PURPOSE
The Principal stated that he wanted to use the E-zine as a “means to keep the company name, logo and salesperson in front of his customers on a regular basis.”
RESULTS
The Principal “likes it a lot” and is very satisfied.
DESCRIPTION
An e-mail service (www.ezinedirector.com) is used to distribute the E-zine to clients each month. The e-mails are currently sent to each salesperson’s respective clients from the salesperson’s e-mail address (making Reply easy). The e-mail also contains a link to the salesperson and his/her telephone number. It was suggested that the recipient’s name be inserted in the greeting to make the e-mail more personalized.
OBSERVATIONS
Approximately 20 percent of the recipients open at least one article. The E-zine open rate is likely much higher than the cited 20 percent. Many readers were noted to click through multi-part articles. Analyzing clicks can be used to inform the salesperson of a specific (identified) recipient’s potential interest in specific instruments.
The Principal and his salespeople have received “verbal and e-mail positive feedback”
- recipients thank the salespersons for being included in the distribution
- recipients forward the E-zine to others due to the non-sales technical content
- unknown new readers request to be added to the regular distribution
The Representative’s contact and e-mail list is now consolidated and up-to-date. E-zine distribution provides a strong incentive to maintain these lists current.
The Representative’s e-mail list grew by approximately 25 percent since starting to send the E-zine. It could not be determined how much of this growth was due to the E-zine.
In one instance, a person who had not been visited by the representative’s salesperson for 5 years forwarded the E-zine to a new hire. The new hire invited the salesperson to meet and discuss his equipment and related issues. Events such as these can be used to tie the distribution of the E-zine directly to a sale.
The principal forwarded typical feedback to include, “I enjoy reading your informational emails. Each one has been educational and helpful. From a purchasing standpoint it is always helpful to understand what you are buying and what it is actually doing for your company.”
Note: This document was reviewed by the Principal.
