Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Email Marketing- Strategic Targeting > Mass Lists

Here at KobeMail, we know a thing or two about email marketing. We have been a go-to source to a variety of companies for over eight years when it comes to email marketing. While technology is always becoming more advanced, the importance of strategy has always remained the same.

Email marketing has been a staple in the digital age. However, with the economic downturn came a more aggressive approach from marketers to push their message via email in an attempt to generate more leads and drive more sales. The attitude that these marketers embodied was “sell to anyone,” which can have long-lasting negative effects on their product and company.

You should take a step back and analyze their approach. Strategy needs to be the first step in their marketing campaign. A relevant message sent to a targeted audience will lead to higher revenue and a better chance of retaining your clients.

Before approaching prospective clients through email marketing, you should analyze a few things, beginning with their audience. Most companies tend to think about their own needs first, most importantly their revenue. Building relationships with the subscribers is key to a long lasting, profitable relationship. You need to create content that is meaningful to the specific target audience.

The second step is to think beyond the product. When you push your product, most people tend to boast how great the products are rather than focusing on how they can provide a resolution to a customer’s problem. You should take a step back, put themselves in the shoes of the recipient, and ask “What’s in it for me?”

Companies that utilize email marketing should always think quality over quantity. Most marketers, when talking about email marketing, tend to focus on “How many email names are in my list?” You really should be thinking about the quality of those leads. The real metric should not be the number of emails, but rather the revenue per lead.

Email marketing seems to prioritize tactics over strategy. In order to conduct a successful email marketing campaign, there needs to be substantial strategic planning that precedes the delivery. The focus of the campaign needs to be on relevant content rather than mass appeal. Proper strategy will identify quality leads, which in turn will drive revenue.

KobeMail has always been a leader in the email marketing field, but we are looking forward to helping our clients in new ways. Aside from handling their emailing needs, we are reviewing case studies about campaigns that worked, and those that haven’t, so we can offer strategy based advice to our clients. Improvement is key, and we strive to improve not only our own business, but the business of our clients!


Author: Peter Schirripa
Editor: Courtney Dillsworth