DSW -- Discount Shoe Warehouse -- employed a brilliant plan to increase after Christmas sales.
On Christmas Eve, DSW's customers received an e-mail blast inviting them to save an additional 30 percent off DSW's already discounted selection of clearance shoes on December 26. Georganne went, the store was packed, and so was her car when she left.
On December 29, customers received another e-mail blast announcing further reductions on even more shoes, plus an additional saving of 50 percent off the clearance price. Georganne went again and now she needs one of these: http://www.rakkudesigns.com
Here's the thing: Those easy-to-do e-mail blasts enticed customers who were ready to buy to visit the store twice on one week. Another plus: DSW was able to make a huge dent in their old inventory to make room for new. A very important detail if you want repeat business ...
Are you collecting customer e-mail addresses?
Are you currently doing e-mail blasts?
According to the statistics, you can contact customers, who know and love your business, every 18 days and they will welcome your e-mail. There are hundreds of companies out there with hundreds of easy-to-use templates that are ready, willing, and able to help you create your own e-mail newsletters and e-mail blasts, plus manage your address book for a nominal fee.
We use http://www.benchmarkemail.com but we've also heard good things about http://www.constantcontact.com and http://www.onlineitools.com (a good choice if you are a scrapbook or craft retailer because they have industry specific templates).
And Angie Pedersen, creator of Scrappy Marketing Solutions, a niche marketing communications agency dedicated to helping small businesses of all kinds get noticed, will be happy to help. Angie's also a whiz at blogging, podcasting, and website development. Find out more at http://www.scrapbookmarketing.com
It's 2007. You NEED to be marketing via e-mail. What other medium allows you to reach millions of potential customers with the touch of a button, and for less than the cost of a pair of shoes? Here's a New Year's Resolution: DO IT NOW!
