E-mail : Go Organic

Build your e-mail list the natural, permission-based way

There are two schools of thought when it comes to e-mail appends. One perspective says customer permission for contact is inherent regardless, while the other notes that businesses should not assume permission for postal addresses is the same as e-mail permission because consumers treat e-mail addresses differently.

Expanding on the latter—and more consumer-friendly—of the two approaches, marketers should build and maintain their lists via ongoing permission-based dialogue in order to truly engage customers through e-mail marketing. They can think of it as an organic append—the process of naturally adding to or modifying their customer data to increase accuracy during natural communication points with the customer.

Besides being a more ethical method, it also is more effective. E-mail campaigns aren't measured by the number of names on the e-mail list; they are measured by the actions the customers take.

Impersonal vs. Respectful
The most widely accepted way of building strong customer relationships is to maintain relevancy. Marketers should think very specifically about what benefits their e-mail campaigns bring to recipients and why these messages are worthy of their attention.

Consider this example: If you had a friend who you rarely saw, how would you spend the little time you had with that person? Would you shout as much information as possible in the time you had? That person probably would not want to spend time with you if you did. Marketers should handle their customer relationships with the same respect.

E-mail is a tool to help marketers extend and nurture relationships with customers. The way they use e-mail marketing is reflected in the way their customers view them. If they are impersonal, their customers are likely to see them in that way and be less inclined to engage with them. If they are respectful and relevant, customers want to interact more.

Ask vs. Automate
Trust is an essential part of any interaction with a customer, and that begins with a permission-based relationship. Before marketers add customers' addresses to their e-mail lists, they need to make sure these customers want to be contacted. If the relationship is desired by the customer, the business has an increased opportunity for success. If the customer does not consent to be contacted, e-mailing him with offers and news is perceived as spam, giving the company a negative reputation that could be passed to other potential customers.

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