Email Marketing Campaigns

Email Marketing Campaigns

An effective email marketing campaign can be an excellent marketing strategy.  By providing a sign up form for your website visitors, you harness information.  You are able to learn more about your customers and what they like and dis-like.  Lets face it, everyone that visits your website does not necessarily purchase your products or service at that visit.  They may return at various later times or never again.  However, if they sign up for your newsletter, then there is an opportunity to convert them to a customer at a later date.

Email marketing campaigns keep you in the minds of your customers and potential customers.  They give you the opportunity to tell them about news, new products, and just to make a connection.  Just imagine if a potential customer went to your website and there was a product they wanted to purchase but it didn't fit their budget at that time.  By keeping in touch with them through your email marketing campaign; when their budget does allow for that purchase, they have a quick link to your website and not one of your competitors.

Their are a couple of excellent services that can help you achieve great results if you decide to take on the challenge of an email marketing campaigns.

• Constant Contact--They provide email marketing, online surveys, and event marketing.  They have become an industry buzz word, however, they can become a bit pricey.  They tend to charge for extra pictures which get annoying and every service that I mentioned above also has an individual charge.
• Rate Point--This is the new kid on the block.  They offer the same features as constant contact, however, they don't nickel and dime you for every little feature.  When I am starting an email marketing campaign, I like to use them.  The product is great and the customer service is even better.

Consumer Behavior

Consumer Behavior

The study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not buy.  It attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioural variables in an attempt to understand people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general.--Wilkepedia.com

Why do we study consumer behavior?
By studying the consumer, it helps organizations, businesses, and firms to improve their marketing strategies.
We can explore the psychology of how consumers think, feel, reason, and select between competing alternatives.  The influences of the consumers' environment such as family, friends, culture, and media also reveal their importance when we delve into the study of consumer behavior.  Consumer behavior gives us a chance to study how consumers shop and make their buying decisions while shopping.

By researching all of this information, we can adapt and improve our marketing campaigns and marketing strategies to more effectively reach the consumer.  Studying consumer behavior not only helps us to refine our marketing strategies, but it also makes us better consumers.  It shows us how to check for bargains and teaches us the benefits of buying in bulk as oppose to smaller, more expensive supplies.

"Consumer Behaviour - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia." Main Page - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 13 Apr. 2010.

Your Website Should be Your Hardest Working Employee

Why take the time and money to invest in the design and development of a website just to have it sit on the Internet like an old abandoned building, or even worse, stand around on a smoke break, like some questionable employees do, just collecting a pay check.  Well, take into consideration that your website is an employee that works for the company like everyone else.  If it doesn’t perform then it may be time to send it to the un-employment line, or at least give it a stern talking too.

The problem with creating a website in today’s environment, is understanding why you are creating it and what you are going to use it for.  Yes, it is no secret that if you want to do business in 2010 and beyond, you need to have a website to be taken seriously.  However, don’t just have one designed and created just because you read an article that said you should.  You need to have a complete plan on how making this investment is going to pay off for your business before you even think of having it designed.  The key is you want to design it to meet your goals not wrap your goals around its design.

Another key point to remember is that creating a website is an ongoing effort.  The worst mistake you can make is creating a website and then just leaving it on the Internet and hoping that the magic god of traffic will refer you customer after customer.  You have to be an active manager of your website or hire managers for your website, just as you do your employees.  You have to set goals and objectives for your website to meet.  Make sure your website finishes its projects on time. When making an investment you have to either constantly cultivate it yourself, or hire a professional to do it for you.  Make sure that if you invest in building an online presence, that presence isn’t  just left to run however it sees fit.  You are the boss and your website is an employee, tell that lazy bum to get to work.