“ The advantages of email marketing are huge . This kind of outreach to clients and prospects sets the tone for your company , positioning you as a leader and sharing relevant information . It ’ s essential to us ,” Larry Zogby , President , RDS Delivery .
“ Emails are a core component of Comet ’ s overall marketing strategy because they provide the best ROI , especially compared with other vehicles like social media posts , ads and videos ,” Mark Seltzer , President , Comet Delivery Services .
Those are the words of two passionate believers in the role of email marketing in attracting and retaining customers . Both companies have seen the impact of email marketing on their bottom lines . They believe in the power of those eblasts to bring in new customers , reinforce relationships with referral sources and retain existing customers . “ How else could we keep in touch with 20,000 people regularly ?” asks Zogby . “ We believe these newsletters add value and reinforce the value we bring to them .” Randy Burman , Comet Delivery Services Marketing concurs : “ Our bi-weekly eblasts enable Comet to connect with subscribers in a memorable , meaningful way .”
RDS has amassed a database of 20,000 customers , prospects , vendors and contacts from networking meetings . Since 2016 , they have reached out to them with an online newsletter at least once a month . Comet ’ s approach is to send blasts to its list of clients and prospects every two weeks , emphasizing just one topic or service they offer . They ’ ve been using email marketing for 15 years . Both companies reuse their email content on their social media and their websites .
Comet ’ s eblast campaigns came about as a response to a shifting sales environment . “ Years ago , we saw that putting a salesman on the street going door-to-door was the most expensive way to go ,” says Comet ’ s Founder , Steven Seltzer . “ I do believe there ’ s nothing that beats pressing flesh . But it isn ’ t easy today because many places just won ’ t let you inside . My son Mark ( who recently became Comet ’ s president ) would be out there knocking on doors and going to appointments where the customer would just take some brochures without spending much time with him . It was getting to be a waste of time , so we decided to try email in 2009 . It ’ s been a successful addition to our market efforts ever since .”
What Works
Comet ’ s eblasts feature content from their blog posts , testimonials and company news . “ No matter what we ’ re sending , we ’ re always adding value for our customers and sharing information that will help them operate more effectively and efficiently ,” says Steven Seltzer . He says a lot of the content comes from the knowledge he ’ s accumulated over his 47 years in the delivery business and from staying on top of what ’ s happening in the industry
summer 2024 I customized logistics & delivery Magazine 45