Using email for business communication and marketing
Different ways you can use email to enhance your business operations, including marketing and communications.
Email is a powerful, low-cost communication tool that businesses use to promote goods and services, improve customer experience and work more efficiently.
Why are emails important in business?
Email supports key business tasks, including:
- internal team communication
- external contact with business partners, suppliers and stakeholders
- customer support
- marketing to customers
Importance of emails in customer service
Email can greatly improve customer service. Customers can contact you any time without waiting on hold. You can reply when convenient, freeing staff from constant phone duties.
It's important, however, to follow the right etiquette when providing customer service over email. Respond promptly, stay professional and be helpful. If applicable, set up auto-replies, receipt confirmations, support ticketing and tracking systems to help you manage your customer service.
In business, email offers a quick, easy, low-cost and documented means of communication. See other advantages and disadvantages of using email for business
How to use emails in marketing?
Email marketing sends targeted messages to customers quickly and cheaply. You can segment your marketing list and tailor your email messages based on customer preferences for better results.
Unlike other forms of marketing, emails spread easily – recipients can forward communication to their colleagues and friends for extra visibility through viral marketing.
Email marketing is effective because it is a personal, time-sensitive interaction. When creating your email campaigns, you should:
- use customer segmentation to target your campaigns
- make the 'call to action' clear and place it 'above the fold' in the email
- create both HTML and text versions to ensure cross-platform compatibility
- avoid using spam to increase deliverability
- avoid over-using, as it is likely to get deleted as irrelevant or unwanted
- evaluate your campaign's success
Find out more about email marketing.
You must only send emails to those people who have agreed to be contacted, ie those who have opted-in to receive your marketing messages. Read more about email marketing and privacy law.