Meet Bob. Bob is a plumber. He owns a small plumbing company that is successful but he feels that there is an opportunity to expand and grow but he just can’t figure out an easy way to get that started. After all he is busy doing house calls and doesn’t have a lot of extra time on his hands. One thing that Bob has noticed is that many small businesses in his area print or email newsletters to their customers.
So what can a newsletter do for you? A lot.
Newsletters are an easy way to connect with customers. Those customers usually want to also receive it so they are not just going to simply throw it in the trash, they will actually begin to read it. If you choose email newsletters not only do you save on printing but you also get your customer’s email address which you can continue to use for other email marketing opportunities, should your customer choose of course. For a business like a plumber who may go for a long time in between house visits it will help to keep you in your customer’s mind. A copy of the newsletter could also be included in any bills sent in the mail.
A newsletter can help any business build a reputation and establish themselves as an expert in a field. It can help build loyalty with your customers and can help to generate leads and repeat sales. A well written newsletter can make customers feel like they are part of an exclusive group with a business offering them exclusive information, tips or offers. There are probably plenty of plumbing jokes that could be included as well to keep it light-hearted!
But can’t social media do the same thing? Yes and no. It is easy for someone to just gloss over something on social media and in some cases they have to like you or follow your business. Your followers may see it but are they really seeing it? Your customers may not even know your business is on social media, after all, how many people follow their plumber? A newsletter can direct people to your social media accounts or to your website potentially opening up numerous new opportunities. Sure you can put pictures of your work, testimonials or any charitable involvement in the community on the web but how is that going to make its way in front of you customers or potential customers on social media? They will have to find it.
A newsletter can be relatively cheap to develop and the benefits could be tenfold. An Experian study found that for every $1 spent on developing a newsletter a return of $45-50 is possible. That’s a heck of a return for something so simple. There aren’t too many other opportunities that can generate that return for the amount of effort that is put into generating it. If you don’t have time a newsletter can be published at any time interval from weekly to yearly.
For Bob there is another reason to consider a newsletter. A newsletter is a great way to keep his employees in the loop and to improve on communication. He can also not only solicit his employees for ideas but they can contribute to it! For many businesses there are important dates and some of these are helpful for his customers as well. For Bob that may include when he starts doing checks on furnaces or air conditioning systems if he does that work as well or just as a gentle reminder as to when income taxes are due or which employees have a birthday coming up.
There are far too many reasons why a business should create a newsletter. If you or your business are not you are potentially missing out on leads which can generate new customers and sales and can help you keep your own customers happy. So aren’t you doing it? Bob is.