A New & Creative Way To Uncover Contact Info for Email Marketing

The world of email marketing as we know it has changed. What was once considered the norm and acceptable is now passé and restricted. Such a dramatic change has stemmed from the privacy and spam laws enacted in countries, all in in an effort to protect their citizens from malicious content. Although these laws were implemented with the very best intentions in mind, marketers worldwide are now suffering the most. In an increasingly competitive world only complicated by email restrictions, this question is posed to marketers: in this turned tide, will you sink or swim?

Past & Present Marketing Strategies

In the past, bulk email marketing was the ideal method of pushing promotional content to the largest possible audience. This group of prospective customers came from an email list purchased from third parties. Marketers’ only concern, then, was to craft a strong promotional message. But now with the increasingly strict rules in place, marketers have much more to worry about. Their previously massive email audience has now been downsized dramatically. In many countries, this is a result of the opt-in requirements. Plus, failure to comply with regulations can result in blacklisting or hefty fines – two expensive penalties that many companies, especially small businesses, cannot afford.

Leveraging The Existing Customer Base

So with marketers’ hands tied, what are they to do to stay afloat? The answer to this question is in their existing customer base. As these are either prospects or customers that sales reps have an established relationship with, the law does not prohibit marketers from emailing them. The problem, however, is that these contacts cannot be found in the CRM system. Instead, the vast majority of this personal data remains untouched and buried in thousands or millions of emails, in the form of email signatures. The data sits here precisely because sales reps do not want to take the time to perform the manual data entry, as it detracts from their selling time. Through implementing an e-mail mining for sales solution, the manual data entry process is completely eliminated. Crucial contact data that is buried in emails can be extracted automatically and transferred to the CRM and marketing automation systems. Marketers will now have a complete list of customers that they can market to. This list has an even greater rate of success than the former bulk email marketing one, considering that your customers are your best prospects.

Surviving The Tide - Staying Afloat

The tide has turned – it’s a reality that cannot be changed. Marketers do have the option, however, of determining what they plan to do to survive. Should they choose to stick to their guns and their old habits, they will find themselves sinking in deep waters. If they find a new way to obtain contacts while working within the restrictions, then they will survive the current. With an e-mail mining for sales solution, marketers can do just that.

*For a closer look at how to implement an e-mail mining solution and to review email marketing restrictions by country, download “The Marketer’s Guide to Navigating the Pitfalls of Email Marketing.”*