Permission marketing boils down to asking your target market and Web site visitors for their permission to send them information on a regular basis. Many businesses compete for the attention of their target market on a daily basis, but it is very difficult to break through all of the advertising clutter the market is already receiving.
The key to a successful permission marketing campaign is to get your target market to willingly volunteer to participate. In order to get your target market do this, whatever it is you are proposing must be of value to them. Remember, before your target market agrees to participate in your permission marketing campaign; they will stop and ask themselves, “What’s in it for me?” If they see no benefit in participating, then they will not participate—it’s that simple.
Discusses many ways to encourage repeat visits to your Web site. Repeat-traffic generators provide great opportunities for permission marketing. A few examples include:
- “We update our packages every week! Join our e-club to be notified as soon as we update.”
- “Join our e-club and receive our biweekly newsletter filled with coupons and information on new products and packages.”
- “We constantly update our Calendar of Events. Keep checking back or Join our e-club if you’d like to be notified by email every time we update.”
With legislation rapidly evolving, I expect that the next round will allow you to send only those things that people have specifically requested. That is, if someone has given you permission to send them your e-specials, you don’t have their permission to send your newsletter or your last-minute discounts. It might be a good idea to consider integrating your permission marketing requests with an e-club.
If you have an e-club and encourage people to “Join our e-club to receive member-only packages, new coupon offers, advance notice of upcoming events, and other great specials available only to e-club members,” you are essentially getting umbrella permission to send all types of marketing information.
Permission marketing is extremely effective because it’s not intrusive. Your target market volunteered to receive your information because it is of interest to them. Because of this, your target market is expecting to receive your information and is more likely to take the time to view it and be receptive to it. When implemented correctly, permission marketing can be a valuable asset in acquiring new customers and maintaining relationships with existing ones.