Counselor Magazine July 2012 : Page 51Split into Segments Case Study E-mail marketing is most effective when it’s as targeted as possible. Classify your lists by markets, recipients’ titles, size of marketing budgets, purchase history, etc. Built to Last About three years ago, Joellen Reichenbach, owner of distributorship Select Sales ( asi/322805 ), decided it was time to use e-mail to more formally connect with customers. So the company kicked off an initiative to add as many names as it could. Reichenbach and her team worked to grow the list organically, making it a policy to ask individuals they spoke with about new products or services if they would like to be kept in the loop about breaking news and product announcements. At trade shows, the company started putting out a sign advertising its e-mail list and encouraging visitors to sign up. “You have to ask up-front; that’s the most important thing, to ask people if they want to be added to the list so you don’t blindside them with these sudden e-mails,” says Reichenbach. Through these efforts, the Select Sales list has grown to more than 3,000 addresses which receive the blasts once every week or two. Through targeted messaging and topical subject lines, the e-mail blasts are now regularly bringing in business for the distributorship. At the same time, the company makes sure to “prune” the list of nonworking or dormant e-mails, as well as offering simple opt-out choices to ensure those receiving it actually want to be on the list. Through feedback from subscribers, Reichenbach has adjusted the content in the newsletters to emphasize product features and tie them into upcoming events. “We want our message to be seen but also remembered, to give something more than just, ‘Here are some products, buy them,’ ” says Reichenbach. and keep them reading your newsletter. However, you must make opting out simple as well, including an “Unsubscribe” option at the bottom of each newsletter that can be selected with just one or two clicks, along with an option to say why they no longer want to receive the newsletter. This allows you to learn how you can reduce drop-offs going forward while also letting customers feel like their voices were heard. Qualify the Sign-Ups When speaking to someone at a networking event or over the phone, wait for the opportunity to add him or her to the list when the conversation moves in that direction, asking questions like, “I cover this in my monthly newsletter – would you be interested in receiving it?” This not only gets their per-mission to be added to the list, but makes your newsletter welcome and expected when it appears in their inbox. “Cre-ate a code that you put on the back of their business card so that when you are back in your office with a stack of cards to sort through, the ones with the code can be added to your list,” says Ellen DePasquale, regional development director for e-mail marketing firm Constant Con-tact. “E-mail marketing is per-mission-based, and acquiring names to add to the list takes time and trust. It’s not about just gathering business cards at a networking event. It is about building relationships.” While many people might sign up for your marketing list because they want to stay up on the company’s latest news, often it takes offering more tangible incentives to grow your e-mail list. This could be a percent off their next order or some kind of exclusive con-tent, such as a white paper, full research report or e-book. Trade shows and network-ing events present additional opportunities to offer rewards for registration. “When hosting speaking engagements or sponsoring local events, we always have clients do a raffle or special giveaway in which prospects fill our their names and e-mail addresses in order to enter,” says Amber Watson-Tardiff, COO of Legal Marketing Maven, which offers marketing exper-tise to small-business owners. “The sheet lets them know they will receive a bonus subscrip-tion to the e-mail newsletter, in addition to entering to receive the prize or promo item.” Distributors might also con-sider motivating their employ-ees to grow the list with compe-titions where those who sign up the most individuals receive a prize. Consider it as a quarterly contest, and honor the winners publicly at a recognition event. This will show the importance of the endeavor to all of your employees, and allow them to see that it’s a high-level com-pany goal. branching off into various sub-divisions. “Segmenting the list into different audience types and crafting the e-mail message to each is vital to the success of your campaign, and will dras-tically lower your chances of being identified as spam and drastically increase your click-through rates,” says Amber Hauptman, interactive market-ing specialist for ChooseWhat. com, an online resource for entrepreneurs. The list can be divided in a variety of ways, including by markets, by demograph-ics, by how much a company purchases or size of marketing budget. The respondents to a recent GetResponse survey put the greatest segmentation emphasis on interest-based preferences, with 59% citing it as a way they’re planning to categorize their lists for upcoming campaigns. This type of grouping is followed by recent open rate (34.9%), demographics (32.5%) and purchase history (29.7%). EXCLUSIVE VIDEO Want more tips on using e-mail marketing in your business? Go to www.CounselorMag.com to check out our latest How-To Minute video. CHAT WITH US What: Live online chat about e-mail marketing strategies When: Tuesday, July 24, 2 p.m. ET Where: www.asicentral.com/ counselorchat Agenda: Questions, advice and best practices Attendees: You, for free. Segment the List Calling it an e-mail “list” may actually be a slight misnomer. Effective e-mail marketing should involve multiple “lists” COUNSELOR | JULY 2012 51 Publication List |
