Throughout the last few years, the use
of e-mail to deliver information, market products or services, and foster relationships with customers has exploded. This flexible and useful medium can
take many forms, from simple text to
HTML-based to interactive formats that
might include video, flash and other Web-based elements.
“The advantages are readily apparent,”
says Mark E. Johnson, director of communications and marketing at Fontbonne
University. “For starters, it’s cost-effective,
usually costing less than a penny per
e-mail. The other big factor is timeliness.
E-mail enables you to respond quickly to a
developing marketing opportunity versus
print where you have to factor in the production and mailing time.”
But, Johnson adds, you have to differentiate your message from spam. One of the
best ways to do that is to make sure your
target audience is an opt-in group. In
other words, you’ve already had some
interaction with these prospects, and
they’ve either given you approval to send
them messages or have at least provided
their e-mail address to you in some form.
In either of those cases, the recipient
should not be surprised to receive something from you by e-mail down the road.
Smart Business spoke to Johnson
about e-mail marketing practices and
what makes an effective e-marketing
campaign.
Of what elements does an e-marketing campaign consist?
The short answer is that the elements
can vary widely, and that’s the beauty of e-marketing. You have a lot of flexibility. For
example, a university could use very simple, but highly visual, e-cards to promote
college open houses, scholarship deadlines, etc. These are designed with a relevant graphic image and minimal copy,
which, in my opinion, is best. Keep your
message short and punchy because, ultimately, you’re trying to get them to click
on the e-card, which then takes them to a
particular page on your Web site for more
information, registration to an event, etc.
The other common e-marketing medium is the newsletter. This differs from the
e-card in that it includes more copy and
visuals, depending on what you’re trying
to promote. It’s not that different from a
printed newsletter in that you’ll have a
name for it, along with stories or topics,
probably some pictures and maybe even
ads — items you want to draw special
attention to. The content is usually just
‘teaser’ copy, and then the reader can
click through to your Web site to finish the
story. This can work for a variety of businesses if you have one important factor in
place — the prospect needs to have some
level of affinity for your product or service. In order for someone to take the
added time to peruse the newsletter, he or
she would generally have to be interested
in some aspect of what you’re offering.
How do you decide which type of e-marketing
works best?
It depends on not only the product or
service being offered but also the specific
offer within that product or service. For
example, if a university is targeting
prospects who have applied to the school
but have not yet visited the campus, they should send a very specific ‘campus visit’
e-card. It’s a one-message piece with a
specific call to action. However, if you’re
targeting a broader audience — let’s say
students who haven’t applied to a school
but have asked for a brochure — you
might send an e-newsletter containing
many topics they might be interested in.
How can you increase your chances of success with an e-marketing campaign?
E-marketing is most effective when used
as part of an integrated campaign or marketing approach that uses other media, as
well. For instance, you can send e-cards in
addition to printed postcards when you’re
promoting an open house. Not everyone’s
going to open the e-cards and not everyone’s going to look at the postcard. In
essence, you’re just trying to cover all
bases. You might also have ads on your
Web site or print ads that share the visual
of the e-card. In this way, you’re trying to
create recognition of your message across
many platforms. And, e-cards can be personalized if that’s something you think is
important to your target market.
How can you measure the effectiveness of
e-marketing?
The ability to measure effectiveness is
an area where e-marketing is head-and-shoulders above traditional direct mail
marketing. With e-mails, if you’re using a
particular system or vendor, you can track
how many prospects opened the e-mail,
when they opened it and if they clicked
through to your Web site. Additionally,
you can see, by name and e-mail, who
clicked on what. In some cases, you may
want to follow up with prospects that
clicked through but took no action. You
already know they’ve shown enough
interest to open your e-mail and even
click through. E-mail can be a powerful
tool in your marketing arsenal — if used
responsibly, skillfully and sparingly.
MARK E. JOHNSON is director of communications and marketing at Fontbonne University. Reach him at [email protected]
or (314) 889-1467.
