Bricks and Mortar List Building
Debbi BresslerIf your business relies on foot traffic, you may think that topics such as email marketing and list building don’t pertain to you.
You couldn’t be more wrong.
In this competitive environment, it is more critical than ever to keep in contact with your customers and potential customers. Email marketing is one of the easiest and inexpensive ways to keep your company top-of-mind, so that when your customer is ready to buy, they’ll think of you first.
Here are a few steps you can take today to keep in touch …
- Set up an email marketing account with GetResponse. You can have your first email ready to go quickly and easily, by simply following the step-by-step videos within the GetResponse customer center.
- Determine your offer. Here are a few suggestions:
Discount Coupon
Buy One – Get One Free
Free Offer – (i.e. a dentist offers a free exam)
Kids Eat Free
Valuable Report (5 Tips to Selling Your Home at Top Dollar)
Free Consultation. This works well for those in service industries, such as financial planners.Whatever you decide, be certain that the offer has value to your customer and include an expiration date to create a sense or urgency.
- Once you’ve determined your offer, you can set up your email campaign. You should also create your opt-in form for those visiting your web site.
- Promote your offer.
Cash Register Receipts. If you use a cash register in your business, contact the company that provided it. They can tell you how to add a message to your cash register receipts, promoting your offer page to everyone who purchases from you.
Train Personnel. “Selling” email subscribers is not much different from selling your products, so train all personnel to do this. As a minimum, they’ll want to circle the information on a customer’s sales receipt and call attention to it when checking them out.
Point of Sale Signage. Add a sign to your counter promoting your email coupon or highlighting this month’s coupon special. People hate to miss out and this will encourage them to sign up…or remind them to check their email.
Sign Them Up on the Spot. Just recently, I signed up for a Macy’s credit card because I could save 15% on a few-hundred-dollar purchase. Why not offer the same to customers who are not yet signed up to your list? You might have a computer available for them to immediately go online, sign up, and confirm while they are in the store.
Offer Incentives for Referrals. Recently, I mentioned a referral program used by Restaurant.com. But you can take that a step further and offer your readers an incentive for forwarding your offer to others. In the case of Restaurants.com, they could have further incentivized their readers by giving THEM a free gift certificate (or another premium) for every five friends who joined the list.
Include Your Landing Page URL on all marketing material. It’s easy to forget, but be sure to include your web site on business cards, yellow page listings, Chamber of Commerce directories, space ads, direct mail – anything that promotes your company.
Joint Venture with Another Business. Years ago, I worked with a client who owned a flower show. We created a relationship with a restaurant in the same center and each business owner promoted the other, thus expanding the “lists” of both. Think of companies in a similar, but not competitive niche to yours. (As an example, a financial planner might offer a coupon for a free consultation with an attorney for clients who haven’t prepared a Will. Or, a used car lot might promote someone’s “Free Oil Change” promotion, while they promote $250 off your car purchase.
The above is quick and easy to do. You can add, subtract, or tweak in the future. But, by implanting the above, you can begin building your email marketing list in days!
If you are a bricks and mortar business and have ideas you’d like to share, we’d love to hear from you! Please comments below.
Debbi Bressler
Email Marketing Specialist
GetResponse
