Email Marketing

Email marketing is a direct form of marketing in which a commercial message is sent to a group of people using electronic mail. In fact, every email that is sent to a potential customer can be regarded as email marketing. In general, email marketing refers to-


1. Sending Direct promotional emails to acquire new customers by providing a catalog and other details of the product/service.


2. Sending emails that are designed to encourage loyalty and consumer relationship.


3. Displaying promotional advertisements in emails sent by other companies to their customers. Advertising space is often sold to companies that are yet to establish themselves in the market.



TYPES OF EMAIL MARKETING:


Email marketing can be broadly classified into three types depending on the type of content and action required.


1. Direct email: This involves sending a promotional message via email. The companies collect prospect email addresses from service companies. These services allow companies to target consumers according to interest and the geographical location. The email may contain announcements regarding a new offer, new product launch or setting up of a new company store in the city.


2. Transactional emails: These are generally triggered, based on consumer interaction with a company. Triggered transactional messages include purchase or order confirmation emails, online receipts or customer support. The primary purpose of a transactional email is to provide response to a consumer action.
Email newsletter software provide transactional email support which allows them to include promotional messages within the body of a transactional email.


3. Email Newsletter: These are direct emails sent to consumers, who have subscribed to the company's newsletter service. The emails usually contain promotional content in the form of text/images. The primary purpose of this is to develop better relations with the customers/subscribers.



ADVANTAGES OVER TRADITIONAL ADVERTISING MAIL:


Email advertising has its own merits compared to advertising mail.

• Eco-friendly: This method is environment friendly as it saves paper.
• Global reach: There are no borders in email marketing. The emails are send to numerous email addresses irrespective of location or time.
• Instant delivery time: Emails are instant and provide the benefit of quick-paced marketing. It also encourages immediate responses from potential customers.
• Low-cost: Email marketing requires minimal investment. Accumulating email addresses is relatively inexpensive compared to the costs incurred to run a paper-based advertising unit.
• Measurable results: Special software are available that accurately measure click through rate, conversion rate, traffic generated, location of a target customer, etc.
• Interactive: Email marketing is an interactive method of marketing. This involves active participation of the consumer and the company, helping is developing strong relations.