Jumpstart Email Marketing for your Job Shop
Your customer base comes with unpredictable product development life cycles. It is nearly impossible for you to predict when to contact them exactly when they need parts made. So what options do you have when you don’t have a sales team or the time to make calls yourself? How do you stay top of mind when your customers need parts made? Enter email marketing.
First, you need to capture your customer and prospect data in an organized fashion. Giving you easy access to move the data to an email marketing platform. Just like a machine on your shop floor, this list is an asset you should use. The Paperless Parts Platform lets you sync this data with popular email marketing platforms.
Start simple: send a monthly email to your base. Let them know about your capacity, your services, and new equipment in the shop. Make sure you also tell them WHY they should use you. Most importantly give them a Call to Action (CTA). A CTA is what you want the reader to do when receiving your email. For example, you might have a button that says “Request a Quote” and when clicked on it goes to the RFQ form on your website.
There are two popular, easy-to-use mass email platforms to jumpstart your marketing efforts. I have used both extensively with smaller-sized businesses. Both offer product walkthroughs and email templates that you can edit to make your own:
MailChimp: Free for up to 2,000 contacts (12,000 emails per month)
Constant Contact: Offers a free 60-day trial, then plans start at $20 per month for 0-500 contacts.
It’s important to remember that as your contact list grows, so will the cost of these platforms. If you are using them effectively, the tools pay for themselves. See “How much would you pay for a RFQ”
Tips:
- Create separate lists in your email platform for customers and prospects.
- Keep your subject lines to under 10 words. Be compelling–what will strike a cord with your target? “CNC Machined Prototype Parts in Days” always got a lot of attention.
- Pay attention to open % rates to determine which subject lines are most effective.
- Be compelling in your emails. Why should people use you? Don’t just tell them what you do, tell them WHY they should trust you with their projects. Add testimonials, lead time and quote response time. What are you good at?
- You should only be sending emails to contacts that have opted-in to receive them. So, what does that mean?
- The contact is a customer or has requested a quote from you in the past
- They have knowingly given you their email. For example, they signed up during a trade show or through gated content, like an eBook, on your website.
There is so much that goes into email marketing, and it can be easy to overcomplicate. Start off by creating an account. Then, customize a template for your company that shows off your services. Send your customers emails so that you can remain top of mind for their quoting needs!
If you have questions or want to chat about email marketing, reach out to me at [email protected].
Thanks for reading & happy sending!
-Matt Sordillo
Connect with me on LinkedIn to stay up-to-date with future posts:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/quickturnmarketing/
Ready to see how Paperless Parts can help your job shop? Sign up for a demo today.
Matt Sordillo was the Head of Marketing at RAPID, a CNC machining and sheet metal shop that grew to $50M in sales and was sold to Proto Labs, Inc. (PRLB) in 2017 for $120M. Today, Matt is the Chief Marketing Officer at Paperless Parts and is working to provide job shop owners the tools necessary to compete in today’s increasingly digital business world.