Missed Opportunities?
In Internet Retailer magazine, a Mike Adams survey of 1,057 legitimate e-mail marketers had an alarming statistic: 36 percent of those surveyed had valid opt-in rights and didn't send a single e-mail. Poor business practice? You bet.
These e-tailers obtained e-mail addresses and the permission to market to them, but never followed through. Possible reasons?
* An executive said, "Let's not e-mail any names because there's too much spam around."
* The names were lost.
* The names were accidentally omitted from a mailing.
* They're waiting to e-mail the names at a later date.
* Someone didn't see any value in the names and destroyed them.
* It was a programming error.
* Through lack of communication, the names were never added to the house list.
None of these are viable reasons. To avoid these missed opportunities, or if this sounds like your organization, make sure all the e-mail processes and procedures you believe are happening are, in fact, happening.
Gathering the e-mails of people who are interested in hearing from you, then failing to deliver even a single message is a huge mistake. Correspondence with those who have expressed interest keeps them interested. They want to hear from you about what's new, sales or promotions, and general updates. Mailings also keep your company or products fresh in their minds which can lead to more revenue.
Test the system yourself. Make a checklist of all the basics, then implement a system to ensure those tasks are done without fail. E-mail marketing done right is alive and well and works to both acquire customers and retain them. Make sure you are using it to its fullest potential.