Should you bother with email marketing for your business?

Email is one of the oldest social media platforms, but it’s still in regular use today. Many people aren’t convinced that email marketing is the way to go, thinking their emails will just get lost amongst all the everyday email chaos, but we have three great reasons why emails are the right choice for your business.

Keeping it professional

social media marketing

Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Snapchat all have their place and each of them can work wonders when used appropriately for your business, but none of them can hold a candle to a good, sleek, professional email. Everyday, 269 billion (Redacti) emails are sent and it’s still the preferred method for businesses to communicate – either with other businesses or their customers.

You get to show your personality through your social media accounts, but your email is where everything comes together in one professional piece of communication.

Bringing in sales

Emails have come a long way in the last 20 years and despite all the new social media platforms and complicated marketing techniques, email marketing still comes out on top with a conversion rate of 66% (DMA). Not only can you provide your customers with email-only deals, you can send them wherever you want them to go through interactive links in the body of your email.  These direct links mean that customers never get lost or distracted in the tangled, interwoven web.

The biggest advantage to email marketing is your ROI – for every dollar that you spend, you get $38 in returns (DMA). Considering that most email newsletters are free or extremely cheap to create, the ROI is next to none.

Staying in touch with customers

Facebook and other social media platforms can be daunting – plenty of people expect you to be updating daily and that pressure can be a little overwhelming. Email is a little less demanding – you can send out an eNews as little or as much as you prefer. You might feel like you don’t have enough updates to include on social media each week or day, it’s almost certain that you will have enough business news to share at the end of the month.

It’s a great way to keep in touch with your customers, remind them of your deals and just update them with your wins and, considering emails have three times more users than Facebook and Twitter combined, it seems like a no-brainer (Kissmetrics)

How have you seen email marketing boosting your business? If you’re still not sure that email marketing is worth your time, consider joining one of our networking groups to find out more about how other business owners are using emails to create more opportunities for your business. Visit http://bxbusinessnetworking.com.au/

Set Your Business Up For Success With the Right Systems

Set Your Business Up For Success With the Right Systems

At Bx, we are huge fans of systems, both for our own businesses and for our clients. Systems allow your business to run more smoothly and provide the foundations for growth. They improve the experience of working in your business for employees and provide the best conditions for outstanding customer service. Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of systems, what can and should be systemised, and how to create systems for your business.

The benefits of systems

Systems enable businesses to grow beyond the owner or founder of the business. The right systems create an environment that is better for the business, its employees and its customers. Having clearly communicated systems can:

Website, Lead Magnet, Email, Details, Bx, Matt Alderton, Business for life, success with systems

– Improve employee performance
– Help employees feel that they are contributing more within the organisation
– Reduce mistakes
– Prevent tasks from being forgotten
– Help convert a higher percentage of leads to paying customers
– Increase average spend per customer
– Increase the number of services customers use

What to systemise

Essentially, if a process, task or undertaking is completed more than once in a business, it should be systemised. This allows the process to be carried out by anyone within the organisation. It helps to speed up the induction process for new team members and can help team members to operate effectively if other team members are absent or busy.
Here are just a few examples of repeated processes that you can and should systemise:

– Answering the phone
– Greeting a customer
– Filling a drinks fridge
– Collecting the post from a PO box
– Setting up your company email signature
– Locking up the office or shop at the end of the day
– Using EFTPOS/credit card facilities
– Using CRM systems
– Inducting a new employee
– Using the photocopier
– Company email procedures/etiquette

How to set up and implement systems

It is no use having systems if no-one knows where to find the information. That’s why in my businesses, we use Google Sites to create our Operations Manual and I highly recommend this option to the businesses we work with. Google Sites gives you the ability to control access to the overall manual and to specific procedures. It has the functionality to add users, collaborators and team members to the site. As it is online, it can be easily shared internally with staff, as well as with outside parties, like your bookkeeper or outsourcing partners for example.

As well as making sure information about systems is easily accessible and shareable, it is important to have a process in place for creating new systems and procedures. Most businesses are constantly evolving and needing new or updated systems as a result. This is another reason why an online repository such as Google Sites is fantastic, as it allows the Operations Manual for your business to be a regularly updated living document.

Of course, it isn’t just enough to point your team in the direction of the Operations Manual and leave them to it. Take the time to train your team on the systems and processes that are critical to their role. And don’t forget to encourage your team members to provide feedback if they feel any systems aren’t working well and could be improved.

Do you use systems in your business? What benefits have you experienced as a result? If you haven’t got clearly communicated systems, what is the biggest roadblock to developing these processes?

We’d love to speak about how we could help your business to improve its performance. Contact Bx – info@b-x.com.au