The Real Value Of Customer Surveys

You may now know how to create customer surveys but you could be questioning their value. Well, marketing research shows that keeping existing customers is a lot easier and cheaper than gaining new ones. There are a host of clichés relating to the world of marketing:

• Gaining a customer can take months or even years while losing one can happen in a split second
• It’s 400% more expensive to get a new customer than keep an old one
• If you retain 2% of your customers, you’ll save the same money as if you cut 10% of your costs

These may all be hackneyed sayings but they’re invariably true. Customer surveys are incredibly valuable because they reveal the mindset of your clients. Surveys can actually show you that certain customers are thinking of leaving you. Above all, customer surveys help you get to know your audience better and are one of the best forms of marketing that you can do. When you read any advice about marketing, you’ll always find that locating your target audience is a great time and money saver and is one of the first pieces of advice you’ll receive.

Hear Their Concerns

Companies often forget that customers love being listened to. Being asked for their opinion really pleases customers and they will often react well to such an invitation. From a consumer’s point of view, there are few things more frustrating than not being heard. When you send them a customer survey, at least they know that someone is listening.

Negative And Positive Comments

One of the main reasons why companies avoid sending customer surveys like the plague is because they are afraid of negative feedback. No one likes being told that they’re not good enough but negative comments can actually benefit your company if taken in the right spirit. While there will always be a few troublemakers who post nonsensical criticism, there are often valuable comments posted by dissatisfied customers. Such criticism could actually uncover flaws in your business which have escaped your notice. Now would be a good time to fix them!

Finally, customer surveys can be extremely uplifting for companies if they receive positive feedback. There is nothing more rewarding than having a random customer extol the virtues of your business. A positive comment can transform a gloomy winter morning where nothing gets done into one of the year’s most productive days.

With a customer survey, you are getting into the minds of your customers. You are not omnipotent so it’s necessary to gain a greater understanding of your clientele. By doing this, you will discover what your company is doing well and where it is going wrong. When you find out about problems with your service, you can fix them and further improve your business.

Anyone who runs a brewery or a bar knows that keeping customers is becoming increasingly difficult. The era of the ‘regular’ in bars is coming to an end as customers seek the newest and most chic places to socialize. From the point of view of the brewer, it can seem like an impossible task to take on rivals who have larger distribution channels and a greater marketing budget. However, email marketing is the great equalizer. Once you know how to use email efficiently, you will be able to take customers from breweries and bars many times larger than yours.

Email Advantages

The main advantage of email marketing is of course the fact that it is extremely inexpensive. However, its main weapon is its ability to speak to a specific audience, something that more traditional forms of marketing can’t do. It enables brewers and bars to speak to a local audience as well as delivering the highest return on investment of any form of online marketing. The data generated by email marketing also allows you to make important changes to cater to your target audience.

Getting Email Addresses

The first step is to get customer details. This is surprisingly easy. A great idea is to set up a business card collection box in a visible area (the counter for example). Use an incentive such as a discount or prize to get people to fill in the cards you supply. On your website, you should also have a competition or a poll which will help you gather yet more email addresses. This is a simple way to build up a formidable subscriber list.

Now that consumers have willingly given you their email addresses, you can start that email marketing campaign. There are a huge number of services which can help you email thousands of customers for just a few dollars a month. The best services also have analytics which provide you with statistics relating to the response rate of the email recipients. This data is analyzed and you alter the campaign’s emails if necessary.

Make It Count

The first rule of email marketing is to always show the recipient that there is value in opening the emails. Most people receive hundreds of emails a week so yours needs to stand out in order to be taken seriously. Whenever possible, mention special offers, discounts and other promotions to keep them interested. However, you should also make an effort to send emails that just contain items that you know will be shared such as a link to funny photos or hilarious alcohol-related stories. Always make sure these photos are tagged with your company’s name.

Once you have a customer’s email, it’s your duty to treat them properly. Don’t test their patience by sending emails every day. Only email them when you have something interesting to say. Show respect for their time and they may reward you with future business.

It’s easy to be so engrossed in crafting new messages for your email marketing campaign that you completely forget the importance of allowing customers to have their say. Your profits may well be down or up and it could be a complete mystery unless you stop typing and start listening. After all, how are you supposed to know what’s right or wrong about your product/service/business unless a customer tells you? Without the consumer, there is no business so start considering the prospect of creating customer surveys to find out what the public really think of your company.

