Email marketing remains a viable tool for reaching out to existing and potential customers to generate leads and build stronger customer relationships. It is important to note that if you are going to utilize email marketing, it takes more than sending one email to build a successful email marketing campaign. Here are three tips to consider when choosing email marketing:   

1. Develop a strong email database

Who you send an email to is just as important as what the email is about. An email sent from a random business will not catch the attention of the recipient as much as when it is sent to people that have engaged with the company or organization. In other words, building and using your own database will be more effective than purchasing a list; recipients will be more likely to open and interact with your email. A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) database is one of the most powerful tools for building targeted email campaigns. It can help you to easily keep track of previous and potential customers’ contact info and interests. A CRM system allows you to manage up-to-date mailing lists and create targeted lists based on various data (i.e. product interest, demographic or geographic information).  

2. Customize to the customer

Customizing or personalizing emails to the recipient can be very effective, as it makes people feel as though the message is a direct form of communication rather than automated. Using their name in the introduction instead of a general salutation and adding an email signature from a specific member of the team is a great way to personalize the email. Adding both of these elements will assist in building customer relationships. It is also important to send relevant information to the right customers. Segmentation of the audience will help increase the open rate of the emails and ultimately help increase sales.    A CRM system enables companies to collect detailed data that allow them to then segment the database and send to recipients or customers based on specific categories. For example, sending an email to a customer about purchasing a new home when they just bought one two months ago will not be effective. When you segment your customer lists based on specific factors and interests, it helps ensure individuals are targeted with appropriate email messages and generates a greater positive response.   

3. Proofing for perfection

Proofreading an email for a marketing campaign is just the start. Making sure there are no typos or grammatical errors within the body and subject line of the email is the first thing to do but not the only step in proofing. Sending the communication to yourself and a few members of the team gives everyone a chance to check the email and see how it looks on various devices. It also puts more eyes on it to catch any errors.   When you send it to yourself there are a few main things to check. First, proofread it one more time when you receive it. Review the subject line to make sure it is displayed correctly in the inbox and check the preview text to see how it appears. This text should grab attention to entice the recipients to open and be relevant to the content in the email. Sometimes the preview message will show up as the spot to click if the email is not displaying correctly. You don’t want the first impression to be an email that does not work. Next, double-check the links to make sure they connect to the correct pages and that all of the images show up. Lastly, check all of the qualities of the email on both desktop and mobile devices. Smartphones may alter how images and text appear. Beware of formatting for everything to look good on different platforms.    If you’re looking to enhance your email marketing strategy, consider integrating with a CRM software. At ApostleTech our team of experts works directly with companies to develop and implement CRM solutions that integrate with a variety of marketing tools. Drawing on our knowledge and experience, we have specifically designed CRM solutions for a variety of industries. Talk with our experts to learn more and determine the best CRM for your business.