While there’s a time and place for email and online advertising, business mail is still one of the best – and most cost-effective – ways to promote your business. However, you won’t get results simply by sending out a sales voucher every few months. Instead, you need to create different types of business mail to build and maintain the relationship between you and your customers. Here are 5 examples of how to create a powerful business mail strategy.
1. Welcome Mail
As soon as a new customer subscribes to your mailing list, follow up by sending them a welcome mail. This is your chance to make a strong first impression by telling customers more about your business as well as what they can expect in future mails, such as special offers, articles and advice. Subscriber-only offers are a good way to keep customers opening your future mails. Finally, don’t forget to tell new subscribers how much their custom means to you – providing a small gift to demonstrate won’t hurt either!
2. Newsletters
Sending out a monthly newsletter by mail is a great way to keep your business in customers’ minds and provide information about the company that they can relate to on a personal level. You should avoid any hint of hard sell in newsletters but simply aim to inform, educate and entertain the reader. As well as announcing new products and services, use newsletters to explain the ‘why’ of your business as well as the ‘what’ – make your customers understand what you stand for and why your business is different from the competition. A ‘Staff of the Month’ feature is another good way to provide a human connection between your company and your customers.
3. Promotional Mail
The secret to a good promotional mail is to make sure your limited offer is both novel and genuinely worthwhile. Customers are unlikely to race down to your store for a 5% discount or a deal that’s identical to one previously advertised. Send out promotional mails no more than once a month and vary your offers by, for example, making them seasonal. Trying many different kinds of promotion and getting customer feedback on them is the best way to discover the most effective kinds of campaign.
4. Holiday and Anniversary Mail
Sending a small gift or card for Christmas and other holidays is another good way to show your customers you’re thinking of them. Ideally, ask your subscribers to provide their date of birth and then send them a gift or unique offer when their birthday rolls around. If you have a product or service that you can tie in to a specific holiday – such as a romantic dinner or chocolates for Valentine’s Day – that’s even better. It’s also worth sending an ‘anniversary’ mail to celebrate the day they first subscribed to your mailing list – with a special offer just for them!
5. Feedback Mail
Businesses that listen and respond to customer concerns and opinions will be best placed to retain those customers in the long term. Offering a gift or discount for subscribers willing to provide feedback – such as completing a questionnaire – is a good way to canvas opinion. The more detail you can get about your customers’ shopping habits, interests, likes and dislikes, the more you can tailor content and services to fit their needs.
Sending out regular and diverse mails as part of an integrated business mail strategy will build customer loyalty, vital for the long term success of your business. Show your customers how important they are to your business – a satisfied customer is the kind of advertising money can’t buy!