As the internet is flooded with aspiring online home-based entrepreneurs and marketers, web consumers are constantly receiving their emails promoting their brands and wares. Today, a lot of ‘junk’ email is received in the email in-box just like yesteryears’ when post boxes outside the homes were filled with junk mail.
If marketers want better results from their marketing efforts, they must adopt the better marketing approaches, although their marketing strategies may be versatile and powerful. It is possible to enjoy higher Return On Investment (ROIs) using the best of email marketing strategies, but without the proper marketing ethics, even the best marketing strategies and campaigns could fall flat.
Effective Email Marketing
Email marketing has been proven as a very effective online marketing strategy for online business ventures. This is due to the fact that many consumers have emails and advanced technological devices such as smartphones and mobile devices with Wi-Fi facilities. These components are sufficient to send and receive emails at any time from anyone to anywhere.
Modern consumers with emails tend to check on their emails a couple of times a day. This consumer habit benefits businesses that manipulate emails to reach their targeted niche markets or secure a wider audience in promoting their business. Effective emails would draw consumers to be potential leads to the business where a building of strong relations could convert potential leads to customers.
Email marketing is also cheap and fast. The advanced technologies of today lower the cost of sending an email compared to slow mail and other traditional marketing strategies. This is an excellent marketing tool for new businesses that are low in budget. Organic and free web traffic could be harnessed through a proper implementation, although paid traffic could also be procured quickly for the desired business marketing activities.
However, the wrong way of manipulating email marketing could backfire on the marketer where web consumers become annoyed and against the brand or business. This could happen with spam emails which take up busy consumers’ time and inbox space. A bad impression could be impinged on the brand and business which does not augur well with the marketer in the marketplace. Hence, it is crucial for the marketer or entrepreneur to adopt good marketing ethics in engaging email marketing to win over customers.
Permission Based Email Marketing
Marketers thinking of engaging in email marketing to promote their brand and business wares today should consider implementing permission based email marketing. This is an ethical approach towards email marketing where marketers request the permission of targeted potential leads to be opted into their customer database or email listing.
This form of email marketing approach is also known as opt-in marketing whereby email recipients are given an opportunity to say ‘yes’ to receiving business news via emails. The securing of consumers’ permission makes it easier for the marketer to send relevant emails of marketing information without worrying about annoying the recipient.
Once permission is secured from identified business prospects, better marketing campaigns could be designed to increase the chances of compelling potential leads to make purchases and be converted as business customers. When the business lead opts into the business emailing list, the marketer requires less effort and time in developing the best of promo materials to benefit the consumer.
This form of marketing helps to boost the bottom line of the business as more quality time could be identified in establishing strong customer relations to generate trust, respect and confidence between the two parties. It would be easier for the marketer to secure more accurate information from the potential leads through online surveys in various emails sent to understand the needs of the consumers better.
The proper approach of permission based email marketing which the marketer is to adopt is by providing an online opt-in form via emails or at the web business site where the potential leads indicate their consent in receiving further updates or news regarding the brand or business from this particular marketer.
This approach confirms the potential lead’s interest and inclination towards the brand and company to empower the marketer in sending relevant emails to the potential leads. When an appropriate business email is sent to these potential leads, it is possible for these potential leads to find favorable and value added products or services which they could order or purchase via the marketer. The marketer would enjoy better bottom lines from the highest number of sales triggered from these potential leads who are now inclined towards the brand or business.
Ethical Marketing
Ethical marketing via emails is a strong testimony of the marketer’s character which calls for mutual respect and integrity. Marketers who exercise ethical marketing are highly respected in the market with a strong show of upright character which augurs well with all consumers. This is unlike interruption marketing which is spamming consumers’ email in-boxes regardless of consumers’ feelings and feedback.
Spamming is very much frowned upon by marketers pushing loads of promo emails to their list of potential leads in the market. Marketers could be desperate to such unethical marketing approaches when their business fluctuates with the market. Modern consumers do not like marketers to coerce them into accepting the brand or business offerings through numerous emails which could clutter up their in-box, especially when marketers spam their in-boxes with multiple copies of the same message.
Ethical marketing is powerful in this era as mutual respect is exercised and business opportunities come at the right time for the marketers to present their brand or business benefits. Politeness in marketing campaigns wins more customers than forceful approaches. Opted in customers remain loyal and positive towards the brand and business when they are able to exercise their free will in choosing their brand and company for products and services.