panies where the decision maker who ’ s worked with you has left . “ There ’ s a lot of turnover in companies today , so we need to stay in touch ,” points out Zogby .
Both RDS and Comet pay careful attention to the impact of these campaigns on their bottom line . “ We definitely get feedback on our campaigns ,” says Mark Seltzer . “ We hear directly from the people on our eblast list whenever we send something out . They ’ ll tell us they ’ ve read it and give us feedback on which content they liked . We qualify every lead that comes in . Sometimes it ’ s from someone who ’ s on our eblast list . Other times , a customer tells us someone on our list passed along one of our emails .”
For RDS , the proof is in the numbers . “ We look at the analytics from every blast . We check out open rates and the click-through rates on any links in the email ,” says Zogby . “ When we started , our open rate was 12 %. Now it ’ s 35 %. The ROI I ’ m looking at is that open rate . That ’ s what I ’ m looking at to judge success .”
RDS also uses those numbers to inform them of what works . If there ’ s a dip in open rates , they ’ ll look at both the subject line and the content to get a better feel for what attracts attention from those on the list . “ You want to understand who ’ s engaging with you and how you can reach them ,” says Zogby . The company recently on-boarded a multi-million dollar account . Zogby believes it was the emails that put them over the line . “ It took 22 months to get them to pull the trigger . There were multiple visits from teams of their employees , but the decision maker never came with them . But I knew he opened up every one of my emails from my analytics . I never met him , but he ’ s the one who made it happen , and he opened up every one of those emails !”
Getting Started
If you ’ re thinking about starting an email marketing program , here are some tips from RDS and Comet :
• Play to your strengths “ Determine what your niche is ; what you ’ re really good at . That ’ s what you want to promote ,” says Mark Seltzer . “ Aim at one or two verticals where you ’ ve had success . That ’ s who you want to target in your email campaigns .”
• Talk to your most important target audiences . “ Figure out the topics that reinforce what you ’ re good at in your target audiences ’ worlds . Then put out content that will be useful for them ,” he advises
• Find an outside agency Comet and RDS work with outside resources to keep their eblast campaigns going , help craft content , and adjust the campaigns as needed . RDS works with a virtual assistant to keep their program running . Comet has worked with an outside marketing consultant who has helped guide their marketing programs for many years . “ Take your lead from your marketing people ; They ’ re the experts . You ’ ve got to trust them ,” advises Mark Seltzer .
• Be consistent Both companies maintain a regular schedule of eblast distributions . “ We started this in 2016 , and I ’ m proud to say we ’ ve never missed a month since then ,” says Zogby . “ You can ’ t stop . You must be consistent .” Steven Seltzer adds , “ It takes a minimum of 13 impressions to make something stick . So , the more people hear about you , the better .”
• Let your company ’ s personality come through “ You have to set yourself apart ,” says Mark Seltzer . “ Every one of us in this industry picks up and delivers things . We all do it reasonably well . So , how do you differentiate yourself for a
summer 2024 I customized logistics & delivery Magazine 47