#ceo builder

Why Client Emails Still Work in Marketing

In a perfect world, every business owner would have a huge following of loyal customers who would refer all their friends to you. Then, of course, those friends would become loyal customers who refer their own friends, and you’d never need to spend another dollar on advertising, marketing, or those dreaded client emails.

Do you hear that? That’s the sound of your alarm clock, telling you to wake up and come back to the real world. And in this world, most businesses and non-profits can’t live off repeats and referrals alone. In order to get new customers and clients coming in, and then keep them coming back, you need to add client emails to your marketing mix.

Why use client emails in marketing?

Because marketing has changed. Big time. In fact, only 14% of people report that they trust advertising. Yikes! So what can we do to sell our stuff? Here’s a little secret for you: People normally don’t want to be sold to. They want to have a relationship with you and your business, to feel a connection. They want to feel part of a community and to have reliable resources to turn to for answers. You can’t do that with a sales ad. But client emails are designed to do exactly that.

Here’s how you can get more new customers and develop lasting relationships with your existing ones using email marketing:

Seven touches

There’s an old saying which states that it takes seven touches on average to turn a shopper into a buyer. That’s still true today. People need more than one or two touch-points or communications in order to feel confident buying from you.

But how do you reach out to your customers seven times without annoying them? All while building a relationship? Here’s a hint: it rhymes with client emails.

If a business were to call you seven times in the next two months, you probably wouldn’t put them on your list of favorite businesses. But if you were to receive seven interesting, relevant emails, suddenly that business becomes helpful and not annoying. Business owners can communicate more regularly with their customers via email marketing, because it’s just less invasive. Customers can view those client emails on their own time.

Loyal customers

How do you retain customers and turn them into loyal fans? What makes the difference between a customer who buys based on price or location, and a loyal raving fan who will not only keep coming back, but also tell all their friends about you?

Loyalty is not built by price, discounts and specials. It is built by experiences that stand out, by extraordinary customer service, by relationships with key members of the business, by serving As it turns out, repeat customers spend 67% more than new customers. So growing these relationships is one of the very best ways to use your marketing time and money. In one study, 81% of those surveyed say they are likely to make additional purchases – online or in-store – as a result of targeted client emails.

The inbox

Many business owners are simply afraid that they might send SPAM. No one wants another unsolicited email. Entrepreneurs are afraid that they will be seen as pushy or annoying if they send out client emails regularly.

Remember, if you’re sending them emails, it means that they actually gave you their email address at some point. They can always opt out if they want to. But here’s the big surprise: people actually like getting emails from companies they like. In fact 70% prefer getting emails from companies they love. And 70% prefer communication from businesses by email.

ROI of client emails

Every marketing campaign should be measured for response. If you are not measuring you are not really marketing—you’re just throwing money at something and hoping for the best. Email marketing is very carefully measured (and, good news – the email marketing software will do it all for you!). For the last 5 years, this statistic has held true: For every $1 spent on those client emails, there is a $44.25 average ROI.

Social Media

There is no doubt that social media has revolutionized the marketing industry. And although it is fun to talk about, the fact remains that email marketing has three times the conversion rate of social media. Essentially, social media is a good way to get people to like you. But sending client emails is how to get people to actually buy from you.

During an event that Facebook sponsored a few years ago, one of the speakers said this: “The number one reason for social media is to drive people to your email list!”

Even Facebook admits the power of email marketing! So be sure to use some of your social media efforts on getting people to sign up for your email list.

What separates your business from the big players? Your passion for what you do, your personal attention to your customers, and the quality of those relationships. When you use client emails, you’ll be able to nurture those relationships, spread the word about how wonderful your business is, and become an important part of your customer’s life in a way no one else can— every single time you hit ‘Send.’

So if you are not connecting with your customers regularly through professional, branded emails, it’s time to start!

The Truth about Small Business Organization

Do you remember that one time, when your business magically organized itself? Neither do we. Believe us when we say that small business organization is not easy.

Here’s the truth about small business organization that nobody tells you: If you own a business, particularly a new business, you will basically be slaying dragons every day. Or at least, your efforts to stay organized and in control will feel that way. These dragons can manifest themselves in many different ways. Is your workspace a mess? Is it scattered with sticky notes and to dos? Does your to-do list feel like a constant battle, instead of the helpful mind map you were hoping for?

This is no cause for panic. As the owner of your business, you are basically a knight in shining armor. Your brain is a great idea-filled parchment scroll, although sometimes it’s not the neat freak you wish it was.

Here at Entrepreneur Simplified, we are on a mission to help business owners conquer their dragons. It’s time to get those plans on paper and straightened out into tip top shape. Because nothing is better than a new, shiny, and clear plan of attack. Here are our 7 tips on small business organization, and how to get everything in order. They’re so easy you can do them in a few power hours.

