Email Marketing to Customers It's a good idea to outline the benefits and value of your products/services during this initial email to set the stage. Also, customers respond more positively to less obvious types of email such as the latest news, money-saving tips and relevant up-sell opportunities. These types of email have a much higher click-through rate than the traditional sales email. Add me to your email list Email is a wonderful and powerful medium that can make or break a business depending on how it is set up. Here are some of the top guidelines to show you exactly how to design your email campaigns to develop a healthy, long-term relationship with your customers. Show them that nothing "Phishy" is going on -- With identity theft a very real concern, customers need to be reassured that their personal and financial information is safe every step of the way. Redesign your Preference Content to include information icons and links to private policies. Also, during the subscription process, threaded messaging is a great way to reinforce to the customer the use, value and benefits of the specific data requested and captured. "You had me at hello." --Dorothy in "Jerry Maguire" -- First impression is key to a successful long-term email relationship. Along those lines, it is surprising how few marketers actually say "Hello" to their prospects. Research shows that Web sites that begin their relationship with a friendly "Welcome Email" do much better than the businesses that just push their way into asking for a sale. It's a good idea to outline the benefits and value of your products/services during this initial email to set the stage. Also, customers respond more positively to less obvious types of email such as the latest news, money-saving tips and relevant up-sell opportunities. These types of email have a much higher click-through rate than the traditional sales email. What color are my eyes? -- Your customer needs to know that you are paying attention. You will earn their loyalty and trust by listening to their needs and customizing their emails to reflect this. For instance, if they filled out a form saying that they were interested in baseball, don't send them the bowling email - stick to baseball. Personalize your service and you will have a customer for life. Interest-Based Triggers -- Set up a system that allows you to keep track of what the client has purchased. Then, at relevant intervals, you can send out personalized emails that use this information to sell related products, upgrades and accessories. Ex. If you sell a printer to a customer, it is good business to send out an email on printer cartridge specials when it is likely that they will be low on ink. You are being helpful to the client and your credibility goes up. Interactive Customer Service - email is the perfect vehicle to resolve customer issues in a timely, documented fashion. Nothing is more frustrating than being put on hold telephonically when trying to fix a problem. With email, customers can get their messages out instantaneously. And with Live Chat sessions, customer service can personally address their concerns in real time - something very important to customer loyalty. Surprisingly, despite its efficiency, only 54% of sites respond to email inquiries within 24 hours says Jupiter Research. Which can be a problem since 88% of consumers expect complete resolution within 24 hours. The best way to remedy this is to create a strong customer service department in which email and Live Chat are used optimally to insure fast, top quality resolution.