by tradesmeninsights | Apr 17, 2009 | Marketing Tips
You need to connect quickly in the subject line in order for them to open an e-mail. Look beyond pitching your product and talk about issues that hit their hot button. Don’t know what those are? ASK!
Tradesmen are busy people like the rest of us, and when they get a marketing e-mail, you had better make clear (WIIFM) what’s in it for me in the subject line. They want to know how your product or service will help them on a jobsite.
According to MailerMailer, 74% of all e-mails are opened within 24 hours. Which means if the email isn’t opened soon, then it probably wont be.
I read a post recently form Arthur Middleton, Making your B-to-B e-mail campaign a success, which he outlines 4 tactics that will help you become a reliable source of info. Here is my take on them as it relates to my audience, the professional tradesmen:
- Be a e-newsletter publisher. Look beyond just promoting your products and talk about industry issues that are affecting tradesmen. Give them inside information on marketing trends.
- Leverage the knowledge you get from these contractors. Find out how and why contractors make their decisions. Ask them to be on an advisory panel or participate in a contractor study.
- Preview your e-mail. Make sure preview panes are very much on point because if you don’t make your point quickly, they won’t open your e-mail.
- Create a mobile version. These contractors use mobile devices to stay connected, so make sure to use a smaller version of your logo, and state your claim (WIIFM) within the first few sentences.
Those are my thoughts, I’d like to hear yours.
by tradesmeninsights | Mar 31, 2009 | Marketing Tips
The number one rule in marketing to tradesmen is to do more listening than talking.
Once you stop talking and start listening, they will tell you what’s on their minds and what you can do for them.
In a one-on-one meeting, an aggressive salesman can do all the talking or interrupt a customer in the middle of a thought. They can’t do that in an e-mail which helps you get good feedback.
This same rule applies to the use of e-mail when marketing to tradesmen.
Karen Bannan of BtoB Magazine interviews Loren McDonald of Silverpop who said,
“E-mail is a two-way medium. If you don’t solicit feedback or ignore it when you get it, you miss the chance to improve your programs, solve problems, expand to meet needs or retain customers.”
Here are a few of his suggestions:
- Provide plenty of ways for them to contact you. Other than your e-mail address, you can use a “contact link” and a visible link on your home page.
- Survey your readers. From asking new subscribers if they’d like to see something specific, to doing a formal survey a few times a year about how the company or its products are doing.
- Watch for responses. If you go to the trouble of asking, you should also make sure someone is in charge of getting back to them with at least an acknowledgement that you’re working on an answer.
This all seems like common sense, but sometimes we’re so busy trying to get the message out that we lose site of the big picture.
E-mail marketing gives you a unique and easy way to have your customers talk with you. What a novel idea!
To read the enire post: How to use email to get your customers talking to you.
by tradesmeninsights | Mar 31, 2009 | Marketing Tips
Industrial marketers are looking for ways to communicate with prospects while not breaking the bank. E-mail marketing is being used more as a cost-efficient tool, but marketers should be aware of some things that might make those efforts less effective.
I read an article recently by Curtis Jackson from Quell Group that outlines 10 mistakes when doing e-mail marketing. Here are some highlights from the article:
1. You must have strategy. Why are you sending it, who is the target audience, what are the key take-aways and what type of metrics are you using to measure it?
2. Lists. Make sure you have a good list of opt-in names and a system of flagging those who opt-out. There are several services, like Constant Contact, that will help you not only deliver your messages, but will help you manage your database and give you metrics to see how successful your programs are.
3. Relevant content. Ask yourself about the target audience – is the message important to them? Your subject line is your 3-second window. If the reader doesn’t see value, you’ll end up in that deep dark hole called “delete.”
4. Don’t ignore metrics. You can see almost instantly whether or not your prospect “got it” by looking at open rates, opt-outs, etc. You can then resend to those who didn’t open it using a different subject line to help increase your open rates.
5. Timing. When sending an e-mail, consider timing especially if you’re using an international list. Research has shown the best times to send e-mails are on Tuesdays or Wednesdays between 10AM and 2PM.
E-mails are a great, inexpensive way to communicate. You just have to remember there are some do’s and don’ts you need to watch out for. If you’d like to read the entire article: What are the top 10 e-mail marketing mistakes?
