How Email Marketing Can Benefit A Local Business

The sheer number of digital marketing tactics available has exploded in the last few years. From social media, to SEM and Google Ads, there are countless opportunities for businesses to get their name out there.

So, why use email marketing? As a local business, it’s important to use your marketing spend wisely.  Strategically leveraging email marketing can both build lasting relationships and increase profit—at minimal cost. Read on to learn why this digital marketing platform is essential for any business.

Why is Email Marketing Important for a Local Business?

How many people do you know who don’t have at least one email address? Probably very few—or, more likely, zero. The average email user has 1 to 3 email addresses. In 2019 alone, global email users amounted to 3.9 billion, and by 2024, it is estimated that there will be 4.48 billion users worldwide. To top this off, over 90% of each age group opens up their email, some as much as 20 times a day.

Emails have the ability to captivate your target audiences and create a lifetime customer by strengthening existing relationships, and developing new connections. Unlike other platforms, email has a unique attribute: your customers signed up to receive them in the first place. The power of email marketing is endless; it yields high conversion rates—partially because the contacts on your distribution list actually want to hear from you—and, compared to other platforms, email is much cheaper, and the ROI is higher.

5 Reasons Why Local Business Should Invest in Email Marketing

1. Customer acquisition and retention made easy with personalization

One of the greatest benefits emails provide is the ability to tailor content and distribution strategy based on who you’re targeting and their preferences.

Personalized email subject lines are great, but everyone expects them. Use segmentation to send your audience emails they’re truly interested in. Pay attention to when the majority of your list opens their email and program them to send at that time. Plus, you can track click-through rates to achieve a better understanding of what’s resonating with your recipients. These are just a few examples of how you can personalize your emails and make your customers feel special.

2. Reach your customers with abandoned cart emails

If you have an ecommerce store, there’s no better way to reach back out to potential customers than with abandoned cart emails. Many people can go through the whole process of shopping and putting an item—or multiple items! —into their cart, only to get distracted and navigate away from your website. Especially with how many people shop from their phones, one app switch, and you may have lost that sale. With abandoned cart emails, you can remind customers what they’re missing, and make sure you don’t lose out on any purchase.

3. Promote your content

You should provide relevant and valuable information in email communications to customers that will encourage them to take the actions you want.

Did you write a new blog post that would be perfect or helpful for your audience to see? Send it out to your list. This will not only help increase your website traffic, but it will also build authority by positioning your brand as a thought leader. In turn, this will increase trust with current and potential customers.

4. Boost brand awareness 

Most customers aren’t usually ready to make a purchase upon their first encounter with a brand. Use email marketing to help your brand and the unique service it provides remain relevant and top of mind when your customers are ready to make that purchase.

5. Budget-friendly

As we already mentioned, email marketing is the one of the most affordable ways to reach your customers—but it’s worth mentioning again. If you’re a small local Colorado Springs business, most email service providers (ESP) such as MailChimp, Active Campaign, Constant Contact and others offer free trials or versions until your list hits a certain amount of contacts. You can use a free email platform to start making those relationships, sales, and revenue before having to fully invest.

The first email marketing campaign was sent in 1978, so it may not seem as new and shiny as the other platforms available today, but there are numerous proven reasons that email marketing works. And, best practices to optimize your customer relationships and increase revenue are constantly evolving. If your goal is a reliable, direct touchpoint with your customers at a budget-friendly cost, there’s no competition that tops email marketing.

Interested in learning more about how smart email marketing can help your business? MAM is here to help. Contact us with your questions today!