This blog will discuss how social media can give businesses a competitive edge

There is no formal definition of social media, but it is often described in terms of Web 2.0 technologies, the stage of internet development in which users have become active producers and creators of content, and not just passive information seekers (Lorenzo-Romero et al., 2011).

It is no longer a question of whether a company should be utilising social media to communicate with audiences, but rather how and with what platforms. Social media is becoming such an integral part of business operations that its use is now commonplace for product launches, developing consumer loyalty and sharing news (Walaski, 2013).

Businesses using social media can create an online personality which individuals can connect and identify with on an emotional as well as a rational level (Lorenzo-Romero et al, 2011). Social media makes it easy to build brand awareness and establish your brands identity. You can effectively establish your brands personality and give your business a human voice that people can relate to. Businesses can reach this by building creative social media campaigns and strategies which involve customers somehow such as in new product design, and through the ways that organisation representatives interact with users and convey a positive image in the ongoing social media dialogue about their brand (Schroeder, 2014).

Businesses using social media can better understand their customer as social media provides the opportunity to connect with customers using richer media with a greater reach. Using social media, organizations can forge relationships with existing as well as new customers and form communities that interactively collaborate to identify problems and develop solutions for them.

Being active on social media will help you increase the amount of traffic that your website receives. Successful social media activities will always improve the amount of traffic referrals your website receives, playing an essential initial role in your sales funnel. Social media as an SEO ranking signal is increasing in importance. Being talked about and mentioned on social media is a positive signal that shows you are popular and have content worth sharing and talking about. This in turn drives Google to regard your website as being more authoritative, which is one of the many signals that helps your website rank better in orgainc SEO (Social Media Today, 2014).

Social media can also be used for promotion as blog 4 and 5 have shown with digital coupon companies encouraging people to buy the offer and share it with friends.

Another key reason why businesses are so drawn in by social media is that the majority of these sites are free. Marketing costs are minimal when compared to traditional marketing methods.

The above data displays the recent trend and increase in spending on marketing using social media.

References

Business.qld.gov.au, (2015). Benefits of coupon websites for business | Queensland Government. [online] Available at: https://www.business.qld.gov.au/business/running/marketing/online-marketing/using-coupon-websites-to-market-your-business/benefits-of-coupon-websites-for-business [Accessed 1 May 2015].

eposa, Adam. 2013. “TARGET RESULTS.” Hotel Management (21582122) 228, no. 4: 34. Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed May 1, 2015).

Lorenzo-Romero, C., Alarcon-del-Amo, M. and Gomez-Borja, M. (2011), “Do you have social profile users and non-users of social networking sites in the web 2.0,” Review of Business Information Systems – Special edition 2011, Vol. 15 No. 5, available at: http://journals.cluteonline.com/index.php/ RBIS/article/view/6017/6095 (accessed 4 Apr 2015).

15. Schroeder, H. 2014, “Social media in business strategy: the learning and development implications”, Development and Learning in Organizations: An International Journal, vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 12-15.

Subramani, M. and Rajagopalan, B. (2003). Knowledge-sharing and influence in online social networks via viral marketing. Commun. ACM, 46(12), p.300.

Tsimonis, G. & Dimitriadis, S. 2014, “Brand strategies in social media”, Marketing intelligence & planning, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 328-344.

Walaski, P. (2013). Social media. Professional Safety, 58(4), 40-49. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1331594111?accountid=9727

This blog aims to discuss the topic of online coupon sites and identify the pros and cons for businesses using these marketing strategies. Coupon websites have become one of the fastest growing areas in online sales and one major reason for this is because People love discounts, especially during hard times when money is tight (Inc.com, 2015).

The key UK players in this industry are Groupon, LivingSocial and Wowcher. These websites claim that the majority of their customers are very young, most users aged around 18-34. The digital coupon companies segment their customers based on demographics and also their purchasing history and thus they discover where the customers’ interests lie.

In the summer of 2010, Groupon was said to be worth $1.5 billion. Months later it reportedly declined a $6 billion buyout offer from Google which represents the scale and potential for this company and industry.

Watch this impressive animation created by Groupon that attempts to reel in possible businesses for a partnership (Grouponworks.co.uk, 2015).

