How Permission-Based Email Drives Sales, Leverages Customer Relationships and Creates Powerful Brand Loyalty
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The Cost of Not Staying Connected with Customers is Real and Measurable
Numbers don’t lie. It costs anywhere from five to ten times as much to acquire a new customer than it costs to retain an existing one. Research analyst Alex Brown estimates that “U.S. organizations lose one-half of their customers every five years, and a 5% incremental improvement in the customer retention rate could have the effect of doubling profits.”
Fredrick Reichheld of Bain & Company cites in his book, The Loyalty Effect, that customer disloyalty “stunts corporate performance by 25 to 50 percent, sometimes more.” Yet despite these findings, companies continue to treat customers with indifference.
And how do customers respond to being treated with indifference? They leave in search of a company that will take the time to understand their needs, problems, and expectations . . . and deliver information and product offers tailored to their needs!
Day in and day out, companies leave thousands – even millions – of dollars in potential sales lying on the table because they cannot communicate with customers and prospects in a manner that is personal, relevant and timely. Recently, a senior marketing executive at a major insurance company revealed that, in one year, his company lost out on new contracts amounting to more than $100 million because they did not have the information systems and processes in place to interact with policyholders on a one-to-one basis.
To reduce customer defection, improve profitability, and keep customers connected with their brand, companies should add email to the mix of communications channels used to develop and manage customer relationships.
An Email Marketing Success Story
An excellent example of permission-based email marketing can be found at Sherwin-Williams, one of the country’s leading retailers of paint, wallpaper and related accessories.
Working with Optiem, a full-service interactive agency based in Cleveland, Ohio, Sherwin-Williams leverages local print advertising, in-store displays, online advertising, and search engine marketing to attract Do-It-Yourself customers to a micro-site where they register to become a “Preferred Customer.”
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