Marketing - reap rewards from your Database

Published: 14 Apr, 2010

Database emailing proves to be an effective way of communicating with customers.

John Russell  writes:  I am a great supporter of a regular email newsletter to the customer database as one of the best means of driving and growing your business.

Why? Because it is quick, easy, immediate, proactive, low cost, and talks to an already interested audience.

This was shown to me very clearly on a recent trip to Ireland. Having recently suffered a very wet summer, followed by the coldest winter in fifty years, the Irish garden centre owner , and the Irish gardener, could be forgiven for feeling a bit despondent and down in the dumps.

But paradoxically the opposite is true. Months of inaction have resulted in a pent up desire to get out there and get stuck into the garden again. A late start to spring weather has made some garden centre owners nervous about stocking up too soon, and many of them are at risk of missing the boat if they are not careful.

But not one owner, whom I visited on my trip. He was determined not to let things get the better of him and instead decided to kick start his own Spring. A recent convert to database emailing, and understandably cautious about spending money on advertising, he decided to use this medium to talk to his customers.

He realized that there was still a lot of life left in the ‘Grow Your Own’ trend and thought about how he could capitalize on this. He put together a six week programme of classes on how to grow your own fruit and veges, to be run on Saturdays and Tuesdays. The classes were to be practical and hands on, with raised garden beds to demonstrate and for trainees to practice. The classes were free.

Expecting to get maybe twenty or so interested people we sat down and put together an email newsletter advertising the classes. Imagine his surprise on the first Saturday morning when 65-70 people turned up! This was followed by another twenty plus on the following Tuesday. Another email followed, reminding customers of the ongoing programme. The next Saturday 70 plus turned up, followed by another 30 the following Tuesday. It has carried on in this vein ever since. They took photos and posted them on Facebook, much to the delight of his customers who see themselves and friends there!

Interestingly, a series of ‘Specials’ he put together proved not to be overly popular. However, what he did find was that the products he demonstrated and talked about in the classes were picked up in large numbers by the attendees, both on the day and during the week.
Since then there has been no stopping him! The emails and the customers have been flowing. He reckons it’s the best start to spring for years!

A similar response has occurred for a garden centre here in New Zealand. After just a few months their customer database has swelled to over 800! The customer response has been very positive and the owner has found that the purchases of products mentioned in the emailed newsletter far outstripped the response he got from newspaper advertising.

So why do these emails get such a positive response? There are several reasons. First, you are speaking to an interested and captive audience who have already indicated they want to hear from you.

Secondly, it provides an opportunity to talk to your customers about more than just specials and discounts. What to do in the garden, new releases, new season’s stock, recipes, pre-ordering privileges, out of hours shopping opportunities, invitations to events and talks, and much more, should all be part of the mix. Surprisingly, your customers are not just interested in bargains. Added value, ideas, inspiration, excitement, all attract them as well and keep them coming back again and again to your store.

Acquiring email addresses from customers is not as difficult as many would have us believe. Large numbers of customers are internet users and are used to receiving emails and newsletters. When seeking email addresses it is a good idea to offer something in return. A simple, but effective, way to obtain email addresses is to run a simple raffle or prize draw. An attractive hamper filled with gardening products makes a good prize. Put this on the counter and ask customers to enter the draw by simply putting their name and email address on the entry form. Promoting your email newsletter in store, outlining the benefits to be derived by signing up, will also attract names and addresses. Remember to always give people the option of receiving emails or not by providing a small box they can tick if they agree.

Newsletters need to be sent reasonably regularly for them to be effective. I know of some garden centres that send them out weekly. More frequently than this could become annoying. Any time frame between one week and one month is acceptable. Anything longer than one month between newsletters is probably too long.

Make sure newsletters are chatty and interesting. Don’t make them too long, as people will stop reading half way through. Talk about several subjects in one letter so that you have a range of topics to appeal to a diverse group of recipients. Here is an example of the sorts of things you can say: 

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