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Tips for Managing Email Marketing Campaigns with Your CRM System
Have an Existing Customer List? Use it!
Email marketing can be targeted at both existing and prospective customers. However, the greatest conversion rates will be attained when sending email marketing messages to your existing customers and those who have independently expressed interest in your offering. It is possible to purchase mailing lists of hundreds of thousands of targets, but the conversion rates will be substantially lower. Every customer-facing area of a company should ask for email contact information, so that all customers and potential customers who interact with the company, can be placed on a mailing list.
Fish for Names
Another way to beef up your email marketing list is to collect email addresses through free offerings, such as informational newsletters or white papers. By offering valuable information at no charge, customers are more likely to offer their email addresses to receive that information. This is an easy and effective way to convert interested parties into new clients.
Trial and Error
Sometimes even the best marketing writers can’t predict what the conversion rate will be. For this reason, it is useful to run two or more parallel email marketing campaigns. Keeping careful track of conversion results from each campaign, will make it possible to refine the campaign over time by learning what types of campaigns deliver the best results.
Analytics: An Information Gold Mine
The analytics component of your CRM system will allow you to gather valuable information from your email marketing campaigns. Using analytics, you can determine what campaigns are most successful, what products convert the best, what time of year delivers the best results, and what geographical areas are most likely to respond.
Don't SPAM!
The difference between legitimate email marketing and spam is a moving target. Being labeled a “spammer” would be counterproductive for your company, so it is important to determine how frequently customers will receive messages. Most marketing experts suggest that one or two messages a month is acceptable. Additionally, it is important that your corporate compliance officer ensures that email content is consistent with the CAN-SPAM act standards.
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