Using email lists for marketing purposes is popular for a number of reasons. Not only can you use email lists to sell products and services when you have a business email database, but you can truly use email to your advantage when you are addressing any kinds of customer service issues. Email is far more effective for this type of marketing than direct mail or print advertising.
Another benefit to using email for your customer service needs is that it is free (or very cheap), direct and clear, and takes less time than traditional methods like direct mail.
Early on, email lists were generally intended to help businesses gain new customers, but this often came under the guise of spam-like emails that were unsolicited and sent to email lists that were not obtained in the most ethical ways. Some email marketers were gathering emails from customers that entered information on a site, unwittingly joining a list. When they eventually receive some sort of communication from that business, they have forgotten that they entered their information and now find that they do not want to be a part of that business email database and may ultimately mark the message as spam. When this happens, you run a serious risk of being blacklisted in the email list marketing world. Unfortunately, it is often the recipient that is able to decide if a message is spam or not, regardless of your intentions.
Customer service tasks that can be accomplished through email are many. Customers can get an immediate order confirmation, and feel confident that their information was received and their order is being processed. Then, they can get an email when their merchandise is shipped, again reassuring them that their transaction has been completed. When a tracking number can be included, this is ideal, because it can eliminate or at least significantly reduce the number of inquiries that you have to respond to regarding “Where is my order?”.
There are few things in business more important than building a trusting relationship with your customers. Using email for customer service is convenient and quick, and can be used to interact with customers very effectively. You will be better able to not only gain but retain customers when you use email address lists for marketing and customer service.