Websites, social media profiles, blogs, and more fight for our time and resources. Each one of these online tools is vital to construction marketing success and developing an impressive online presence.
But, let’s not forget about the original digital marketing tool: email.
Everyone has email. Even those who are strongly averted from technology, forgoing smartphones and Facebook, always have an email address. Since this channel is also extremely low cost and effective, it makes sense to continue to include it in your construction marketing plans.
Email remains effective, but it has also evolved and should be utilized with modern trends in mind. No longer do consumers eagerly investigate each email they receive. Now that most mailboxes fill up with dozens of email messages each day, you need yours to stand out from the crowd and appear to be worth paying attention to.
Follow these tips to market your construction company effectively through email.
Create a robust database of contacts.
The effectiveness of your email campaigns is limited largely by the quality of your contacts. If it has been a while since your customer database has been maintained, now is the time to clean it up. Bad addresses should be removed. Look for duplicate entries.
Most importantly, work on categorizing your contacts so that you can more precisely target messages. For example, you need to have the ability to send one message to contacts who have expressed an interests in your company but never become a customer, while existing clients receive different messages.
You can break this down further into people who have expressed interest in different types of projects. The more information you have on your clients, their interests, and demographical information, the better you can personalize emails for optimal results.
Define the objectives of each email campaign.
You will begin to have people opting out of your communications if you send too many messages that people are not interested in, so carefully define the purpose of each message. If you don’t know why you’re sending it, clients will not understand why they’re receiving it. Are you offering a special, seasonal tips, or a request for feedback? Let your objective drive your message.
Don’t get sent to spam.
While not all filters work exactly the same, there are specific things that you can do – or avoid – in order to keep your messages from never seeing the light of day. The first step is verifying that everyone on your contact list has opted-in to your emails. Other elements that give your messages validity include proper return email addresses, proper headings, and well-designed content.
Making stereotypical sales pitches in your subject line is a good way to be sent to the spam dungeon. All caps, excessive exclamation points, or promises of lots of cash are good practices to avoid. Create a subject line that invites people to open your email without falling into spam practices. The HTML used to create your content is often also scanned by filters, so ensure that your message is professionally coded and not one large image.
Consider professional content.
Though one of the advantages of using email is its low cost, you will enjoy better results of your email campaigns if you invest in professionally designed email content. Every communication that your business sends out speaks to your reputation for quality and trust.
Consider a professional-looking layout.
You wouldn’t send a physical letter on notebook paper rather than company letterhead, so think about your email the same way. Take advantage of the experience that an expert brings to the table in designing attractive emails that are more likely to be opened and responded to.
Track results.
As with any form of marketing activity, you will need to track the responses and results that are created from each email campaign. In order to continue using email effectively, you must measure what is working and what should be dismissed.
Did a certain message lead to more opt-outs than normal? Did you get a stunningly high response to another offer? Get as much feedback as possible from your customers and track messages as much as possible to guide future efforts. The willingness to adjust your efforts in response to results will ensure optimal effectiveness of your email campaigns.