EMAIL MARKETING
Gone are the days when goods and services were promoted through door-to-door selling. A salesperson walking up to our doorsteps and trying to market items has all turned into a faint memory. Advancement and modernization of technology has affected various aspects of the corporate world including marketing.
Although the main objective of this article is to readers on all aspects of email marketing, it is necessary to know what marketing exactly is.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines marketing as a business activity that involves seeking information about the choice of customers and using this important information to design products as well as services, such that customer needs are met and finally selling them in an effective and efficient manner.
While trying to market a product or service, there are four factors that are to be kept in mind. There are famously known as the “4 P’s” of marketing, which is as follows-
Product- It can be loosely defined as the item that is to be marketed. It may be tangible or even tangible. This means that it doesn’t necessarily have to be a product in physical sense, it could also be a service.
Price- It can be defined as the cost at which a product or service is actually sold. For effective marketing, it must be kept in mind that the price at which a commodity or service is sold, must be just right. It must not be too high or too low, so as to attract more customers.
Place- It is yet another marketing aspect. While marketing a product it is imperative to keep in mind the place of manufacturing as well as the place of sale of a product.
Promotion-It can be defined as the way goods and services are sold, such that they attract more customers, ensuring that their needs are met.
Now, there are a lot of different ways of marketing goods and services in an effective yet efficient manner, such as blog marketing, print marketing, search engine marketing, email marketing, etc. However, this article focuses on a single type of marketing i.e., email marketing, and will cover certain important questions pertaining to the same. Read email facts here
- What is email marketing?
- How does it advantage customers?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of email marketing to companies?
- How does it help companies effectively generate revenue?
- Conclusion
WHAT IS EMAIL MARKETING?
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, email marketing can be defined as the process of advertising goods and/or services by sending bulk emails to customers. In modern times, where there is fast-paced advancement of technology, companies have used this form of promoting good and/or services to their advantages as it has allowed companies to connect with a large number of customers, scattered across the vast geographical landscape, at a more personal level.
Not only does it allow interaction between companies and their target customers, but it also helps keep customers updated with on-going deals and offers.
In fact, research by Marketing Sherpa suggests that 72% of the total population prefers to receive information about promotional offers through and other details through email.
HOW DOES IT ADVANTAGE CUSTOMER?
In times for modernization and advancement of technology, the advent of email marketing has come at a great advantage to consumers around the world for the following reasons-
Adds a personal touch- email marketing allows companies to connect with their consumers at a more personal level, as it provides personalized information based on the user’s shopping history, which is made available due to it being considered as ‘Big Data’, also famously known as ‘cookies’. They are able to keep consumers updated with the latest collections as well as upcoming deals and offers.
It is a suitable option for communicating with consumers who would usually prefer to procure goods via digital platforms or E-commerce. Also, use drip marketing campaigns
As emails can be accessed by consumers anywhere and everywhere, all thanks to the advanced technology of mobile data and smartphones, making it easily accessible to all.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AS WELL AS DISADVANTAGES OF EMAIL MARKETING TO COMPANIES?
The introduction of email marketing to the corporate world, lead to a major revolution in the forms of promotion of goods and services. Companies have made effective use of this revolution, which has benefitted them in the following ways-
Cost-effective- Email marketing is pocket friendly as well as time-effective as it deletes the necessity or other resources, which would otherwise come at a heavy cost to the companies.
High Return On Investments (ROI)- Email Marketing has proved to be an effective way of earning higher, Return On Investments (ROI) because; it contributes towards an increase in revenue, brand awareness escalates, it attracts more traffic to the website and it also helps increase sales conversions.
Global Reach- Thanks to the power of the internet, which has made global reach possible. This has also helped companies communicate with their target customers scattered or this vast geographical landscape.
While on one hand, it has benefitted companies to a larger extent, it also has its set of disadvantages, which are as follows-
Spam or Junk mail-A lot of consumers from around, who receive these emails, may not actually access them as a lot of times, they are classified as spam or junk mails, giving users the idea that they are actually of no use.
Mail Undelivered- There is a high possibility of the bulk mails not getting delivered due to technical glitches such as the size of an email, spam content, etc.
Lack of resources and skill- A disadvantage of email marketing is that companies may lack the necessary skills and resources required to delivered effective emails to their target customers.
Not Effective enough- it is believed that this form of promotion of goods and services is not as effective as other forms of marketing both online as well as offline. This is because just like Billboards these days can be easily overlooked, promotional emails can also be just as easily ignored and classified as junk. Furthermore, the effect of these forms of mails is also not as long-lasting, which fails the entire purpose of these emails. Check out our email newsletter examples to make your email campaigns more effective.
HOW DOES IT HELP COMPANIES EFFECTIVELY GENERATE REVENUE?
. Email marketing is an easily affordable form of promoting goods and services as it requires very little investment to get started and is an efficient way of attracting a large number of audience. This means that it is inexpensive yet long-lasting which makes it an effective form of marketing. Having to invest little also means that the Return On Investment (ROI) is high. Now, at this point the right question to be asked is, how does this really happen? A high Return On Investments (ROI) occurs due to a number of reasons such as; increase in revenue which happens because email marketing allows companies to reach a larger audience using relatively low costs. It leads to high traffic on the company’s website as these subscribers in the long run tend to become potential customers. The rate of sales conversions also increases as it attracts a large number of customers, which eventually results in high Return On Investments (ROI) of these companies. Another factor that contributes towards this is that email marketing helps raise awareness about the company. This happens because, by building relationships with consumers, helps them increase visibility. Increased visibility means, the number of target customers also increases, and consequently the company is able to earn maximum profits. Therefore, with the advancement in technology that is only going to continues to develop, email marketing has become the most preferred form of promotion of products and/or services due to all the above-mentioned reasons. Over time, this preference is only going to continue to grow, due to the very fact that it is easily accessible, versatile and most importantly contributes towards building relations with customers scattered all over the vast geographical landscape. Read more articles there to formulate your email strategy.
CONCLUSION
That being said, email has effectively contributed towards changing not only the way we as consumers perceive information but also how it is delivered by companies in an engaging way such that more customers are attracted to their products and services. This has also proved that all aspects of the internet such as emails, social media, etc. play a vital role in regulating communication between businesses and consumers.
Furthermore, it has also made them environmentally cautious. This is because the digital form of marketing helps is conserving important resources such as papers etc.