A Mixed Marketing Approach

With the advances in email marketing, it’s very easy for businesses to fall in to the trap of using one form of communication for everything.

There are times when it may not be the most appropriate medium to use so it’s important to look at what you want to say.

The personal touch

If yours is the type of business that likes to remember customers’ birthdays – would you use email?

An electronic card, although convenient and cheap – doesn’t really do it. It doesn’t look as though a lot of thought has gone in to it. Whereas a handwritten card posted to them, shows the human side of your business – one they will want to do business with again in  the future.

Quick response

Despite our best efforts, things don’t always go according to plan. When problems happen and you receive a complaint, think carefully about how you maintain contact.

The post can be slow, so if you need information from your customer that may not be the best way to go. However, once the problem’s been resolved, a written letter of apology always goes down well.

In this case, regular phone contact with one member of staff would be perfect. The customer gets the individual attention they want and they have one point of contact so they don’t have to explain the problem time and time again.

How to…

If you have information or instructions you need to convey, what option would you choose?

Written instructions can be long winded and unclear. Telephoning everyone would be completely impractical. You could run an email course, but would people read it and take it in?

Probably not.

The best method here would be a video tutorial. Placing that online means your customers can watch it at a time that’s convenient to them.

Why do you need to know this?

You need to look at your marketing as a multi-media activity. One size doesn’t fit all.

Think carefully about the information you need to relay before deciding on the most effective way of communicating it.

The strongest marketing strategies will utilise a number of different forms of communication – make sure you pick the right one for your customers’ needs.