Are you making local business email marketing part of your media strategy for customers? While email is one of the oldest digital tactics, it’s still very relevant and effective. In fact, for every $1 spent, companies see a return of $36.
Your advertisers likely use email marketing for existing customers and may have many strategies to grow their lists. However, there are still many more people to reach. They can only expand their audience by investing in email marketing services you provide as a local media seller.
Making the case for email is easier than you think. Everybody understands the basics of email marketing since our inboxes are full of promotions and offers. It may be less abstract to them than programmatic advertising.
Some may need more convincing about the continued relevance of email marketing. This post offers statistics and facts, along with strategies and tips.
Local Business Email Marketing: Many Use It But Not to Its Potential
Email marketing is one tool in the digital toolkit, and 64% of small businesses use it. That’s a majority, but there are many businesses not investing in it.
A poll found that 26% of SMBs use email marketing only for sales, but just 7% use it for brand building at the awareness stage. Â
Some local companies may also think the inbox is too full. Yes, most consumers and professionals receive lots of messages. The content, creative and targeting enable your advertisers to personalize and customize, improving opens and conversions.
What’s unique about email marketing is that it’s a “logged-in” channel, which describes digital places where users choose to spend time. It means they are more engaged. It’s a place where conversations can start.
Local business email marketing also works for both B2C and B2B. Thus, your prospecting targets are wide open. When email is part of a diverse campaign that includes radio and other digital tactics, it can act as a clear catalyst for action.
Making the Case for Email Marketing to Local Businesses
What you can offer goes beyond who’s in their database or shopping at their stores. Email marketing as a media buy has targeting like programmatic like demographics and geography. By building an audience aligned with their ideal customer profiles, they can slide into the inbox with a message or offer worth reviewing.
It’s also an easy lift for them and you to launch a campaign. It doesn’t have to go through some of the workflows as display, social or CTV. It also works really well for niche industries that are sometimes hard to target in traditional ways.
A great example of this is a case study on the site for a horse sale event. The email was an invite sent to a defined audience. The result was 300 preregistrations. The business generated all these conversions with folks who had not previously interacted with their brand.
Email Marketing May Be Old School but Absolutely Relevant Locally
Local businesses depend a lot on their reputation as a differentiator. Email marketing aligns with this approach because it’s an opportunity to share informational content and stories that support credibility.
Email campaigns deliver on both awareness and conversions, covering the entire sales funnel. The next time you’re mapping out media plans for customers, don’t forget to include email to amplify the campaign.
For more tips, read our post on 11 industries to target in selling email.
