How to Build Profitable Customer Relationships Using Email Marketing

By Brandon Olson May 19, 2015

Like any relationship, your relationship with your customers is built on trust and communication. Happy customers equal a more successful business. Email marketing can help you get there, but only if you’re doing it correctly.

Here are seven simple ways you can use email marketing to build profitable customer relationships:

1. Be Consistent

Imagine if you went for weeks without hearing from your significant other. You wouldn’t like that, would you? Your customers appreciate consistent communication, too.

To stay connected, send them a regular newsletter. And if you say you’ll send a weekly newsletter, make sure you deliver it weekly. If and when they have a problem that your business can solve, you’ll be the first person they turn to.

Email autoresponders (aka follow up messages) are another great way of staying in touch on a regular basis. The key advantage is that you can automate these so they go out to every new customer at a set interval.

2. Get Personal with Your Messages

Having a relationship with your customers means you know who they are on a personal level. Segmentation is a great way to make your email marketing personal to your customers.

It starts with gaining an understanding of who your customers are, what their needs are, what struggles they experience, and what success looks like for them. A great example of this is Marcus Sheridan, who successfully launched a fiber-glass pool company in the midst of an economic slump, thanks to his ability to understand his clients’ needs and meet those needs with education.

Send your customers highly relevant content that satisfies their needs and interests, and there’s no telling what you can accomplish.

3. Be Clear and Direct

There’s nothing more frustrating that not knowing what someone wants. Being clear and direct in your emails to your customers only strengthens your relationship. When they sign up to receive emails from you, tell them exactly what they can expect to receive from you. When you send them emails, make sure you tell them what you want them to do with a clear call to action. Try to keep your calls to action to a minimum in your messages.

4. Provide Relevant Solutions

This one ties back to being personal. The more you know about your customers, the better equipped you’ll be to provide them with the content they’re looking for.

Before you hit “send,” ask yourself, “Does it serve me or my reader?” If it’s not serving your reader, don’t send it. Find a way to make what you want match with what your customer wants.

Another great way to strengthen customer relationships is to ensure that your customers know you value them. Who doesn’t love to feel important and appreciated. By rewarding your customers with exclusive content, information, discounts, etc., you deepen the relationship you have with them.

5. Involve Your Customers

Everyone enjoys feeling appreciated and valued. A great way of helping your customers feel this way is by asking for their feedback, listening to their input, and acting on it. This doesn’t just have to be feedback about your product or service, but about the content of the emails you provide them.

Simply put, let your audience direct your content. What better way to strengthen your relationship with your audience then by involving them in the creation of the content you provide?

Rapping coach Cole Mize does a fabulous job at this. Instead of just telling his audience how to do something, he asks his followers to submit their own ideas so he could spotlight them. He then creates a new video featuring his followers and a beat he creates just for them.

6. Be Spontaneous

Everyone loves something out of the ordinary. We call this surprise and delight. It does wonders for maintaining great customer relationships. If you struggle to be spontaneous, consider sending your customers a free ebook or video, or perhaps a free product or discount offer.

7. Be Authentic (aka Get Real)

Customers appreciate authenticity from businesses and brands. It builds trust, and they’ll stick with you if you are real with them. Isn’t it refreshing when a business or brand is honest and direct with you? Make sure your emails convey an authentic and real approach. You’ll be amazed at how much this can strengthen the relationship you have with your customers.

These are only a handful of ways you can build and maintain profitable relationships with your customers. What are some ways you like to build relationships with your customers? Share yours in the comments below.