Planning The Survey

You’re used to painstakingly creating email marketing messages so taking the time to carefully plan and execute your survey should be no problem at all. You may have 100 questions that you would like to ask your customers but it’s best to keep it to 20 or thereabouts because most people’s attention tends to wander after this point. If you issue a survey that takes half an hour to finish or threatens to do so, very few people will bother completing it. Begin by explaining the purpose of the survey and the benefits. Perhaps you can offer potential prizes to those who complete the form. Many companies issue discounts which are awarded to a certain number of people.

Don’t Annoy The Customer!

Have a few gentle introductory questions and don’t go fishing for personal details straight away. It’s also important to ask one question at a time and not confuse the issue by posing multiple queries in a single sentence. This has a habit of irritating and confusing the respondent which will see the survey left incomplete. Assuming you are allowing multiple choice questions, please ensure that you have exhaustive answers that cover all bases without overlapping one another. When two or more answers appear to be virtually the same, this is an example of a poorly designed customer survey.

You must always use neutral language in the surveys to ensure that you don’t come across as biased. The questions must be posed in such a way that your preferred answer is not apparent. Essentially, you have to think carefully about the questions you ask and the order they appear in as well as offering all-encompassing choices. The purpose of customer surveys is to learn more about your company through the consumer as well as knowing more about potential customer’s preferences. Hopefully, the information you gain will greatly improve your company’s prospects in the future.

What do you think is the most important part of email marketing? Some people still believe that using certain keywords is essential. Why? You’re sending someone an email, not trying to get seen on search engines! Keywords are irrelevant because the email is being sent to thousands of people. This doesn’t mean it will be seen however and having compelling content is not nearly enough. The vast majority of emails sent by customers to prospects never get opened because the subject line isn’t compelling enough.

Make Them Curious

People are exposed to thousands of adverts per day. Whenever they receive an email, they immediately look at the subject line. If it contains a generic phrase it will be discarded. If it appears to be some sort of advert, it will be binned. You need to create emails which have subject lines that arouse curiosity. Some great subject lines that have been used successfully by companies include ‘You got me worried’ and ‘Are the rumors about you true?’ because they seem personal and have made you want to see what’s inside.

Don’t Follow The Herd

Certain companies who attempt email marketing campaigns go overboard when it comes to personalization and start to use the recipient’s name in the subject line. While ‘Hello John’ may have worked at one time, so many companies are now using this device that it is deemed to be generic and is immediately deleted. When crafting a compelling subject line, remember that there is a CAN-SPAM Act which prevents companies from using deceptive practices in a bid to get the recipient to open the email. Therefore, you can’t use a subject line which is completely different to the contents of the email or else you will violate the principle of being non-deceptive.

Join The Dots

As we have already mentioned, it’s vital that you avoid making your email look like an advert. This includes the subject line which must be devoid of phrases such as ‘profit’, ‘free’, ‘sale’, ‘buy’, ‘discount’ or similar terms which give off the scent of commerce. Include any of these terms in your subject line and you can be sure that the recipient will delete the email without opening it. One of the best devices to use in a subject line is an incomplete thought. The human brain hates an incomplete puzzle and is desperate for information that helps it close the topic. Only by opening the email can the brain rest.

Don’t worry about what to put in the email until the subject line has been sorted out. Once it is and an interesting title has been found, you’ll have completed the most difficult part of email marketing which is to get the prospect to open the email and start reading.

Have You Forgotten About Email Marketing?

A mistake most companies make when the time comes to launch a product or service online is to rely mainly on SEO content writing as their main plan of attack. While SEO content is vital, missing out on the power of email marketing really is criminal. It is a form of marketing that can reach more customers than any other, is inexpensive and when done correctly, will see your profit margin dramatically rise.

Customer Retention

One of the best things about email marketing is its ability to help you keep existing customers. SEO content writing helps you get the customers while email marketing enables you to keep them. According to industry statistics, it can cost 400% more to market to new customers than old ones. Your regulars know your company and use up less of your customer service time. They are also familiar with your product, know what they want and tend to purchase more than new customers. Therefore, it makes sense to market to those you know before targeting a new audience. With old customers, all you need to do is provide them with updates on new products as well as offering the occasional incentive.

Be Personal

Did you know that almost one trillion emails are sent per day and that more than 50% of email users check their email at least four times a day? Email marketing gives you a greater opportunity than any other form of advertising. One problem is the number of spam each email user endures. As a result, your email should sound like it speaks directly to one person. This doesn’t mean that you must spend all your waking hours typing individual emails to each person, it just means that you avoid sending generic emails that scream out ‘SPAM’! Remember, modern internet users define spam as unwanted email. In days gone by, spam was seen as unsolicited email.

