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The advances in technology over the last twenty years have drastically changed the marketing mix. These days almost everyone has an email account and many companies have successfully channeled this as yet another opportunity for reaching their customers. When thoughtfully integrated into your marketing plan, email is a valuable tool.

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, consumers research an item on line and then purchase it from a local retailer. You can harness this dynamic to track your efforts in other media. Try distributing discount codes and coupons through your email list and track how often and where they are redeemed. This can help provide valuable market research about which approaches work and which segments respond to which approaches. Use email to help you allocate your precious marketing resources toward efforts that garner the most results.

Whereas your overall strategy may be more generalized, email allows for a high level of customization in your marketing efforts. You can use this customization capability to highlight specific offers. For example, using your customers’ profiles, you can point out specific offers in catalogs or on your web site. Use the customization possibilities to more sharply focus different aspects of your campaign on specific market segments. Use each marketing channel to target an individual throughout the customer cycle in order to bolster brand loyalty.

An important thing to remember when determining how to fit email into your marketing campaigns is to make sure that it is fully integrated as a vital component of the campaign. It shouldn’t be an afterthought or just an add on to your other methods. It should have the same look, feel and tone as your print and other marketing. Really consider when an email should hit in relation to a print or television ad. Should you use it as a heads up to a special few about an upcoming promotion? Should it be a follow up once a campaign has launched? Planned well, email can greatly enhance your marketing efforts.