Coupon websites are essentially online advertising sites that use direct marketing to facilitate group-buying deals. They partner up with businesses of all types offering their product/service through an agreed discounted price to the coupon website’s followers. They develop large customer databases by collecting the name, contact details and location of each person who purchases from them (Business.qld.gov.au, 2015).

These coupon sites sometimes charge a setup fee or some other form of arrangement fee and the voucher provider normally takes around 45%-65% of the sale price as a commission (Therichardsmith.com, 2015).  With this huge share of revenue being taken by these coupon companies this then proposes the question, is it profitable for businesses to form this partnership?

Below is a list outlining some of the key advantages of working with a coupon partner:

It attracts a lot of consumers.

Coupon offers are sent to thousands of subscribers, and are visible to everybody who visits a coupon website. If customers like a deal, they will often promote it through their own networks, and by posting it on other websites that feature the best coupon deals. Few small businesses could afford to achieve this mass exposure in any other way.

Each coupon advertisement includes buttons that allow users to share the ad through media such as Facebook, Twitter and email. Many sites also give incentives (e.g. credit vouchers) to customers who sign their friends up to the site (Business.qld.gov.au, 2015).

It advertises the business

Coupon sites often have a large following and being associated with these could enhance brand awareness for a company. By advertising on these channels it enables the business to be exposed to a new market that may not have been previously accessible or explored (Jones, 2011)

It helps move inventory

If a business needs to reduce stock in a short period of time coupon websites are a highly viable option. Creating and maintaining a successful digital marketing campaign can be costly and time consuming therefore working with the coupon companies can take away the hassle of this. Forming quick partnerships with these websites can be a quick way of shifting stock and making sales. Coupon partnerships are also an instant possibility if a business is experiencing a shortfall in customers, i.e. a quiet mid-week or a cancelled booking for example.  If a business is experiencing a reduction in consumption then a quick coupon deal could help to reduce this operating loss.

Some negatives associated with partnering up with a coupon website have been listed below.

Deals hurt the companies finance

Reading through a report in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science there was a case regarding a social coupon campaign set up by three small businesses in the United States:

The article highlighted that the immediate aftermath of the coupon offer was destructive with substantial financial losses.  The three businesses had difficulty retaining most of the new customers resulting in the coupon campaign being very unsuccessful (Technology, 2012). With customers being extremely price driven in this current marketplace, and also being extremely fickle, these businesses are going to have to work extremely hard in order to maintain clients over the longer term. The figure below illustrates the loss that these companies suffered.

(Source taken from Technology, 2012)

There is evidence that suggests that sites such as Groupon are not as effective for a business as they make out. Groupon’s own research once estimated a return rate of just 22% while others have estimated a number much lower. This number however can vary significantly between organisations therefore the figure that most businesses should be most concerned with is the number of returns made by full paying customers. A study by Lightspeed Research shows that 63% of Groupons are purchased by existing customers. Just 2% of buyers who returned had never purchased from the merchant prior to the Groupon. So the merchant essentially gave away 75 cents for each dollar of business from the other 98%.

Can bring about a loss of existing customers and revenues.

Given that the primary motive of launching a social coupon is to attract new customers, most businesses wouldn’t ordinarily want to encourage their existing customers to use discount coupons. Making coupons available to people currently paying full price damages profitability and encourages deal-seeking behavior.

Businesses must be careful when deciding about using social shopping sites to promote their business. It is important to understand that there are other cheaper ways of distributing coupons such as using social media and email campaigns.

References

Business.qld.gov.au, (2015). Who uses coupon websites? | Queensland Government. [online] Available at: https://www.business.qld.gov.au/business/running/marketing/online-marketing/using-coupon-websites-to-market-your-business/who-uses-coupon-websites [Accessed 20 Apr. 2015].

Grouponworks.co.uk, (2015). How Groupon Works Video – Groupon Works United Kingdom. [online] Available at: http://www.grouponworks.co.uk/blog/working-with-groupon/how-groupon-works-video/ [Accessed 3 Apr. 2015].

Inc.com, (2015). [online] Available at: http://www.inc.com/guides/201104/10-pros-cons-for-using-groupon.html [Accessed 20 Apr. 2015].

Jones, M. C. (2011). Netting maximum brand value from voucher sites. Marketing Week, 34(33), 25-28 [Accessed 20 Apr. 2015].

Technology, M. (2012). The Perils of Social Coupon Campaigns | MIT Sloan Management Review. [online] MIT Sloan Management Review. Available at: http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-perils-of-social-coupon-campaigns/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2015].