Remember Your Purpose

Email marketing is nothing like writing web content. There are active spam filters and you need to avoid making your emails sound like adverts even though their sole purpose is to generate sales. To get your email opened, you need a great subject line which arouses interest. To keep them reading, the content must be concise and to the point because people don’t have time to read verbose emails. No matter how flowery your prose is, if you don’t make sales, the entire email marketing campaign has been a failure.

We have 52 Tips for emailing every week of the year. Let us know if you would like us to send that to you. You can call (512) 870-8413 ext 202 to make your request for your 52-week marketing plan.

You don’t need to be a marketing expert to know that Christmas is one of the most lucrative times of the year for businesses. Consumers go wild with excitement when purchasing gifts for loved ones and they are far more likely to make impulse purchases and snap decisions. This is one of the reasons why email marketing at Christmas can be profitable but only if you use the power of email wisely. Here are some quick email marketing tips that will provide you with wide scale benefits over the festive season.

Timing

Remember, your email marketing campaign revolves around your customers, not you. Always focus on commencing your campaign at a time that best suits your customers. The great thing about the holiday season is that people are off work and have more time to check their email. Then there is always the fact that employees often get half days. Therefore, it’s better to send your emails in the afternoon rather than the morning where they will remain unopened for hours. This benefits you because your email will be one of the first they see and open.

One Offer

Remember that consumers are inundated with advertising during the holiday season. This means you have to make your offer stand out and the best way to do this is to concentrate all your efforts on a single offer. A number of businesses make the mistake of having several offers which serve to confuse the consumer. As a result, none of the offers are taken up. By having one generous promotion, you can focus all your efforts on delivering a memorable marketing email which will be remembered ahead of the rest of the dross in the average person’s inbox.

Consumer Friendly

As the major benefit of using email marketing during the holiday season is more access to people who are in the mood to spend, it’s no surprise to learn that company’s ratchet up their marketing efforts during this time of year. It’s a massive mistake to increase the frequency of your emails however. This is a stressful time of year for most people and they may construe extra emails as an overly aggressive marketing strategy. This is never well received and you can expect to have a horde of people unsubscribing to your emails if you do this. If you must increase the frequency, let the recipients know beforehand and explain to them the amazing offers the extra emails will contain.

The holiday season may be the best time for email marketing but if you overdo it, your conversion rate will remain dismal. This is the perfect chance to end the year on a high so don’t blow it!

Two ways, the first of which is by using Social Media. Your brands Facebook and Twitter pages work as a direct line to your audience. Use that community that you've grown over time and tap into them. Run promotions that require the audience to get involved, and this will spread among their friends and followers, garnering you more eyes on your campaign. Your consumer base is more likely to enter contests around this time of year because it's been hardwired into our society to think of giving and gifts, so design your contest to look the part.

Check back next week for part 2, where we will discuss email marketing!

As marketers find opportunities to build audiences, conversation and conversions with clever cross-promotion between the two mediums, e-mail and social media tactics are becoming increasingly popular and intertwined.

Incentives Drive Clicks and Conversions

Dingo, a pet food company in Ohio, created a promotion that rewarded customers with a $20 coupon if they signed up for the company’s newsletter and “Liked” its Facebook Page, with the catch being that the page needed to get to 5,000 fans (from a base of around 300) for the promotion to kick in. Mike Halloran, the owner of Dingo, says it reached its goal within three days, as pet owners found out about in the Dingo newsletter and forwarded it to their friends and “liked” Dingo on Facebook.

Of all channels, e-mail marketing and social media go hand in hand better than any other, getting your customers to share your message with friends is the most effective way to grow your business.

 

The company’s e-mail newsletter — which has more than 100,000 subscribers – recently featured a promotion to win a free bike, helmet and messenger bag to fans of the company’s Facebook Page. So far, the opportunity has driven more than 6,500 clickthroughs to the giveaway, versus just nine clicks (yes, nine) to the company’s prompt that encourages e-mail subscribers to become Facebook fans.

 

Promotion Works Both Ways

These promotions can also work the other way, however. Shoe retailer Crocs not only promotes social media through its e-mail newsletter, but also promotes its e-mail newsletter through social media. For example, the company will inform its Twitter followers or Facebook fans about a special offer that’s only available to newsletter subscribers. The company also lets Facebook fans sign up for its e-mail newsletter from an app that’s built into its page, something that Andrea Stow, senior global eMarketing manager for Crocs, says has resulted in a “gigantic leap in our e-mail subscribers.”