Write down your steps towards small business organization

When it comes to slaying your to-do list, remember that the pen is mightier than the sword. This step is critical to the whole process of small business organization. Why, you ask? Well, because your brain is like a mental storage shed. Some are organized, some are less so. But everything you know, including everything that works or makes your business tick, is up there. So it’s important that you get it all down onto paper where you can move it around and put it into a more organized group.

Let’s use an example. Maybe the dragon I need to slay today is how to create and post my social media content. During this step I am going to dump everything I already know I need to do for this. My list might look something like this: Decide a theme Create content Shoot images Write captions Design imagery for Instagram Upload into Meet Edgar Schedule posts for the month Check that it posted Reply to comments Reply to messages

So that is my month’s worth of social media content in a mind dump. Granted it isn’t everything, but you get the idea. Once you have a list you can move on to the next step.

Batch them into groups

Now it’s time to organize them into steps. What needs to happen, and in what order, for things to get done correctly without a hitch? What things are similar that I can do at the same time that will cut down on time and save me effort in the long run? In short, you want to slay your metaphorical dragon without getting metaphorically burned.

So using social media, I would most likely batch mine like this: Decide a theme & create content Shoot images, write captions & design imagery for Instagram Upload into Meet Edgar, and Schedule Check to unsure post Reply to comments & messages

See how you can have one power session and knock out all my content and theme? And then another to create all the imagery and captions while it is fresh in my mind? Perfect. You are so smart, we knew you were. You’re well on your way to becoming a master of small business organization. Next, we are going deeper.

Figure out the tiny steps

During this step, it’s time to get SUPER detailed. Stop and think about what it really takes to slay your dragon today. So I am just going to do one of the steps so you can see. Let’s pick the shooting images, creating captions and designing imagery. My tiny steps would look like this: Find props that fit the theme Purchase props Gather existing props, if I have them Find shooting space Sketch out ideas of photographs Set up lighting, or use a light box Photograph Upload to computer Edit images to specifications Create witty captions based on theme and image Find relevant hashtags to image, and caption to gain traction Upload image to photoshop and create digital overlay for instagram Save images, named for social media site Upload images to drive folder Notify team member that they are prepped and ready to be loaded

See all those steps? Wow. There are a bunch, but if you think about it, you already do all of those to make the images a success on your account. So get your paper close, write out those steps. What does it take to really organize that project and make it work?

Set timelines and deadlines

This step is almost as critical to small business organization as the brain-dump stage. The longer your dragon is permitted to live, the more damsels in distress you will need to rescue later. Therefore, we need to know exactly how long things take to get the ball rolling. Does it take a week to do all my images and edits? Can I have a power day and knock them out in one sitting? Our golden rule is to plan for whatever your standard is, plus a day for error. It happens, we know it. So if it usually takes me 4 days to gather stuff, work on them and have them ready, I would set my timeline at 5 days.

Once you have the timelines set, making a deadline is cake. Now you know how long it takes to do a project, you just have to plug it in and figure out what it takes. If you need it done by a date, simply work backwards. So if I need something by the 15th, I know it takes 5 days, I have to start no later than the 10th to be done on time.

Set accountability markers

No goal is ever accomplished unless there is an accountability marker in there. Think of all the peasants, the damsels in distress, and the less-organized knights who are counting on you!

Accountability can take many forms. This can either be a person you report it to, or maybe it is just the check box in your to-do list. But there needs to be something that holds you to a standard. You are going to do it, no ifs ands or buts. We are working on being productive and accomplishing work, so we need to hold ourselves to it. So take a minute and figure out what the marker is for each task. Is it reporting to a person? Is it turning in something on time? Maybe it is just a gold star on the board.

Put it into action

It’s the moment of truth. Time to face your dragon. You have a plan of attack, you’ve got it all written out. You did it. Now it is time to make it work.

We suggest you build it out so there is a visual plan for you and others to see. This way not only you, but others around you, can see what you are working on how to hold you to that standard. We at Entrepreneur Simplified use a program called Backbone. We love it, and use it to organize our systems. So whether you use that or another program for your small business organization needs, or just a spreadsheet, build it and make sure you see it.

Get the team on board

Surely, you didn’t plan on slaying that dragon all by yourself? Now that you have your plan of attack, and it is there for others to see, it’s time to get the team on board. You have the ability to turn your team members and your employees in trusty soldiers. So introduce them to what you are working on and how things are going to work from here on out. We know you will be great at it. Besides, when people have a game plan they are more willing to put in the work that it takes to make it great.