by tradesmeninsights | Aug 10, 2016 | Marketing Tools, Marketing Trends
By John Sonnhalter, Rainmaker Journeyman, Sonnhalter
B to B trends tend to follow retail ones and here’s one more. I’ve been a big proponent of using emails as the best way to reach the professional contractors and tradesman and here are further reasons to consider this tactic.
A recent study by email on acid reported that email marketing is going to remain a top priority for companies in 2016. Though we could have predicted this was the case, nearly three out of four companies (71.8 percent) say they are planning to spend more time on email production and more than four out of five (86.7 percent) report that they will increase email marketing budgets this year.
A great email doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have a good list to send it to. That’s why building your own list is so important. You want to have an opted-in list so you can be assured your message gets by the firewalls and junk mail boxes.
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by tradesmeninsights | Jan 27, 2015 | Marketing Tips, Marketing Tools, Traditional Marketing, Uncategorized
Do you know that the average office worker checks their email 30 times an hour? Can you imagine what the stats are for contractors out in the field?
The point is that emails are very acceptable ways of communicating with each other. The key is to have relevant and timely info for your prospect.
Heidi Cohen gives us several reasons why email trumps social media:
- Email provides directly measurable ROI – You know immediately how many opened and read your message.
- Email is content format agnostic – It’s user-friendly and you can use text, images, videos, audio, PDFs.
- Email can deliver both long and short content – Content can vary from a link to several pages in length.
- Emails you can control delivery – Whether it’s now or delayed.
- Emails can be read on anything – Smart phones, tablets, laptops, no apps required.
- Emails build customer relationships – Once someone allows you to communicate with them, it represents a certain level of trust.
So since you have such a powerful tool, we need to make sure we’re using it correctly to get the best bang for the buck. eMarketer, in a recent article, stated that we all should get ready for more personalized emails and companies plan on spending more money to accomplish this.
These triggered and transactional emails can be part of a nurturing campaign. The key is getting the right message in the hands of the right people at the right time. You need to ask the right questions to see where they are in the sales funnel so you can address that immediate need.
If we use and target emails correctly, whether you’re going after a contractor or a plant manager, the result improves with the more segmenting you can do. So do your homework and take advantage of a great marketing tool.
by tradesmeninsights | Nov 11, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Traditional Marketing, Uncategorized
I know we all know “CONTENT IS KING” and we focus on putting out good stuff. But we should be just as focused on building the list to whom we’ll be sending all this valuable info. There are so many sources for gathering data from trade shows, PR and leads from advertising. We need to formulate a plan to separate them by market, industry or other criteria so specific targeted messages can be sent with a strong call to action.
It’s a fact that if you have an engaged database of subscribers, you have a captive audience, not only for them to read, but to share. I recently read a post on problogger.net by James Penn entitled, 10 Ways to Get More Email Subscribers For Your Blog that I thought brought home some key points.
Among them are:
- Use multiple opt-in forms – have 3-4 in your newsletter template. The more you have, the better the chances of them signing up.
- Offer a freebie for signing up – Give them a report, industry trends or white paper for signing up.
- Use your most popular posts – They will continue to bring in traffic.
- Create special reports on industry issues – Use already existing content to create.
- Ask readers to join your email list – What better way to get people on board.
These are some great tips. What are you doing to increase your email lists?
by tradesmeninsights | Sep 24, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Traditional Marketing
We all have a list of customers’ emails in some assemblage of order. What are you doing with them? Let’s not assume just because someone is currently buying from you that they will continue to do so. You need to continue to reinforce why they should do business with you and it doesn’t have to be a sell piece. Give them something of value that they can use in their business. A quick installation tip. A calculator link to help them figure out how much product they need.
Besides the emails you already have from current, past and future customers, what are you doing with all the leads you’re getting from digital sources?
Digital media is a great way to build on to your existing database list and start nurturing them along your selling cycle. By using an email marketing tool, you can build silos by market or by where they are in the buying cycle so you can tailor messaging to each.
Here are a few tips in developing your lists:
- Get their permission – send them an email that you’d like to keep them on a list to send out valuable info on a regular basis that would help them.
- Ask questions – when sending out the initial request, give them options of things that might interest them, i.e., markets, product or applications that they would find useful.
- Get them engaged – invite them to a webinar or send them a how-to video or an e-book if you have one.
- Stay on topic – focus on what you do. You’re trying to build brand awareness and credibility.
- Respect their time – experts say you shouldn’t send more than 2-3 emails a month. My recommendation is start with 1.
- Monitor who’s reading them – by using an email marketing tool, you can see who opened and read your message. If they’re regulars, you may want to pass them on to the sales force as a soft lead for them to reach out to.
By developing a list and starting communication with them, you’ll be able to see response rates increase and hopefully sales as well.
If you like this post, you may want to read:
Email Marketing: Is this the Best Way to Reach the Professional Tradesman?
Why Email Marketing is so Important in Nurturing the Professional Tradesman
by tradesmeninsights | Sep 11, 2013 | Marketing Tips, Traditional Marketing
Email is still a preferred marketing tool, especially in the B-to-B space. The key to success is having a plan to build relationships with your audience whether they are existing customers or potentials.
To be successful, you need to pay attention to your audience, the messages you’re sending out and not be so self-promoting. Marketo has published Top 10 Tips for Better Email Performance. It’s a quick read and gives you the basics you need to be successful. Highlights include:
- Don’t talk at people, but rather create a dialog.
- Segment your audiences and the messages for each.
- Automate where you can. It makes life easier for you.
- Mix it up – days you send them out, use of surveys or a fulfillment piece.
- Make sure it can be delivered. Check to ensure that there’s nothing that might prevent your message from being delivered.
If you’re going to make the effort, let’s make sure you’re getting the most out of it!
If you like this post, you may want to read:
Why Email Marketing is so Important in Lead Nurturing to the Professional Tradesman.
Benchmark Report on Email Marketing Sheds Light on Priorities and Challenges to the B-to-B Markets.
