Why do small businesses need email marketing?
The ways businesses allocate marketing dollars are important, regardless of the size of the company. This is especially true for small businesses that have smaller budgets and some very unique needs. Every dollar spent on marketing has to be worth it, and small businesses need to ensure they’re seeing a number of benefits all at once.
Most small businesses don’t necessarily have the budget to run several campaigns at once, so deciding where to invest your marketing dollars isn’t a decision to take lightly. You know you need to attract new customers and maintain your current customer base, but you can’t afford to invest time or resources into something that isn’t going to deliver the results you expect.
This is why email marketing is a cost-effective solution that gives you the power to reach prospects and customers in a place they probably visit every day - their email inbox.
Regardless of how big your company is, email is still the most effective way to reach folks who have expressed interest in your product or service. But as a small businesses are especially in a unique position to benefit from email marketing for a number of reasons:
it’s easier for small businesses to strengthen relationships and build trust with prospects and customers;
email campaigns are cost and time-effective;
brand building;
and most importantly it boosts sales.
Strengthen relationships
In nearly impossible to reach out to all of your prospects and customers by phone. In fact, most prospects may not have even given you a phone number yet. Email is the best way to reach out with an update for your contacts quickly.
Consider this: Most people check their phone to see their email updates before they even get out of bed. So what if your business could be one of the first things someone thinks about before they’ve rolled out of bed?
Now that I’ve made things awkward, I advise you not to make things awkward. When you’re communicating with your contacts, be personal about it. Communicate with them, not to them. Just because you’re sending an email to a large audience, it doesn’t mean you can’t write it like you’re talking to a single person. Email is and will always be a one-to-one form of communication. Be welcoming, keep it brief, make your emails relevant and provide value.
Emails costs less
Not only is email marketing a low-cost method to help get the word out, it also offers one of the best returns on the investment of your time. Email marketing is easy to manage, gives you full control, and allows you to establish direct contact with your customers. The ROI is in the fact that you can send an email with personalized content to 1,000 contacts in one click!
And most email marketing platforms are cheap or sometimes free depending on how many contacts you have. The cost of email marketing for a small business ranges from $0 - $750 per month. The price is just dependent on how many emails you send or how big your database is.
Brand building
Email can help you develop your brand because it gives you a direct line to the email inboxes of your prospects and customers. Regular updates gives you an opportunity to create a unique voice, style, and image to further cement your unique brand identity in their minds.
Grow sales
Email marketing makes it easy for you to boost your annual revenue. With a smart approach, the right software, and a little elbow grease, you can turn 100 words into thousands of dollars. When you have an audience of people who opt-in to receive updates from your business, they’re already interested in what you have to offer.
Add a quality CTA and you might just get the email recipient to do whatever you want them to do (Contact sales, capture data, get a free consultation, etc.)
To succeed with email marketing, you need to attract the right customers to your website, something that's not as simple as it sounds. But it always begins with content. Deliver content that the reader may find valuable - and they might be willing to give up their email address for more of it.
Offer material like webinars, e-books and other premium pieces of content in exchange for an email address. And then nurture them with strategically timed emails with subject lines that encourage your audience to open with an update, an offer or educational material… and, over-time, motivate them to take action.
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