When E-Mail Marketing Should be Used

In my office we have this box with buttons and lights. This box is my company’s personal communication line with a small restaurant. Every morning at 10:30 this box spits out a menu—it is dependable and informative. What I did not know is that this mystical box is not our version of the Cold War’s Washington-Moscow Hotline; instead this communication line is open for anyone to use. Even though the first computer fax board was released in the early 1980s it blows my mind that not only people use them for unimportant communicable means, but also as a means to market.

There are lots of ways that e-mail marketing is a prominent marketing strategy now, for example you are able to send a highly detailed message, with images and links, with a custom tailored message that targets the recipient. E-mails can target certain demographics such as, sex, age, or zip code. Beyond being able to deliver the correct message the correct person, e-mail marketing (if set-up properly) can be used to track efficiency. Because e-mail communication is a two-way digital road, bounce-backs and the likes allow us to track if our databases are up to date—and provide an instant means for recipients to a desired take action. It is a great way for businesses to have customers willingly sign up to receive direct communication (shameless sign-up example seen here, with e-mail example seen above). Businesses should take advantage of e-mail marketing, but also go one step further by using e-mail marketing as a focus group to better know their audience. Plus, if we stop using the fax machine, then maybe the Bank of America in Ashland won’t be evacuated as frequently.