Your Database and the Pot of Gold In It

Threading the world of e-commerce and going to the whole nine yards of digital marketing has proven to be a really tough job. When one thinks about it, the process includes different facets, from website creation, content writing, social media posting, and the most organic of it all, email marketing.

 

Marketing plans, as well as promos, are mostly posted in social media sites for a wider reach however, it is email marketing or newsletter creation that sets quality customers from mass leads apart.

There are two important tasks email marketing accomplishes for you. This is what we call Filter and Funnel. When you email your database, you are basically reaching out to people who chose (most of the time with full consent) to hear from you (let’s take into consideration the subscribers who mistakenly have signed up for your newsletter or those who had friends use their email addresses for subscription without their knowledge).

 

Utilizing your database and reaching out to them creates a ripple effect that circles around your service and the products you offer. It allows you to tailor your emails based on your business and your recipients would understand because they did ask to hear from you. Yes, you are correct that your database has a fewer audience compared to when you post on social media platforms, but sending to your own database allows you to interact with a more engaged, more active group, or even more interested set of people. These are the people who will give you honest feedback basing on where they see you are heading, they would buy from you, or would even promote your products. Reaching out to your database would show that you care about those who care to know about your business too. This can create more business opportunities for you than crafting a generic content for all internet users. It is important to know that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all strategy in the digital era.

 

Sticking with email marketing also allows you to weed out who needs you, or who could possibly be interested in you, from those who will not do your business any good. It serves as a great filter and helps you come up with a more targetted strategy. Now and then you will be notified of people unsubscribing from your newsletters and even though it seems scary, people unsubscribing is actually a good thing. Consider it a feedback that says either of the two possibilities,

1) they are not your customers or you might be emailing something that they don’t really need (like sending newsletters or catalogs of summer wear to people living in the north or those who subscribed to your mailing list by accident) and

2) there is something wrong about how you do things (you might be sending way too many emails, or you kept creating crappy content, or that your product is simply no good and it’s time to do a major revamp, yay!).

 

When they unsubscribe, it is an indication that a change should happen, and it should happen soon. For better filters, consider requiring a feedback box customers need to fill-out before unsubscribing. If they say their reason for unsubscribing is the frequency of your emails, consider sending lesser emails. If they say their reason is your crappy content, consider redesigning your content and write something really useful, timely, or interesting. If they say they are unsubscribing because they found a better product, study your competitors, understand why your customers like them more and start crafting a plan based on it.

 

After filtering your list down to a smaller but quality list of customers, it is time you funnel your efforts to a more personalized level. The trust this small group of people has for you is something that could fuel your business up and keep it moving. It is thus important to customize your email marketing as well as your digital strategy as a whole based on the preferences of these few good customers. Your aim now is to multiply their type by understanding what they need, providing them what they need, and reaching out to those who are like them. When you know how to funnel your efforts, you will understand what to invest more on when it comes to strategies, and what to cut from your current expenses. It saves you time and money to focus just on those who matter and those who matter will not waste your time and efforts. They are your pot of gold which could be the very thing your business needs.