Email Marketing is King

#1 for Content Sharing

The majority of individual media device usage revolves around connecting to the internet. According to The Nielson Company, a global leader in consumer measurement and information, 38.5% of mobile internet time is spent checking email.

We spend more time checking our email because that is where our engagement is, with others as well as with social media updates. If our eyes are on email more than anywhere else during our day to day online time, it is understandable why email marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach customers whether at home or on the go.

Email is what is consistently connecting us back to the various social media channels, bringing us back into the conversation. And of all digital marketing tactics related to social media, email marketing is the one with the numbers, the clear ROI, the reporting rates and analytics to judge success and work toward improvement.

Christopher Penn, also from Blue Sky Marketing, says that email marketing isn’t actually marketing at all. In his ‘email as sales series’ he talks about how “Email marketing is dead” and about “the 30 second email sales pitch”.

Email marketing isn’t dead because it doesn’t work, but because it needs to be looked at through a different lens. It has nothing to do with list building of potential customers who might be interested in the product; the list has already been created if emails are going out. The reason email ‘marketing’ works so much better than other forms of marketing is because it is being sent to people who are already interested in the product.

Email marketing is really email sales, with sales metrics, and should have a sales plan.

While some might argue that retaining current customers, whether previously interested or not, is still a marketing issue, Penn does make an interesting point, and stresses the importance of actual engagement. Even with email marketing, a conversation needs to happen for true success, especially if we are looking at email as part of social media.

Respond to reply emails about your email marketing campaigns, respond to comments, pay attention to your reporting and accurately follow up on new leads.

And don’t forget to use language in your email marketing that has a sales edge. Often it is about what isn’t said. The example Penn gives is this:

“Imagine there is a black box that sits on your desk with a slot in the top that accepts $1 bills and a small tray in front. Every time you put $1 in that box, $43 comes out the tray.

How often would you put $1 bills in that box?

Email marketing is that box if you know how to use it well. Would you like a box on your desk like this?”

That is a hook rather than a lengthier attempt at ‘marketing’. It encourages the customer to engage in order to find out more.

Email campaigns like eNewsletters are key for social media marketing success and engagement with consumers. Email is how people stay connected. Email is where they spend the largest percentage of their online time.

Email is where your dealership needs to be.

Learn more about Outsell’s Dealer eNewsletters here.