A Cheap Way to Bond with Customers
Use e-Newsletters to Build Customer Relationships
April 2006

E-newsletters such as this one are an attactive, eye-catching way to reach out to current and potential customers.

Many executives in the printing industry are finding it difficult to build relationships with customers in a price-driven marketplace. Email newsletters—or e-newsletters—are an effective, low-cost marketing tool that can help your company bond with customers.

Every company in the printing industry should distribute an e-newsletter. The Nielsen Norman Group, a research firm, found that when e-newsletters were useful, recipients were reluctant to unsubscribe, because "it doesn't feel good to sever the relationship."

Relationship Building

But the Nielsen Norman Group also noted that e-newsletter recipients expect a different message from your e-newsletter than they would receive in a sales email. E-newsletter recipients want you to send them relevant, useful information about the industry, a product or a service.

Here are a few tips to make your e-newsletters more effective:

• Keep the subject matter relevant. E-newsletter recipients pass along informative emails (and their positive feelings about your company) to coworkers and colleagues.
• Avoid sales hype. Instead, deliver a soft sell by tying your services or products into the e-newsletter’s subject.
• Infrequent is best. Business contacts have given you permission to send them information, but that doesn’t mean they want you filling up their inbox. Limit the frequency to no more than once or twice a month.
• Link e-newsletters back to your website. This is a cross-promotion tactic that gives subscribers access to more details about your company.

The Grow Sales Advantage

At Grow Sales Inc. we are masters at creating e-newsletters that promote your products and services through educational and useful content. Our e-newsletters have helped printers, binderies and loose leaf manufacturers strengthen their customer relationships and turn prospects into clients. If you don’t distribute an e-newsletter, call us today for a no-obligation marketing consultation.

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