Using email for marketing is still very much in use. Sceptical? With the floods of spam and junk mail everyone is constantly receiving, it could easily seem like a waste of effort. The Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), requires companies to send emails to an ‘opted-in database’ only, which makes reaching your customers via email even harder.

Keeping the above in mind, would you believe it, if we said that 50% of customers actually like receiving brand emails? This means POPIA is actually doing you a favour and helping you separate those that wish to engage with you, from those who don’t.

It seems as if email has become the red wine of marketing tools. Instead of fading into the background against the likes of social media and SEO, email has grown smarter and adapted to the needs of its users.

Here are a few top statistics to prove it:

- Email marketing for companies who use it, offers a Return on Investment (ROI) of 4400%, which is why one in every three marketers believe it to be the best ROI tool.
- By next year 4.2 billion people from ages 18 to 65 are estimated to use email.
- 79% of B2B companies use email as their primary channel of marketing.

To obtain the most engagement from your emailers, your content needs to be targeted and relevant to the audience you are sending it to.

Use email to run campaigns that help you achieve the following:

Covert subscribers - Subscribers are often interested in what you offer but need that little push to become a customer. Regular emails that showcase the benefits of your products, or services, may help achieve this goal.
Provide conversion assistance - Using follow-up emails to help customers who left an eCommerce cart abandoned have proven very successful in helping to complete the conversion process. There could be many reasons why a person left a cart abandoned, contacting them in a personal capacity to provide assistance can be of benefit and may help them finalise the purchase, or buy other products, or services.
Retain customers - Use emails to keep those clients that already know and trust you, to come back or refer your business to others. Apart from showcasing new products and services, share company news, rewards and more with this audience.

Timing and planning is everything when it comes to email marketing
Too many or too few emails could be behind your current unsuccessful campaigns. Test what kind of email-sending rhythm your customers are open to and will engage with more. Generally speaking, a bi-weekly or monthly mailer will do the trick.

Email marketing isn’t something you can just ‘do’; strategy is incredibly important. Plan and put effort into every execution!

Holding off on email marketing because you still don’t have a website?

IMPORTANT: Don’t use a This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. email address to send from, as this is extremely unprofessional and can be construed as ‘spam’. Consider purchasing your own domain and sign up for our Email Only Hosting from as little as R39 per month.

With growth come responsibility Who is responsible for your online security? Who's responsibility is it that you stay on the right side of the law at all times? Yes... you are! The latest e-commerce stats from Statista.com show that 40% of worldwide internet users have bought products or goods online via desktop, mobile, tablet or other online devices. This amounts to more than 1 billion online buyers and should continue grow steadily.

 

This shows us the tremendous growth of eCommerce. With this positive growth comes negatives as well, online scams are increasing, payment fraud is on the uptake, consumers are abusing the CPA when it comes to refunds, returns etc. Protection of personal information is becoming more and more important, information is being stolen and social media is full of schemes and fraudsters.

Thus... The eCommerce Law & Security Conference was born! By attending this conference on 3 & 4 June 2015 delegates will learn from experts how to avoid and prevent all of the above mentioned from affecting you and your company. Speakers will share their knowledge and expertise on industry topics to ensure you leave the conference with an updated wealth of knowledge and strategy on how to implement all of this including the POPI Act in your organisation. More information click here...

Expert speakers include: Robby Coelho - Webber Wentzel Andrew Kirkland - Trustwave SA Rosalind Lake - Norton Rose Fulbright Ashleigh van Kerckhoven - KPMG Rosalind Davey & Khomotso Makapane - Bowman Gilfillan  

Early Bird Registrations Open Register 2 delegates for ONLY R4798. Normal registration fee for the full 2 day conference is R3199 per delegate. Included in the registration fee: *Full access to the conference, panel discussion and workshop *Sit-down buffet lunch both days *Free Parking *3 Refreshment breaks per day *Digital copies of each presentation *Networking Opportunities with speakers and delegates *2 days full of informative up-to-date presentations   Register NOW!    

Exclusive Workshop Attendees will have the benefit of attending a workshop on 4 June inclusive in the conference package. Understanding & Managing the Risks of Social Media presented by Rosalind Davey and Khomotso Makapane from one of SA's top law firms Bowman Gilfillan. Read more

 

CitySlicker, the longest running daily deal brand in South Africa celebrated its 3rd birthday with a variety of competitions and promotions to reward its loyal subscribers nationally. This information was communicated via effective social media channels including Facebook and Twitter. In order to celebrate, CitySlicker offered Superdeals on the 3rd day of each week at 3pm for 30 minutes each in the month of April. At this time, a popular deal was discounted by up to 75% for a limited time period only. Subscribers were also awarded credit to be used on the site by sharing CitySlicker’s Facebook page at a specific time. This promotion created excitement for CitySlickers Merchants, the deal itself and the subscribers.        

Since the launch of the online site in April 2011, CitySlicker has developed into a premium lifestyle daily deal brand that has become one of the biggest in South Africa. The company is working with over 1400 merchants and has completed over 4000 promotions. CitySlicker opened originally in Cape Town and grew exponentially to become a national brand by including promotions run in Johannesburg.  CitySlicker is a privately held company with staff operating in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Focusing on top ranking restaurants, spas, 4 and 5 star getaways and experiences with merchants that include Orion Hotels, Ocean Basket and Indaba Hotel, CitySlicker searches for the quintessential deals across South Africa, packages these offerings and informs their subscribers daily via email. CitySlicker has grown exponentially in the industry with added marketing services including Effective Marketing, “The digital marketing agency” which specialises in Google advertising, Email campaigns, database management and growth and website creation.  

CitySlicker offers its merchants the best quality service in order to establish a working relationship worth maintaining for both parties involved. “Celebrating CitySlickers 3rd birthday would certainly not be possible without the three pillars of our organisation; our employees, our merchants and growing customer subscriber base”, said Sales Director, Denver Kirsten. “It has been incredibly rewarding to see our employees grow with the company within the dynamics of the ecommerce industry. Furthermore building relationships with our merchants and strategically integrating CitySlicker into their annual marketing strategy whilst satisfying an insatiable appetite for daily premium experiences for our subscribers, has been a win-win scenario.”   When asked “What sets CitySlicker apart from other companies in the same business?” Maria of Villa Maria Restaurant in Durbanville stated, “For me it was the representative listening to what I need and doing exactly that.” Beaulah of Beyond Wellness in Bellville said, “Firstly there is no comparison. The level of professionalism is what sets CitySlicker apart. From the moment a deal is discussed right until the vouchers are collected. 2 years later of dealing with CitySlicker we really feel like a family.”            

Contact with CitySlicker, South Africa:

Kayleigh Rossler

+27 21 481 1836

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

www.cityslicker.co.za  

{pp}As part of customer relationship management (CRM), Email Marketing is a notable yet delicate tool that should be used with great care.

{pp}Email Marketing is one of the most efficient and cost effective ways to build relationships with customers, Email newsletters are also an effective CRM tool.

{pp}Email marketing is still one of the most powerful (proverbial) arrows in the eMarketer’s quiver. Email marketing is so effective because it puts your brand and message directly into your customers’ inboxes – many people’s most frequent touch-point with the Internet.

{pp}Email marketing is one of the oldest yet most effective ways of marketing directly online. Direct marketing has always held its place in the marketing mix, but prohibitively high costs posed a barrier for entry to many advertisers. Email has provided a far more cost-effective way to reach customers at their most common point of contact with the Internet: their inbox.