Small Business Today Magazine JAN 2015 AIM GLOBAL LOGISTICS | Page 16

EDITORIALFEATURE

5 Email Marketing Dysfunctions

That Predict Failure
By Craig Klein, SalesNexus.com CEO

T

he varied reasons to put off creating
an email marketing program are as
diverse as the businesses that need
to implement them.  If you are like
most companies, you tend to spin your
wheels for a long time before you let the
email marketing vehicle take off.  It can often be difficult to pinpoint what is causing
the delay.

If your company is already
multifaceted then
that’s good.  Simply chunk
all the facets into smaller
programs and promote
them in a narrowly
targeted email
marketing campaign.

Let’s get personal.  Sometimes the best
way to recognize our business habits is to
relate them to our personal habits.  Below is a list of personal dysfunctions that
you know about yourself or someone you
know.

to know one another. The same is true for
your business.

The good news is you can start right
now…make lots of mistakes…measure
what does and doesn’t work…adjust and
redevelop…and get it done faster than
continuing to analyze what to do.  Stop
being afraid and take action.

3. It’s All About You

5. You Want to Fit In

1. Your Exercise Habits

Most of us have had the experience of beginning an exercise program only to abandon it within months (if not days).  We are
smart enough to know that a short-lived
exercise routine will not yield good results. 
Yet, we will try a new email marketing
strategy for a short time then use the excuse that “It didn’t work.”  Seriously???

2. You Meet Someone New

One of the quickest ways to turn off a new
acquaintance whether romantic or personal is to try too hard at the beginning. 
Many a sitcom on TV has portrayed this
kind of overanxious, friend-needy behavior. 
We can laugh at the humor of this way
of meeting new people.  Some of us can
identify someone in our own lives that has
tried way too hard to engage in a relationship immediately after being introduced.
Today’s buyer will have the same comical
(and business killing) reaction to a company that tries too hard to sell their product
or service.  Communication early in a relationship needs to be focused on getting

This is one of the most common and seriously egregious methods for selling in the
current sales environment.  After decades
of push media advertising, aka traditional
advertising, few companies have learned
the “art of seduction”.
A switch to pull media is required.  That
is why a properly executed email campaign has so much power.  Send your new
sales leads something seductive and interesting then measure your results.  There
is no doubt that being seductive is much
more effective than pushing the buyer to
purchase what you have to sell.

4. You’re Afraid

Change is scary.  For most of us change is
always scary.
The internet-enabled buyers have
changed how they respond to our marketing efforts.  A company can no longer
throw money into buying ads that tout
the wonderful benefits of the products
and services they offer.  It simply does not
work anymore.
The new methods require you to develop content or pay a professional to create

14 SMALL BUSINESS TODAY MAGAZINE [ JANUARY 2015 ]

it for you.  These are new territories for
a business to explore.  Most companies
are simply not prepared to operate in this
new environment.  The search for solutions often results in paralysis from analysis. 

Being all things to all people is a losing
battle.  It always has been but in today’s
marketplace it is truer than ever.  A narrow niche outperforms a general category
of business on the worldwide web.  The
days of being able to promote your multifaceted, one-company-fits-all approach to
business are over.
If your company is already multifaceted
then that’s good.  Simply chunk all the facets into smaller programs and promote
them in a narrowly targeted email marketing campaign.  The ideal customer for one
segment of your business will be different
than the others, so make the content specific to the narrow group of customers
you want.
Hopefully, the analogies about your
personal life have helped you understand
your procrastination.  Recognition of the
problem may be just the boost you need
to get started.  Which of these personal
habits is showing up in your business?

Craig Klein is the founder/CEO of SalesNexus.com
which is a leading provider of CRM, email marketing,
and lead generation solutions for business-2-business
sales teams.