Technology, M. (2012). The Perils of Social Coupon Campaigns | MIT Sloan Management Review. [online] MIT Sloan Management Review. Available at: http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/the-perils-of-social-coupon-campaigns/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2015].

Therichardsmith.com, (2015). Groupon and Wowcher- Sinner or Saint for Small Business Marketing. | Small Business Advice (SBA) West Sussex. [online] Available at: http://www.therichardsmith.com/groupon-and-wowcha-sinner-or-saint-for-small-business-marketing/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2015].

This blog follows on from blog 3 which discussed the different digital coupons that are available and why businesses are choosing to use them. This blog will point out some useful tips for effective digital coupon marketing.

Choosing your digital coupon package.

Firstly you must select the product/service that you are willing to sell at a reduced rate then come up with percentage cut that you are happy with. Then you need to decide how long you want the promotion to run for. Often it is most appropriate to limit how often the deal is marketed, so that it doesn’t serve as an insult to current customers (Mashable, 2010).

When designing your coupon websites such as “Thecouponmaker.com” can help to enable your digital coupon to look professional and exciting. Make sure to include your logo and other elements that are important to your brand as coupons offer a great form of marketing essentially raising brand awareness.

(Souce: Thecouponmaker.com, 2015)

Once your digital coupon is made you will need to select the distribution methods.

Integrate with Email

Figures show how 40% of customers will share an email offer with their friends therefore it is important to ensure digital coupons integrate with your customers’ email. Capturing an email address provides you the opportunity to regularly update them on specials and discounts (Rarr, 2015).

Encourage sharing

Enable people to pass the deal along to friends by using tactics such as “Get 20% off when you refer a new customer”. Each coupon you send out via e-mail, on Twitter or Facebook, or post online should include an option such as “Share this coupon with a friend” so people can easily forward the discount onto their networks. Adding a feature that gathers the customer and adds them into a “public event” can also create a buzz around the offer so that people can see that there friends have claimed this offer. Stats show how 28% of consumers will share deals via social media platforms and that sharing now drives upwards of 33% of traffic as search, so it’s crucial to make your coupon shareable (Bostwick, 2015).

Facebook has recently added a new feature which can allow businesses to create and track digital coupon offers, the link provided below is a short step by step video showing how this can be done.

Facebook coupon App

Use social shopping sites

In recent years, companies such as Groupon and Wowcher are becoming popular websites with large followings, and businesses are becoming very aware of this and choosing this as a distribution method. Most businesses pay nothing up front and it is only when a sale is made that they are remunerated at a fixed agreed percentage of the sale (Wowcher.co.uk, 2015). Once the agreement is made the offer is posted on to the site and at the least this acts as free advertising for the business. The effectiveness of using these social shopping sites will be something that will be further investigated in bog 5.

(Wowcher.co.uk, 2015)

Use text message alerts

Coupons can be sent as messages immediately to the targeted mobile phone user or customer. Companies have started to use this kind of advertising method because users always carry their mobile phones with them. Thus, when a coupon is sent through mobile phone message, the user can immediately know the latest news and offers (Hsu, Wang, & Wen, 2006).

Once the Digital coupon has been distributed there are some further factors to consider..

Make sure that you can deal with the change in demand

There have been several instances when businesses have been inundated with new customers due to a coupon launch and have not been able to cope with the surge in demand. Recently Philz Coffee, a San Francisco coffee chain, offered Groupon discounted gift cards for in-store pickup orders. While initial expectations were for a few hundred customers, the actual turnout exceeded 2,000 customers. The coffee chain was not prepared to handle such a turnout and ended up angering many customers effectively damaging the brand (Kumar, Rajan 2012).

Measure the results

Ensure that you make regular reports to identify how successful the campaign is. By doing this from the start this will create a benchmark against which to compare future efforts. This way you can change your online coupons as you go to measure which promotions are more effective on the customers you’re trying to reach.

Each coupon can contain tracking codes that associate to certain elements. If you deployed coupons to users within three separate demographics, for instance, you can use a coupon code for each and gather information on which demographic was most responsive. It is also possible to identify the long-term success of each campaign by recognising which customers return without a coupon and which customers only visit when a coupon is being offered (Hendricks, 2013).

