Email Marketing: Why use it?

November 10, 2016

There has been a debate in marketing circles, asking fs email marketing is dead and should it be left behind. Let us tell you, email and email marketing is NOT dead.

Here is a sobering statistic for you: more than 200 million emails are sent out every minute.

This is a stat that proves email is still a heavily used communication platform for consumers, brands and enterprise marketers alike. Also, customers who come to businesses via email tend to shop more and spend more. This is a fact. Email customers are 11 percent more valuable than average. Organic-search customers are 50 percent more valuable than average. We will cover more about the ROI and financial reasons to use email marketing in our next article.

What does this mean to you?

The writing is on the wall. It doesn’t matter if it is a Mom & Pop shop or large chain, email is profitable. However, sending a blank email with no posh or refinement, will fall on deaf ears and be deleted. We will cover easy tips and advice on how to write actionable emails in the last article of our series.

Coming full circle into the reasons why to use email marketing, here are a couple reasons why we recommend it:

Email is an easy and straight-forward way to reach mobile customers (which everyone is nowadays).

It works on mobile devices other than phones
Emails are free for the consumer, whereas texting may incur a charge.
Emails have far more space for content than text messages, allowing for better marketing pieces.

Customers stay informed
- Email helps customers and business stay connected. If something changes at the restaurant, then let your fans know. It is an open line of communication. And often times, customers will seek out email campaigns of their favorite brands for special coupons and/or deals.
Email coupons drive online and in-store sales
- Like the point made above, customers will actively seek deals for their favorite brands. The number of mobile coupons used is estimated to double over the next five years to reach 1 billion people. Email marketing is a good way to start reaching the growing number of online bargain hunters.
Email marketing is inexpensive
- Depending on the frequency of the emails, which is important because no one wants to feel pestered, very little time is needed to craft a good and concise email.

Email may be an ‘old’ tactic by today’s standards, but it is a vital one. It’s relatively easy to get started with email marketing, so there’s no excuse for business owners to not be taking advantage of this tactic.