 

Stow continues, “Our strategy is understanding and knowing that there might be duplicates [subscribers to multiple mediums] — but the more customer touch points, the better conversion we’ll have.”

That reach, says Stow, gives Crocs the ability to stay in touch with customers year round — important for a company that only expects its average customer to buy new shoes two or three times per year at most.

E-mail Will Only Get More Social

Although companies like Crocs, Timbuk2 and Dingo are still relatively early movers in the integration of e-mail and social media.

Concludes Schmulen, who was also a co-founder of NushellMail, “What we’re seeing today [is the] social call to action [becoming] the primary call to action inside of newsletters.” Expect that trend to continue as marketers start to realize the benefits of doing so and technology providers continue to integrate e-mail and social tools into one package.

1. Best Time of Day

On the other hand, perform some basic analytics about your business’ customers or users. Does your blog or business target parents? Send an email update on Sunday evenings when the family is relaxing with a movie. Do many of your purchases come from another country? Consider setting your email updates to that time zone. Does your service list weekend events? Don’t wait until 4:55 p.m. on a Friday afternoon to send invites.

Sure, many of these tips seem to follow common sense. But as an avid online shopper, you’d be surprised how many emails from Urban Outfitters I delete while feeling the crunch of a Tuesday afternoon deadline. Perform basic demographic analysis: as a gamer, financial analyst, retiree, college student, etc., when would you be most likely to click through promotional emails?

2. Best Wording

First off, encourage customers to opt-in by advertising what your company’s email newsletters will include. Maybe your company allows its customers to subscribe to specific lists, designated by interest or gender, for example. Can they expect promotions, deals and product updates? Make sure to emphasize the inherent value in receiving regular email notifications from you.

Second, use punchy language to turn vague into enticing. Subject headings are key in this regard — weekly newsletters with identical subject lines lack click appeal. If customers get the feeling they’re about to read the same thing they read in a previous email, they won’t open it in the first place. Instead, highlight the most important or eye-catching piece of news or product update in the subject line. After all, SEO is key these days.

Finally, customers love a good deal. When inviting customers to subscribe to or open an email newsletter, be sure to emphasize savings. Not only do JetBlue’s $39 flight subject headings get me every time, they inspire me to daydream about travel in the first place.

3. Best Unsubscribe Etiquette

Consider that 91% of email users who have subscribed to a company’s email newsletter later decide they no longer want to receive the emails. Bleak, but useful data.

Even more telling, 54% of email subscribers say they unsubscribe when they feel the emails come too frequently. It’s important to be upfront with subscribers about the frequency that email newsletters will appear in their inbox. Depending on the customer’s interest level, even weekly may be too often. Consider offering several options for email frequency. If a customer clicks the unsubscribe button, try to sell them on a lower frequency mailing.

Which brings me to my next point: Sooner or later, you are going to get dumped. But, you can go out the bigger person. My biggest pet peeve is having to search for or jump through hoops to unsubscribe. Etiquette, business integrity — and most importantly, the law — demand that you always give customers the right to opt out.

That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t ask that customer her reason for unsubscribing. A simple check-box survey can provide information as to why your audience is vacating: unsubscribe explanations can include email frequency, irrelevance, repetition or product dissatisfaction, and they can help you improve the experience for remaining and potential subscribers.

4. Best Ethics

Not only will the unethical use of email addresses earn your business a bad reputation, but chances are those users will be part of the 91% who unsubscribe anyway.

The trick is making your newsletter’s content engaging and valuable while maintaining your integrity.

:Courtesy of Mashable

In this age of social media and news aggregators, it has become almost impossible not to be bombarded by information daily. So how can we as marketers sift through it all to make a better consumer experience? Listen and organize.

The advent of social media and other services has allowed marketers to listen and respond to data being created by consumers like never before. A few years back most companies would kill to have this avenue of communication with their consumers. Now that the connection is built, we must make sure to use it correctly, because it is a very powerful channel. While you can gain knowledge about your audience in a way previously impossible, you can also barge into the conversation blindly and destroy your image. This information combined with site analytics from your webpage can help define the personas that are interested in your brand.

What can you do with this data? You must first stop thinking that everyone views your brands message the same. Things like your homepage and website should be tailor made for a variety of market segments. Whether they get different navigation, different search data or look is up to you and your designers. One thing is for sure though, the days of mass impersonal messaging in advertising and marketing are long gone.