E-Marketing for the Short and Long Terms
E-marketing needn’t always be about “instant response.” Many consumers, with no perceived need for a product or service, give little immediate consideration to an e-advertisement. However, if the ad grabs attention, leaves a good impression, and makes the company easy to remember, some of these same people will look up the business when they eventually do feel they need it.
Of course, when offering a special with set dates or introducing something new, you do want people to respond promptly. But you don’t want to arouse resentment by demanding “spend your money on us NOW!” of people who have too many bills already.
Like all success-generating goals, effective e-marketing requires short-term and long-term thinking.
For the short term, to encourage prompt responses:
· Think “benefits” rather than “features”—the customer’s benefit, that is. People aren’t interested in technical talk, and they definitely aren’t interested in how important you are. They’re interested in improving their bottom lines, their prestige, their health. Show them how your product or service does that, and you’ll arouse a “can’t wait to try it” feeling.
· Make things easy; few customers are eager enough for the purchase to struggle twenty minutes with a balky or complicated procedure. Proofread your message carefully: is your contact (or sale date or price) information accurate? Have you tested the links? Does it take more than two steps to get past your spam filter? Are there twenty required data fields? Do you really need that lengthy policy statement?
· Especially if your recipients aren’t regular subscribers, make your subject line clear and specific. Include your business name if at all feasible. A header that says only “Don’t Miss This Deal!” will likely land your message right in the junk folder.
For the long term, to help potential customers remember you six months later:
· Include a “clippable” item—a humorous story, an interesting tip, a useful Web site. Recipients may print or file that item (with the rest of the message) for future reference.
· Make your company’s name or slogan prominent and obviously relevant. It won’t do much good to grab attention now if people can’t find you later because all they remember is a cute cartoon character flashing a “Top Software” sign.
· Be polite. Don’t go too heavy on the “Act Now” messages. And never imply that only a fool would ignore your offer—that insults every recipient who isn’t immediately interested. You want to be remembered for the right reasons!
