I wanted to post some good stuff about email marketing. I want to tell you how, if done correctly, it can be one of your biggest untapped resources for communicating with your clients. However, there is a fine line between relevant and requested email communication (marketing) and spam. Spam being the reason so many eyes roll when I suggest a good email marketing campaign. I decided to dedicate my January newsletter to the topic of developing an effective email campaign – so be sure and subscribe. However, before I can do this I need to explain a very important concept that will make the difference between success and a major crash and burn; and it boils down to one very important word – permission.
Seth Godin is who marketing geeks like me look up to. If it wasn’t completely weird I may have a poster of the guy hanging in my office. An MBA from Stanford, Seth has revived the movement of honest, passionate, sincere, and permission based marketing. As a matter of fact I think he coined the term “permission marketing.” He sums it up best by saying “permission is like dating. You don’t start by asking for anything at first impression. You earn the right, over time, bit by bit.” Too many marketers want to show up and pop the question without first engaging in the dating process. Dating is where you earn respect, where your clients get to know you, and most importantly for veterinarians, where they begin to trust you.
It may be better if I first explain the opposite of permission marketing; which is the Darth Vader to the Jedi movement, the dark side of marketing. Interruption marketing is why so many business owners are lying to themselves by saying “marketing isn’t important” or “it’s a desperate attempt to boost sales or its intrusive”; if it’s done wrong, their right. Here is an example. I check my account balance a few times a week to see how little money I have at any given point in time. Chase has my permission to keep my money but they do not have my permission to interrupt me with a pop-up screen, before I can see my balance, with some stupid offer for low interest credit cards. This is irritating to the point of me wanting to leave the bank. Interruption marketing at its finest – the boneheads. Have you ever bought something online and were required to enter your email so they can send you a receipt? Then, by some mysterious twist of fate, you’re getting marketing material from the company for the next 6 months until you “opt-out.” Why should you have to do that, when did you ever opt in?
Permission marketing is the art of getting your customers to agree to communicate with you, easier than it sounds really. The tricky part is keeping that permission. To do so requires a two way relationship. You deliver relevant information designed in part to solve some sort problem (that term is used very loosely); and in return they give you their attention. And attention is what marketing is all about. Veterinarians are sitting on a gold mine with this concept. Pet owners have pets because they love pets; right? So talk about pets, teach them home care techniques, holiday do’s and don’ts, keep them updated on trends and new diseases, etc. The topics are literally endless. In return you get permission to use their email; and you can use it to remind them of appointments, heart-worm medicine, last minute promotions, and such.
Another example from yours truly. I give my book away for free. Anyone can get a copy by simply subscribing to my newsletter. They get a book and I get a chance to send a newsletter once or twice a month showcasing the knowledge I have about the art of marketing. Pretty good two way relationship so far. So what is the catch? There really isn’t one. I just feel if I can stay in front of enough veterinarians by providing them useful information they will come to me for any personal marketing help (which I can charge for).
The last time I talked about this topic a vet approached me at the end of the seminar and said he actually loves when his competitor up the road uses email because it drives customers to him. Well, if you haven’t read anything I have written so far let me make this very clear. If done wrong, any marketing technique has a dark side, a Darth Vader. That shouldn’t scare you away from marketing, it should just make you want to be a Jedi.
If you want more on this topic, pick up a copy of his book “Permission Marketing;” its several years old now but still one of my favorite quick reads. You can get it on Amazon for just a few bucks used. Maybe I should get a cut of the sales for recommending it?
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Well put. I think email marketing is a tricky topic for vets, or anyone for that matter. There is a very thin line and you need to make sure you are the right side of it. Spam is a really bad word in marketing and you don’t ever want that label put on you. But keeping in contact with customers and clients via email can be a very powerful way to market…