References

→, V. (2015). 7 Tips for Effective Digital Coupon Marketing | Marketing Technology. [online] Marketing Technology. Available at: https://www.marketingtechblog.com/digital-coupon-tips/ [Accessed 30 Apr. 2015].

Bostwick, E. (2015). How to Develop a Successful Digital Coupon Campaign | Convince and Convert: Social Media Strategy and Content Marketing Strategy. [online] Convinceandconvert.com. Available at: http://www.convinceandconvert.com/digital-marketing/how-to-develop-a-successful-digital-coupon-campaign/ [Accessed 30 Apr. 2015].

Hendricks, D. (2013). 7 Tips For Effective Digital Coupon Marketing. [online] Forbes. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhendricks/2013/09/23/7-tips-for-effective-digital-coupon-marketing/2/ [Accessed 7 Apr. 2015].

(Hsu, Wang, & Wen, 2006). Using the decomposed theory of planning behavioural to analyse consumer behavioural intention towards mobile text message coupons. Journal Of Targeting, Measurement & Analysis For Marketing, 14(4), 309-324 [Accessed 7 Apr. 2015].

Kumar, V., & Rajan, B. (2012). Social coupons as a marketing strategy: A multifaceted perspective. Academy of Marketing Science.Journal, 40(1), 120-136. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11747-011-0283-0 [Accessed 8 Apr. 2015].

Mashable, (2010). HOW TO: Create and Distribute Effective Online Coupons. [online] Available at: http://mashable.com/2010/02/10/online-coupons/ [Accessed 9 Apr. 2015].

Thecouponmaker.com, (2015). Coupon Builder. [online] Available at: http://www.thecouponmaker.com/coupon/create [Accessed 7 Apr. 2015].

Wowcher.co.uk, (2015). Wowcher | Work With Us. [online] Available at: http://www.wowcher.co.uk/workwithus.html [Accessed 8 Apr. 2015].

This blog is going to introduce the industry of digital marketing coupons, discuss the different types of digital marketing coupons that businesses use as well as seek to find out why businesses are choosing to use them.

So what are digital coupons?

Coupons are no longer limited to newspaper cut-outs and a couple of special leaflets collected throughout the month. Customers are searching for coupons they can immediately load on a smartphone app, eliminating the need to carry slips of paper around (Hendricks, 2013).

The truth is, a digital coupon can mean a number of things: A small clickable banner on a homepage offering 10% off; a discount offered via e-mail, redeemable online, over the phone, or in-store; a printable voucher consumers bring into a store; or even a limited-time deal offered solely to an organisation’s Twitter followers or Facebook fans (Mashable, 2010).

A new report from Juniper Research has found that there will be 1.05 billion mobile coupon users by 2019, up from just under 560 million in 2014 (Juniperresearch.com, 2015).

What types of digital coupons are there?

There are a number of coupons available to consumers. They include:

Downloadable coupons: These types of coupons that are accessible to consumers from a number of different locations. Customers download coupons from a company’s website, directly from an email or via, social media. Most of the time, these coupons are accessible from mobile devices as well.

Mobile coupons: Ecommerce platforms that have integrated mobile applications into their operations offer mobile-only coupons to drive further sales in this channel. One example of this would be the Groupon app that advertises live up to date latest offers.(Source: Groupon Blog UAE, 2012)

Coupon codes: The growing popularity of ecommerce has greatly contributed to the rise of coupon codes. This form of discount is faster than downloading a coupon and is easier for the customer to complete at the point of sale. These codes consist of a combination of brand-unique numbers and letters (Bigcommerce, 2015).

How are these coupons being made available?

1. Coupons are always being E-mailed by companies which can allow recipients to print the coupon and bring it into a store, or simply “mention” the promotion to receive the discount.
2. Companies are blogging and providing links to these offers.
3. Social media is a great way of distributing coupons to targeted audiences via a network of local sites and social channels, such as Facebook (Mashable, 2010).
4. Advert banners are often rented to promote the offer on a locally-focused advertising network.
5. Finally Social shopping sites like Groupon allow businesses to offer coupons to local customers redeemable only if a certain number of people sign up for the discount, so it’s a great way to attract a large number of new customers. This method is often seen as being most effective however the voucher provider normally takes around 45%-65% of the sale price as a commission. Most of these tend to be around 50 (Therichardsmith.com, 2015).

Why are there businesses using them?

