The business landscape is littered with failed companies that had strong products and services but never figured out how to market them. Poor marketing or lack of marketing is quoted by many as the single biggest reason why businesses fail.
Your first objective as a business is to determine ways that you can market your products and services in a cost effective manner. This will likely require some trial and error, but it is key. A company with a good product that can market itself is worth much more than a company with an excellent product that can’t (or doesn’t) market itself at all.
Today’s businesses have a variety of media at their disposal with which to promote their products and services. With newspaper, direct mail, TV, radio, magazines and postcards, why should you pursue email?
An Audience Ready for Action
Think about the last time you read your email. Where were you? If you’re like most, you were at your desk. When people are at their desk they can check their calendar, make a note, print the offer or make a call. They are surrounded with resources that enable them to take action. Email allows you to reach the bulk of your audience at a time when they are organized and – most importantly – have the power to act.
Cheaper Than “Going Postal”
Postage rates continue to climb, making email marketing much more attractive to business marketers. In addition to postage, the costs of printing mailers and address labels can add up. Once you learn how to build your own email list, email marketing can be free!
Lightning-Fast Response Time
Most email campaigns yield 90 percent of their response within 48 hours after they are deployed. If you are testing different messages, this allows you to quickly determine if your offer is working. In the time it would take to determine if your direct mail campaign was performing, you could have tested several email campaigns.
Easy-To-Track Success
Because email is done over the Internet and through the computer we have many ways of tracking its effectiveness. You can track how many people click your on your offer, how many people open your message what percentage sign up for your offer. The best part is, you can see many of these statistics as they develop in real-time.
It’s Targeted
There are a large number of highly targeted lists available to promote your message via email. Through detailed online forms and magazine response cards there are some very targeted data lists available to business marketers to ensure your message gets in the hands of someone with the power to act.
Email Works!
Email has become incredibly popular to those with a product, service or idea to sell. Above all, email marketing, when done properly, is effective! It’s fast, inexpensive and well worth adding to your marketing arsenal.
About Jason Lexell
Jason is a Web Marketing consultant and the founder of Digital Harvest, a Tampa-based marketing firm that helps companies increase their online exposure and generate more business.
