Some would have it that Facebook and texting will mean the end of email. Rubbish. Email remains a fantastic customer communications tool for business. And MailChimp is the platform to use.
In another life (in a 20-strong marketing agency) I managed sophisticated email communications for big brands such as Yell and HSBC. Emails were generated using ‘dynamic content’ triggered by various criteria in the database. The possible variables in content and design were immense and pretty frightening.
Driven by customer profiling in a CRM, the work was all about making the message as relevant as possible to the customer, based on their preferences and previous online behaviour.
It so happened that I also managed the relationship with the email services provider whose services we used. I would skip along joyously to quarterly account meetings, where part of my role was to negotiate for better rates (emails were bought on a per thousand basis). We sent a lot of emails. The annual fees were hefty: up to £200k one year I think.
Nowadays I run my own show and, while the volumes for my clients are more modest, email remains an important part of the marketing mix for many.
I always recommend the MailChimp email platform for customer communications. It has so much going for it and has a ‘free’ entry level for customers with small email lists.
On MailChimp’s ‘Forever free’ plan you can have up to 2,000 addresses on your list and send up to 12,000 messages in any month — more than enough for many small businesses. The paid plans are very reasonable and allow for a little more customisation (for example ‘de-badging’ your email template).
MailChimp provides a ton of ready-made designs for use ‘off the shelf’ or to adapt with your logo and imagery. MailChimp will even go to your website, ‘grab’ its colour palette and implement it on your chosen email template. Amazing!
For companies requiring a bespoke design, MailChimp will import your own template artwork without fuss and provides all the guidance you’ll need to get it right first time.
Creating emails, managing lists, testing and distributing campaigns… MailChimp has developed a very intuitive interface that will guide you through the process. The campaign reports are very detailed considering this is a free service (see example above). All the key metrics are there from delivery to open and click rates. The reports show you what was hot in your latest campaign and even compares campaigns side by side. A/B split testing? Easily set up.
You don’t need to be a ‘propellor head’ or IT nerd to get up and running with MailChimp. Give it a go!
If you’d like to hear more about how to target customers with relevant, timely, actionable email marketing, please contact BuzzedUp.co.uk.