Sunny Suggs!

When I open my mailbox, there’re always the usual bills, bank statements, bogus million dollar offers, etc. but every so often, in the middle of that junk an envelope seems to just jump out. Sometimes it’s from my favorite restaurant saying “thanks for being a loyal customer, next time you come by, your dessert is on the house.”

Well you are probably like me – you certainly can’t resist an offer that is so pertinent to you. There are millions like us out there too and we check our email more often than our actual mailboxes.

Forget about Spam. Those are the bogus offers. This is direct email marketing at its best, reaching the right customers with the appropriate offers.

Now let’s see that coupon from the restaurant again. Envision the results from their perspective; if you come in the restaurant with their coupon, then their marketing efforts were successful.

On the other hand, think of the cost in terms of time and money that the management went through just to get that coupon into your hands. The printing, envelopes and postage and the hired help were surely expensive and time consuming.

Here’s where direct email marketing stands out. The emails are all pre-designed and the backend is ready-made for you so you can do everything yourself. There’s absolutely no postage, no stuffing or expensive printing costs. All it takes is a few minutes of clicking a few buttons on your computer.

As a result of the sudden popularity of direct email marketing among a growing number of small businesses, several email marketing programs are now designed for non-technical persons. This means anyone can be an expert in these programs in a short time.

Another advantage provided by direct email marketing programs is access to the most advanced functions. Again, assume the role of the restaurant proprietor. You’ve earlier asked your customers to fill up a customer satisfaction survey which includes their email addresses. A few days after, you sent them a Free Dessert email coupon with a “forward to a friend” link. This enables them to email the Free Dessert coupon to their friends.

Did you know that you can see exactly who opened the messages and when they did it? You can also find out who forwarded their coupons to their friends. All you have to do is go into the Reports and Stats section of your direct email marketing program.

That’s not where it stops. You can offer extra incentives to that group of readers who forwarded their coupons to their friends.

Direct email marketing amplifies the power of information, at relatively no cost. So next time you get a coupon from your favorite restaurant, think about how much better things would be if he had used direct email marketing instead of traditional mail.