With new advances in technology come new opportunities to connect with your customers. In the 21st century nearly everyone has email and many companies have developed successful email marketing campaigns. This can be an important tool but needs to be thoughtfully incorporated into your overall marketing plan.

Without an email list there is no email campaign. Find ways to solicit the email addresses of your customers at each touch point. Include a line asking for email whenever you ask for customer information such as on business reply cards, direct mail and in telemarketing efforts. You should place opt-ins in prominent spots on your web site. The more your customers and prospects voluntarily give you their emails, the better since these are people who have told you that they want to hear from you.

While traditional marketing is generally a one way communication, email holds the capacity to start a dialog with your customers. Brainstorm ways to start that conversation and solicit feedback. Quizzes and surveys can tease out the motivations and impressions of your customers. Track which members of your list follow your links to promotions in other media. This is crucial information that will shape your traditional marketing methods.

Often, people research a product on line and then purchase it from a brick and mortar store. This grants an excellent opportunity to track the success of marketing exposure in another media. For example, when you track discount codes and links to printable coupons distributed by email you can absolutely measure the success of that campaign. When you know which approaches are successful then they can be repeated. You can also measure success by segment. Did you get better response from different zip codes? This knowledge allows you to concentrate your other ads in the areas with the most potential.

Even though your overall marketing approach is probably more generalized, email allows the possibility of customization. You can use this potential to highlight specific offers to specific customers. Using the profiles and preferences of your email list members, you can direct them to specific offers in other media such as a print catalog. In this way you can highlight and focus different parts of your campaign to specific segments. You can also use each different marketing medium to target your customers throughout their purchase cycle and increase brand loyalty.

If you are going to use email for marketing, it is crucial that you fully incorporate it into your overall marketing campaign. It should have the same look and feel as your other marketing efforts and should play a specific role. If email is handled by another department or just added on, then you run the risk of looking sloppy and confusing your customers. Determine the timing of email messages related to the larger campaign. Should it hit simultaneously with your print and television ads? Perhaps you can use it as a sneak peek for more loyal customers. Maybe it can be a wrap up to a successful campaign. If planned well, the email component of your marketing efforts can become a crucial piece.

Email can add a dynamic element to your marketing efforts. It can bring parts of your campaign into sharper focus for different segments of the market. This kind of targeting is possible because of the superior customization inherent in email. Just make sure that you thoroughly integrate it into the larger effort and is not just an afterthought. Those who have subscribed to your list want to hear from you, take advantage of this fact to track your efforts in other areas.