Three Keys to Effectively Engage Your Customers via E-mail – Part 2

In Part 1, we covered why we need to more effectively engage our customers via email; outlined the three keys (Relevance, Action & Involvement) and discussed Key 1 – Relevance. In Part 2, we will cover how Action and Involvement complete the value provided by Relevance to create a sustainable two-way relationship with a prospect / customer.

2. Action

Educators know that learning is more effective when accompanied by additional stimuli, such as the use of physical manipulatives when reinforcing a math concept. Engaging an email subscriber is no different. We are not suggesting that you ask your subscribers to cut out objects or do jumping jacks while reading your email; but getting them to Act on something; a call to action, a link for further information, something that will engage them at a deeper level than the email & pray method that many follow. Another interesting tactic is the Refer-a-friend approach by including in your e-mail a section that reads, “If you are finding this e-mail helpful, click here to refer-a-friend;” if done properly, your subscribers become more than readers, they become advocates. By providing value beyond the 4 corners of your email message alone elevates your communication from a mere one sided conversation to a supportive resource on topics important to both you and your subscriber and through the appropriate use of external links, you motivate your subscribers to keep opening your e-mail time after time as they expect to find value with each message.

3. Involvement

As illustrated in the first two keys, it is tremendously valuable to present relevant information and be viewed as a resource to your subscribers; in this next key, we increase our value but relinquish control as we encourage our subscribers to become involved (not just with us) but with each other. Opinion polls, message forums, blogs & online communities are means by which we can encourage peer-to-peer involvement. If we want to engage our subscribers but are concerned about directing the involvement; opinion polls and message forums can be a great first step since polls allow you to draft the question and potential answers while message forums allow directed topic areas and comment moderation. The next two involvement areas (blogs & online communities) present bigger challenges and rewards since in a true exchange of ideas, the blog writers and community managers control both the categories and conversation completely outside of your control. These rules of engagement are new for most and you must realize that you cannot control what is said (even if it makes you uncomfortable). The payoff for encouraging this type of involvement can be great – access to honest assessments of your products / services and insight into how vocal advocates within your target community think and act.

If you want to get a better idea of what is going on in your target market in order to decide where to get involved, you could A) conduct a web search (which would provide more information than most can process) or B) use a tool like Google Alerts to get a daily or weekly view into current web and blog activity related to targeted terms – helping you identify the active sites / blogs in your space.

By utilizing these three keys to consistently engage your customers, your e-mail programs will become a relevant resource that your subscribers find value in and ultimately contribute to the development of the community at large.

B & P.

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Copyright 2008 Gra MATR, LLC 5257 Shaw Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63110

Three Keys to Effectively Engage Your Customers via Email – Part 1

Companies are always looking for better ways to leverage the Internet to both acquire and retain customers. Email communications have become a staple in Internet marketing, and for good reason; they are inexpensive to deliver, customizable and user activities are highly track-able. But is your content and communications strategy meeting the Web 2.0 expectations of your constituents? Many think that most significant factors in an effective email campaign are compiling subscribers and ensuring the email content reflect your brand image. Your email communications can be much more than an update correspondence or pure sales pitch. You can use deliberate (and valuable) communications to develop an active participatory relationship that gets your customer engaged with your brand, website, and product, resulting in a loyal and active customers. To successfully do this, you should keep these three important keys to success in mind: 1. Relevance, 2. Action, and 3. Involvement.

1. Relevance

No matter how important your service may be to your customers, no one wants to be blatantly solicited or pandered to on a regular basis. Provide your readers with relevant information that they can use covering topics both directly and tangentially associated with your product / service and the period(s) in which they connect with you.

For example, companies that have committed to regular email communications tend to “deliver” content on their schedule. January, Feb, March content etc. This may make planning the email program more manageable, but does little to target content at the consideration, activation or use phases a customer has with you product / service. By mapping event-trigger opportunities in the consideration, activation and use of your product a customized email communications plan and content can be developed that addresses the specific needs / concerns of your audience in an appropriate way at the appropriate time. Beyond the planning for this interaction, write content that addresses direct and indirect issues that your customer is facing at these individual trigger points and offer “real” value to them. Additionally find ways to leverage the power of most modern email campaign management systems to integrate calendar based content into your trigger campaign to promote the feeling of both situational and seasonal relevance.

Part 2 will cover how Action and Involvement complete the value provided by relevance to create sustainable two-way relationships with your prospects / customers via online tools.

B & P.

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Copyright 2008 Gra MATR, LLC 5257 Shaw Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63110