Businesses use Coupons to Build their customer base. One such example is SocialTwist, a platform that states it “allows users to share in order to receive a better bargain.” Basically, consumers can turn a $1 coupon into a $4 coupon simply by sharing it with four other people. This offer then encourages people to share and requires new customers to sign up and hand over their email address.

(souce: MacNaughton, 2015)

Businesses can easily track their return on investment using online metrics such as the open and click through rate. (See blog 1 for more information on the methods of measurement).

It is also argued that digital coupon campaigns are highly successful for businesses who are wishing to target young adults because of the fact that this is the age range that are most likely to be using this feature.

Lastly, coupons are more than just a one-time deal. They have the potential to create ongoing customer loyalty. Remember this: on average, according to most industry estimates, it costs nine times more money to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one.

Some critics argue that by creating and distrusting coupon campaigns this can be damaging for the overall image of the business for many reasons. Firstly some businesses are not prepared for the sudden increase in demand which can cause a heavy and strained work load. Secondly by reducing prices and creating special offers this can bring down the perceived value by current customers.

Blog 4 will further investigate the concept of digital marketing coupons by highlighting and explaining how to create an effective campaign.

References

Bigcommerce, (2015). [online] Available at: https://www.bigcommerce.com/ecommerce-answers/what-are-digital-coupons/ [Accessed 3 Apr. 2015].

Groupon Blog UAE, (2012). Download the Groupon iPhone App NOW! 🙂. [online] Available at: http://blog.groupon.ae/2012/07/31/download-the-groupon-iphone-app-now/ [Accessed 3 Apr. 2015].

Hendricks, D. (2013). 7 Tips For Effective Digital Coupon Marketing. [online] Forbes. Available at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhendricks/2013/09/23/7-tips-for-effective-digital-coupon-marketing/ [Accessed 2 Apr. 2015].

Juniperresearch.com, (2015). Mobile Coupon Users to Pass 1 Billion by 2019, Juniper Research Finds – Juniper Research. [online] Available at: http://www.juniperresearch.com/press-release/coupons-pr1 [Accessed 3 Apr. 2015].

MacNaughton, A. (2015). Facebook Marketing: Tips, Tricks & Tools | PromoJam Social Marketing. [online] PromoJam Blog. Available at: http://blog.promojam.com/learn-how-to-take-your-facebook-marketing-to-the-next-level-with-these-great-tips-tricks-and-tools [Accessed 3 Apr. 2015].

Mashable, (2010). HOW TO: Create and Distribute Effective Online Coupons. [online] Available at: http://mashable.com/2010/02/10/online-coupons/ [Accessed 3 Apr. 2015].

Therichardsmith.com, (2015). Groupon and Wowcher- Sinner or Saint for Small Business Marketing. | Small Business Advice (SBA) West Sussex. [online] Available at: http://www.therichardsmith.com/groupon-and-wowcha-sinner-or-saint-for-small-business-marketing/ [Accessed 3 Apr. 2015].

This blog post is a follow up to blog 1 and is going to further discuss the topic of email marketing but instead with a focus on discussing the tools and techniques that can be used in order to create a successful email marketing campaign.

Like most successful marketing campaigns much planning is needed before you can jump straight in to the task. Some factors to consider before designing the campaign include;

• Who is the intended target audience?
• What are the aims and objectives to be considered?
• What budget and other restraints must be considered?
• How is the campaign going to be tracked and monitored?

These are vital factors that must be considered throughout each stage of the design process (Direct marketing, 2014).

So first things first, a subject line must be created as this is going to be the first thing that a recipient will see. Most people begin forming their opinions of the relevance of the message by interpreting this line then making split second judgments on whether to read it or not. Try to keep the subject lines short and descriptive as by being straight to the point your recipients will immediately be able to decide what action they wish to take.

Make sure that the subject line has at least 2 elements of CURVE.

The image below shows an email received from Moonpig and can be seen as having an effective subject line because it has CURVE. The subject line “Alex remember whose birthday it is?” is using a short snappy question creating a sense of urgency and curiosity. This sense is also created because of the nature of the question making me panic with the thought that I had forgotten an important date. The use of my name enables it to be relevant to me making it feel like a personal message. There is also some sense of value about the line because of the fact that I had bought a birthday card around this time last year and Moonpig were able to use this information to remind me that this person’s birthday was approaching.

