How do I use email newsletters to grow referrals?
When it comes to online marketing, many businesses make the mistake of thinking that their job is done once they’ve closed a sale. However, those leads that become customers are incredibly valuable to your business – and not just because they’re more likely to make another purchase at some point in the future.
Your customers can make incredibly effective brand advocates by increasing brand awareness and brand trust on your behalf.
Referrals are Key to Growth
It’s been said that referrals are key to growth, and this is no different when it comes to online marketing. One of the most effective ways that you can turn customers into brand advocates is through the use of an email newsletter. The following are a few ways that your email newsletter can help boost referrals:
- Email newsletters keep your brand top of mind – If you email your customers a newsletter on a regular basis, they will be less likely to forget about your brand. This means that if someone in their life asks for a recommendation for a product or service that you offer, they’ll be more likely to provide a referral for your business. Just be careful not to swamp them with newsletters constantly since this can have a negative effect.
- Email newsletters keep customers engaged – The more engaged your customers are with your brand, the more trust and loyalty they will show. You can segment your email list so that you can personalize your newsletters for different groups of customers. This ensures that your content is relevant to your recipients and helps to keep them engaged. The more engaged they are with your brand, the more likely they are to act as a brand advocate.
- Email newsletters are easy to share – Your customers can easily share email newsletters by forwarding them to friends. However, you can make it even easier for them to share your email content by providing social media share buttons, which gives them the opportunity to share your newsletter to their social media platform of choice, which boosts your brand exposure even more.
- Email newsletters make customers want to share – If you provide your customers with content that is relevant and helpful (like this email), they’ll be more likely to want to share it with their friends and family. People like feeling like they have something new to offer. Additionally, they’ll start feeling like they are associated with your brand and they’ll be proud of that. This makes them more likely to share promotions that you send to them because of that association.
These are just a few of the ways that email newsletters can effectively turn existing customers into brand advocates.
The use of an email newsletter encourages customers to stay engaged and to share your content, thereby providing referrals on your behalf without ever even realizing it. These referrals are key to the growth of any business, so don’t take them for granted!