Many of our customers worry about database churn and ask how they can increase their databases without diluting the effectiveness of their subscriber base. There are a number of online methods you can be implement easily.  We covered some online options in our previous post and have two offline options to get you started!

Growing your Email Marketing List Offline

New and Existing Customers

How many customers have you spoken to today? If you ask each person you come into contact with to “Opt In” to your email campaigns, chances are,they will say yes. If not, that’s not an issue. Try to find out why as it might identify potential issues or even misunderstandings.  Just be sure to record the fact that you got their permission somewhere – it’ll help in the case of a complaint.

In Store and On the Premises:

Have you ever seen a container in a restaurant containing business cards? As nice as that may be, this can’t be used for email marketing communications unless the sign specifically states what the data will be used for.  There are a number of ways to collect email addresses in store and we believe that it’s very worthwhile if done correctly. Just be sure that if you do plan to leave out a fish bowl that you ensure your intentions are clearly outlined. If you plan to collect the data verbally, you staff should know why they are collecting data and why they must explain to customers what, how, when and where of the data, it’s storage and it’s uses.

Forms

I’ve seen quite a few stores and restaurants use forms that they hope customers will complete. There’s generally two issues that have not been rectified:

1. Staff fail to prompt the customer – The staff need to “sell” your email marketing
2. There’s no incentive – Ask yourself why a customer would sign up to receive updates?

Recording Date Safely

As an email marketing focused agency, we always recommend using an email marketing platform. When it comes to recording data, an platform will enable you to store data securely – which is at the forefront of many peoples minds.  All reputable platforms will have secure servers and encrypted access, ensuring your data is secure.

CRM systems such as Salesforce or Highrise are great for keeping a database up to date and secure.  A simple download from your CRM to an email marketing platform will be pretty easy and you can take the segmentation used within the CRM too.

Example: National Gallery of Ireland