Another example of an email effectively using CURVE in it’s subject line can be seen below. I rarely open my Hotmail messages, but on this occasion one email stood out from the rest of the junk. The email was titled “Are you scared…..?” and it really did catch my attention as I was curious to find out what this could possibly mean.

Personalised emails and using a person’s name is more likely to get the reader’s attention and immediately makes your email seem more useful and relevant. Distributing emails addressed to an unknown recipient sends out the message that you don’t know the first thing about your clients. By including a first name this is a really simple feature but the difference it can make to their perception of your business is highly significant (Neilpatel, 2015).

Moving on to the content of the email, Keep it brief within the body of the email and stay away from clutter. Know exactly what your desired call to action is, and make it bold and easy to act on (Housh, 2015).
Check that your email does not contain spam trigger words such as “Free”, “winner”, “%”. To reduce the amount of spam (unwanted email) that people would get, internet service providers introduced tools such as spam assassin which score content on the basis of spam trigger words in determining whether or not the email was likely to be spam. There are similar tools available that can be used to score and test your emails to clarify whether your email will make it to the recipient’s inbox (Mullen and Daniels, 2009).

As mentioned in blog 1, emails are an essential element of raising awareness of the brand, therefore including a logo in the top left corner and other important brand features in the header can be an effective way of raising awareness (Housh, 2015). Consider using one or two appealing images but do not just rely on this as your main focal point of delivery as Spam filters can prevent some images from being displayed therefore always include text in the email. For tips on how to be creative with the body of the email with regards to  layout, colour, font and images check out the link below!

Test the effectiveness of your email campaign by measuring metrics such as click through, delivery and open rate. For more information regarding these measurements see blog 1.

Although most people will read their emails on a screen resolution of 1024 x 768, most email readers do not necessarily require the whole screen. Advert banners and the way email applications are laid out could occupy space that was intended for the email. By not creating the right fit on the screen this could then require the reader to scroll to view all of the email which could mean that content is not seen, therefore understanding the resolution is an important factor (Mullen and Daniels, 2009).

With these tips you are now ready to get started on your campaign!

(The blue and yellow images have been taken from the source Dweck, 2014)

References

Dweck, J. (2014). 10 Email Best Practices | Madison Logic. [online] Madisonlogic.com. Available at: http://www.madisonlogic.com/10-email-best-practices/ [Accessed 22 Apr. 2015].

Emailmarketing.comm100.com, (2015). How to Build Email List? Where to Find Email Subscribers?. [online] Available at: http://emailmarketing.comm100.com/email-marketing-ebook/build-email-list.aspx [Accessed 22 Apr. 2015].

Goudreau, J. (2014). Here’s What You Should Put In The Subject Line Of Work Emails. [online] Business Insider. Available at: http://www.businessinsider.com/what-to-put-in-subject-line-of-work-emails-2014-3?IR=T [Accessed 22 Apr. 2015].

Housh, W. (2015). Build Your Business: Email Marketing. Air Conditioning Heating & Refrigeration News, 254(2), 22.[Accessed 22 Apr. 2015].

Mullen, J. and Daniels, D. (2009). Email marketing. Indianapolis, Ind.: Wiley Pub. [Accessed 22 Apr. 2015].

Neilpatel.com, (2015). How to Write Email Subject Lines That Will Increase Your Open Rate By 203%. [online] Available at: http://neilpatel.com/2014/10/23/how-to-write-email-subject-lines-that-will-increase-your-open-rate-by-203/ [Accessed 22 Apr. 2015].

With an estimated 196.4 billion emails being sent out every day and businesses being said to account for 59% of this figure, emails are an essential and frequently used method of communication for the majority of businesses. (Radicati.com, 2015).

54 percent of businesses claim that emails are the most essential and effective way of Internet marketing, according to a study from the marketing research firm Ascend 2. This then prompts the questions, why are businesses so keen on email marketing and what makes this strategy most effective? Below is a list I have constructed which highlights some of the key drivers behind why a company would want to use email marketing.

Efficiency

Email marketing can reach a wide audience and with an estimate of 91% of people checking their email at least once a day, this means that businesses have a direct method of targeting a customer with a high probability that the message trying to be communicated will be noticed. UK emails are estimated to have a 22.87% Open rate and a 3.26% Click-through rate (Marketing Email Benchmarks: Open Rates, 2015).

