Are you still using your online or desktop email program to send marketing emails? You shouldn’t be!
Email marketing is an excellent marketing tool for small business, allowing you to get new clients and nurture existing ones. But the reality is that most desktop email clients are very limiting, making it difficult to reap the full benefits of email marketing.
The solution is an email marketing tool and the great news is that you don’t have to be a writer, designer or tech expert to use one. Here are five reasons why you should think about switching to an email marketing tool:
1) Professional-looking emails
In marketing communications, presentation is key. When you send email from a desktop client, it looks like a regular personal communication, which does little to inspire trust in your business. An email marketing tool should give you a choice of templates and layout designs that will make it easy for you to give your email campaign the professional look-and-feel of a larger business. A polished, well-designed email will inspire confidence in your customers and help you foster the right relationships.
2) Measurement, reporting and segmentation
Do you know how many of your email marketing messages were opened or clicked? This just isn’t possible with a desktop email program. A good email marketing tool will allow you see exactly what is happening with your email campaigns, so you’ll know what is working and what isn’t. The information will help you target engaged customers with the right information and offers. And when you combine this with the ability to segment your customer list by preferences or interests, you can really start to focus your email campaigns for greater efficiency.
3) Easier to follow email marketing best practices
Most email marketing tools come with list hygiene functions as well as the ability for recipients to sign up or opt out from your communications. This allows you to connect with people who are engaged rather than those who aren’t, which is a critical email marketing best practice.
4) Social media integration
Imagine sending out an offer and with the click of a button simultaneously publishing to Facebook and Twitter. You can’t do it with a desktop client, but you can with the right email marketing tool, which saves time and makes life easier.
5) Timed and Triggered Deployment
As a small business owner, you need to concentrate on your core business, not sit in front of your computer sending out email campaigns. An email marketing tool will let you load messages and send them out at a pre-set time, or in response to a trigger, like a customer responding to an offer.
Stephen Shoff
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