Keep the customer in mind to capitalize on email marketing's high ROI
Author: Bill Laforme
October 9, 2009

Email marketing is an increasingly valuable tool for small businesses, as the rapidly-growing strategy boasts a particularly high return on investment and improvements in customer retention. But small business are advised to carefully monitor the content and effectiveness of their email marketing campaigns, said email marketing solutions firm StreamSend.

"Email has emerged not only as a cost-effective, high ROI tool to reach new customers, it has also become a brand tool that can help create and sustain customer relationships at different levels," said Dan Forootan, president and CEO of StreamSend. "While competition keeps heating up to reach inboxes, the need to respect customers' individual needs and wants with email has become equally important."

StreamSend advised small businesses to follow seven rules for successful email marketing campaigns: use newsletters, give options and set expectations, make emails targeted to the audience, keep the emails personal, use interaction, and respect customers' wishes.

The firm highlighted the importance of relevant, valuable and timely newsletters as a way to stay in communication with customers, as well as the importance of encouraging customers to interact through the use of offers, surveys or polls.

Above all, small businesses are encouraged to keep the customer's needs in mind, StreamSend advised - respecting unsubscribe attempts, recommending products or information, formatting the emails or coupons for easy online printing, and keeping the emails short and on a regular schedule will all lead to a more effective email marketing campaign.

Now is the time to capitalize on the email marketing trend, said a recent study by Epsilon - open rates, deliverability, and click rates have all been steadily increasing.