One day, perhaps the email marketing platform might go the way of the dinosaurs, but for now this established and reliable tool isn’t going anywhere. In an age where the reach of digital media is everywhere; in blogs, social media and various types of content vehicles like case studies or whitepapers, our old friend email is still delivering results that are trackable, can measure a return on investment and is affordable. Now, let’s dive into how email is still a crucial area of marketing in the marine industry.
Mine Your Data
Whether your marine business utilizes older tools to maintain your customer and partner data, or new modern tools, that data you have can be used to market via email. As an example, a company like SkipperBud’s needs boat dealership software with the ability to track prospects, inventory, and sales across all locations with one central database. That data is gold, and provides the ability for them to email market in various ways. Through targeted email campaigns, a specific marketing push can be sent out on an upcoming boat show, specials at certain locations focused on regional marketing or very niche based messaging to their working partners.
Rules of Creativity
When email marketing hits someone’s inbox, there is no disputing how valuable of a channel this is to reach customers or partners, especially when they are opted in. At the very least, your recipients will see your email and brand awareness is being sustained. However, you need more than that, an email campaign needs certain elements that seem to hold true across any industry including the marine world. Emails need to be simple, clear, provide value and most importantly you want to have a call to action. In email or online marketing, a call to action is the part of your message that tells your target audience what they should be doing. As an example, using a button or link in the email to click on that says, “Buy now!” is a simple call to action. According to iMPact Marketing, we should follow these best practices for creating strong calls to action that will generate engagement: make them action-oriented, use persuasive text, include strong visuals, create a sense of urgency and make them easy to find.
Impact of Video
Today, people need to be visually impacted to grab and maintain their attention. One strategy for consideration with your email campaigns is to include a video. Online video production is cheap and easy now, and this type of embedded video in your email can deliver great results and engagement. According to Insivia, the video statistics today are hard to ignore and need to be considered in any marketing, even email. Think about this, 55% of people watch videos online every day, 59% of executives agree that if both text and video are available on the same topic, they are more likely to choose video, 52% of marketers believe that video is effective for brand awareness and that using the word “video” in an email subject line boosts the open rates by 19%.
With email marketing, your marine business can create deeper relationships with a wider audience at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing. Remember these five simple benefits of email marketing; it is targeted, it increases brand awareness, it can easily be shared, it is measurable and it’s cost effective.
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DockMaster Software is an industry leading management system for marinas, boatyards, and boat dealerships. DockMaster includes Unit Sales, Prospecting and F&I with fully integrated financial management and numerous integrations with CRM applications, dealer websites and text/messaging services. The Service module includes estimating, labor tracking, and complete parts management with ordering/receiving, subcontractor fulfillment and invoicing. DockMaster Mobile allows technicians to clock on/off jobs from any mobile device. Visual Marina™ management includes storage & billing, occupancy tracking, reservations and dry stack management, including integrations to leading consumer applications for boat rentals, online reservations, concierge/launch scheduling and our new Fuel Integration with FuelCloud. DockMaster also includes Point of Sale, Order Entry with eCommerce and a complete accounting system. Learn more at www.DockMaster.com and follow DockMaster on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Or email info@dockmaster.com
