Direct E-mail Marketing for Cellular Retailers

Developing Content
Even with a robust customer list, complete with detailed information on each recipient, a direct e-mail marketing campaign will fall flat without compelling and effective content.

Often, e-mail marketers can repurpose content for messages such as "welcome" e-mails detailing available products and services to new customers. In addition, creating basic templates and boilerplate text provide marketers with a resource from which to create consistent content.

Depending on the content, the e-mail messages may take the form of newsletters or short and simple announcements. Content does not always need to be for selling purposes. It may also simply be informative.

The following are some more examples for creating e-mail marketing content:

• Special occasions — Send special offers based on a customer's birthday or for a holiday.
• Upgrade and New Contract Special offers — Synchronizing special offers to coincide with the end of a customer's cellular contract term will help to ensure they remain loyal...to YOU.
• Customer appreciation — Let customers know they are appreciated by sending offers thanking them for their loyalty.
• Announce new products and services — By keeping customers up to date on the latest technologies, they are more likely to return when they want to upgrade their services.
• Product recalls — Contact customers who purchased a particular item from you if there happens to be a factory recall for that product. Your customers will appreciate the extra care.
• Tips and tricks — Target helpful information to customers with specific types of phones or services. This is also a good opportunity to upsell to the next level of service by providing information on what the customer could accomplish if they opted to upgrade with new handsets or hardware.
• Request feedback — Asking customers to provide their opinions on relevant topics not only provides the cellular retailer with useful information, it makes customers feel closer to the retailer and enhances loyalty.
• Target Inactive Customers — While many customers will respond to e-mail marketing campaigns (thus providing additional customer data for future campaigns), what is often overlooked is the demographic of customers who can be referred to as simply "inactive". These inactive customers are those who have not responded to any previous e-mail campaigns nor made a purchase in a long time. Reaching these customers requires targeted e-mails with offers and incentives specifically created to win them back.