Electronic mail has become a very effective tool of marketing. One can send the same email to a number of people and yet can have the desired result of direct marketing. Messages can also be sent to most people these days on their smartphone, but those messages can’t incorporate detailed information that could be used in an email. So ultimately it is email marketing that can be a wondrous addition to any marketing campaign.
Holiday marketing is huge for businesses. Marketing executives always come up with various innovative ideas of marketing and holiday marketing is one of the times of year that this is most clearly seen. If a business sends an email to someone describing all the new offers and specials during the holiday season, chances are pretty good that they’ll drop by the business to check it out. This is simply the advantage of holiday marketing. There are lesser chances to get snubbed by the customers.
Mail Early
A business planning to use holiday email marketing shouldn’t wait for the very first day of the holiday week. They need to plan beforehand, at least a month earlier. In fact, building a large targeted email list of customers should be a priority year round. Loyalty programs and membership based models are very good ways of doing this. Businesses can use an email list management service (Aweber, ConstantContact and VerticalResponse are just a few of them).
They must think of offers that aren’t being offered by others. And it is the time of the year when there is neck to neck competition to outdo others in the glitz of the package. They should start early and convince their customers that if they shop early this holiday season, they’ll get handsome discounts. So start the entire project a little earlier.
Mobile mail
Most people can access mail from a mobile phone with smartphones being so widely used. Just about everyone has access on the go from big carriers like Sprint, to ACN and prepaid Android-based phones widely available at retail stores. So, it’s important for businesses to keep this in mind. They need to provide email in a format which will open in mobile phones too. It is easier to carry information in a mobile so that they can use it whenever they want to. One great way to reach customers on a mobile is through the use of QR codes. QR codes can open a website, images, send them to a certain page with information and lots of other things. So instead of an email, it may be a mobile-friendly web page that the customer is taken to with all the needed information.
Keep Mailing Lists Up to Date
Email marketing cannot afford to be lackadaisical. First the business needs to update their list. The list should not contain duplicate email addresses. Each time a marketing email is sent out, there should be a check to see if any emails were bounced or undeliverable. If so, those addresses should be removed from the list.
What Information to Include
When sending a marketing email, it has to be a little more elaborate than a promotional message. So, the description includes something about the product or the service. The offers should not be completely spelled out, though. Neither should they be kept in darkness. The content of the marketing mail should neither be too prominent nor too submissive, but just enough to bring the customer into the business.
Review the Competition
Before starting an email marketing campaign, one must assess the performance of others. Businesses should research how rival companies are coming up with ideas to see what’s working, what’s not and how they can stand out from the competition.
Post-Holiday Promotions
While the holiday may be done, the festivity shouldn’t stop there. It is that time of the year when holiday excitements die down and most businesses die down right with ‘em. Post-holiday promotions are not used nearly as much as they should be, which can easily put a business a step ahead of the competition if used correctly.
