Taking your campaigns to the next level
By Luc Vezina, Director of Product Management - GOT Corporation

A more sophisticated email marketer than you were last year, you're following all the email marketing best practices -- growing your opt-in subscriber list, using A/B testing to improve messaging -- and like the majority of email marketing users, you're steadily improving your campaign reach and results. So 'What next?' you ask yourself.

Perhaps it's time to try new email marketing formats and tactics that are proven to drive results; formats that require some customization, but with the right execution can further increase both the quantity and quality of your customer interactions.

Read on to learn more about some of the custom programs your peers are using that can really have a huge impact on your bottom line -- and take your campaigns to a higher level.

Turn customers into advocates
There is a small but very valuable segment of every customer base that is made up of loyal advocates who recommend brands to their friends and family. Do you know who yours are? With a referral program in place, you don't have to guess.

A Referral or Tell-a-Friend program will empower your biggest supporters with the tools they need to spread the word to all their friends. You will grow your customer base AND identify your biggest advocates.
Referral programs have been around a long time, but email marketing is once again breathing new life into a proven marketing tactic.

Turn customers into contestants
Need help getting a higher click-through rate, and enticing the recipients who are receiving your messages but taking no action? What if you could put some 'special sauce' on your call to action, to make it more compelling?

The majority of web users participate in online contests. Naturally, we're all driven by the opportunity to win something - explaining how a contest can double and even triple your click-through rates when done properly. As a marketer, doing it right means making the contest and the prize relevant to the audience, and making it easy for them to sign up. What's more, if the prize and the audience are aligned, you pre-qualify your new leads in the process!

Turn customers into coupon-cutters
Coupons are a tried and true method of generating response, and 76% of consumers use them, according to the Promotion Marketing Association. All things considered, it's surprising how few coupons are being sent by email.

Email marketers know that email is the most efficient method of distributing any message, but why should coupons be any exception? Everybody loves a bargain, so coupons can really pay off as part of a well-executed email campaign. Best of all for email marketers, the data generated by coupon downloads and redemptions can be used to calculate campaign ROI and to build customer profiles - for example who's buying what and at what price limit.
It's easier than you think to launch a contest, referral program, or a coupon strategy and make them work for your business.

Expand and complement your email marketing program
Thousands of experienced marketers today rely on email marketing to contribute a major portion of their customer interactions, and traditionally we have focused on the efficiency of self-serve email marketing on its own as a direct communications tool. But as you look for new ways to further grow your business, contact lists, network; expanding the scope of your marketing efforts to include custom campaigns like referrals, coupons and contests can help you optimize campaign results. And in the process you'll learn a lot more about your customers and grow your business intelligently.

About GOT Corporation
GOT Corporation™ offers Customer Relationship Marketing technology that allows organizations to move beyond traditional product-centric marketing to create relevant communications with customers, resulting in long term, profitable relationships.

About the Author:
Luc Vezina is Director of Product Management at GOT Corp. He monitors industry trends closely and has been instrumental in helping shape email marketing best practices for thousands of GOT's clients. GOT is a founding member of the Email Service Provider Coalition.
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