. Customers love to be engaged with their favorite brands, include pictures from company retreats, the latest news about what staff members did over the winter break, etc. Don't, and this is a big don't, spam your customer. We all know what happens when we get too many e-mails from a company. We make sure the e-mails stop arriving.

Now here is the fun part. E-Mail vendors, such as ConstantContact and Vertical Response, allow you to see who opened your e-mail, and who no longer wishes to receive your e-mails. Do not take this personally, some people just don't like receiving e-mail. MarketR tests e-mail formats such as images and headlines and decides which e-mail format will receive the best open rate.

We just launched an e-mail promotion for one of our clients and they were blown away at the response it had. The company's quietest time is January-February. Thanks to the power of e-mail this year is going to be different. Try it out! What do you have to lose? $15

If you are still not convinced, I leave you with this survey result. Opt-in messaging is what your company's e-mail newsletter is categorized as.
Need help? Call MarketR