Email has come a long way and new Apps mean small business can market more effectively and compete at the same level as the big players. We can now tell us if the recipient:
• received it
• viewed it
• opened the attachment
• and their location
This is useful for prospecting because if they clicked a link it shows they have some interest and worth following up with a ‘timely’ phone call or another email.
For larger campaigns we can schedule automatic follow ups. For example, if they:
• open the email but do not click the link we automatically send Email-C Wednesday
• open the email and click the link we send Special Offer Email-D Tuesday
• do not open the email then we send Follow Up Email-E Friday
It takes many touch points to convert a lead and Smart Email Apps automate and tailor these based on the recipient’s behaviour so you can intelligently and easily connect with your customers, and for very little cost, be it 10 or 10,000 people
What Does This Mean in Practical Terms?
• Productivity – You see who is interested in your product or services and who isn’t. Instead of me phoning 1000 leads I can email them and if 5% click on the link, I know those 50 are somewhat interested so I can phone them which saves a lot of time.
• List Quality – Smart Apps can score and rank your recipients based on their past email behaviour so you can tailor and focus emails to certain groups which helps cleanse and build list quality.
• Touch Points – many people are happy to receive emails yet rarely open them, that’s ok, it’s all branding. I had a client tell me he received my emails for two years before contacting me.
• Metrics – Smart apps provide accurate information that informs your decisions and strategy. You’ll quickly know what content wins, and what doesn’t so you can adjust accordingly. No more ‘gut feeling’ decision making, the numbers will tell you if you are on the money or not.
• Scalable – as you grow your business the apps grow with you. For example, say your email campaigns can generate an additional $1000 in revenue at a cost of $100 (ROI = 900%), if you can scale you might generate an extra $10 000 at a cost of $500 (ROI = 1900%).
The ease and scalability of smart email marketing is why many businesses spend thousands of dollars every month on it. It is hard get a similar ROI for such little effort and cost. The good news is you can get started for very little and scale as you grow. I’ve listed a few you can look at but talk with someone in the know to get the one that best suits your requirements and budget.
Grant Dempsey
grant@fiercebusiness.com
• Mailchimp.com – limited, free options, good to start.
• ActiveCampaign.com – great for starting out, from $23 p.m
• Ontrport.com – from $79 p.m.
• HubSpot.com – advanced, from $200 p.m.
• Salesforce.com – enterprise level, priced accordingly.