One huge benefit of using email marketing is that it is a remarkably low Cost method. There are no production paper, or postage costs. The only cost is for the use of Email server companies. Due to the immediacy of email, it is possible for businesses to obtain results within minutes of the emails being sent. (Sterne and Priore, 2000)

Segmentation can be achieved as businesses can specifically target the chosen market, by just sending emails to subscribers who meet the chosen criteria.

Brand Awareness

Email marketing also keeps customers in the loop as it helps to build relationships with existing and new customers. Often emails will include the company name and logo and this in turn helps to build trust and increase brand awareness.

Flexibility

Emailing can be available on many different platforms. Flexibility is also an advantage as campaigns are able to be easily changed and adapted if need be. This could be by selecting a different market or demographic for example (Clapham, 2011).

Easy To Use

Small companies are also choosing email marketing and one reason for this is because it is a simple easy to use communication tool. Just 11 percent of the businesses surveyed thought email was one of the most difficult types of digital marketing to execute. Many businesses felt that email marketing brought with it much less difficulty when compared to social network sites such as Facebook and twitter (BusinessNewsDaily.com, 2015).

Expanding target market

Reaching a chosen group of customers can be easy due to the ease of obtaining a persons email address.

Some ways of obtaining these are; by making customers give an email address when making a purchase, creating a competition entry which requires an address, making a user sign up to use a website, the list goes on.

There are also a number of services that will allow you to rent or purchase email names but with this method there are a number of risks like a reduction in response rate as thee people may not of shown an interest in your particular product/service. (Emailmarketing, 2015)

Measurable

Tracking a marketing campaign is key in understanding its effectiveness, and with email marketing tracking and measuring the success is fairly simple to do. By tagging your emails using web analytic systems such as Google Analytic this can enable a host of valuable information that can help measure its success (Pure360, 2015).

The delivery rate relates to how many of your emails are getting through to people’s inbox’s.

Open rate simply identifies what percentage of the contacts opened up the email and can often identify whether the subject line is effective.

Click-through rate enables an understanding of the number of people that have clicked on a link within the email and is often a good way of telling if the message is enticing.

Stable Future

The table below highlights a steady projected growth in the number of email accounts being made by businesses and consumers. This data then suggests that emails are still going to be a significant channel for communication in the next few years.

Email marketing will continue to thrive among businesses because of the high return on investment.

Now that we are clear on why it is vital for businesses to have an email presence, Blog 2 will bring to light the many tools and techniques that are essential in the creation of a successful email marketing campaign.

References

BusinessNewsDaily.com, (2015). The 5 Digital Marketing Strategies Businesses Say Work Best. [online] Available at: http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7204-internet-marketing-strategies.html [Accessed 22 Apr. 2015].

Clapham, P. 2011, Email marketing, Reed Business Information UK, Sutton [Accessed 22 Apr. 2015].

Emailmarketing.comm100.com, (2015). How to Build Email List? Where to Find Email Subscribers?. [online] Available at: http://emailmarketing.comm100.com/email-marketing-ebook/build-email-list.aspx [Accessed 21 Apr. 2015].

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This introduction to the MIS Quarterly Special Issue on Business Intelligence Research first provides a framework that identifies the evolution, applications, and emerging research areas of BI&A (Business intelligence & analytics).

An interesting statistic from a survey of the state of business analytics by Bloomberg Businessweek (2011), showed that 97 percent of companies with revenues exceeding $100 million were found to use some form of business analytics.

The article highlights the need for data and data analytics due to the low cost in acquiring the data as well as the ease of obtaining mass amounts of data.

Having just been introduced to the tool google analytics today, the article certainly helps explain the need for the tool from a marketing perspective. By analysing customer clickstream data logs (what types of sites internet users are using), web analytics tools such as Google Analytics can provide a trail of the user’s online activities and reveal the user’s browsing and purchasing patterns. This vital information can be seen as essential for organisations as this can help narrow down and establish a specific target audience.

The article goes on to express the need for continuous advancements in key technologies relating to analytics.

As consumers we are sometimes unaware of the marketing activities that are behind the reasons why we buy things, this article certainly provided information on the ways that companies find and analyse data connected to us –  Interesting read

Chen, H., Chiang, R. H., & Storey, V. C. (2012). Business Intelligence and Analytics: From Big Data to Big Impact. MIS Quarterly, 36(4), 1165-1188.

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