Have you ever had someone leave your dealership and wondered why you stopped getting leads from your website or classified site?  Or has someone left your dealership and then weeks/months later you find out that you haven't been receiving email leads from a particular lead source?  Believe it or not it happens more than you might think.  So, how does it happen?

Well, here's a story of a lovely lady, who was having a grand time handling email leads all on her own.  She had been asked to setup leads through her dealership's website and a few other classified type websites.  Things are chugging along nicely and she is showing you now and again the great leads she is receiving.  Then one day something happens and she leaves the dealership.  A few weeks later you overhear a conversation at the front desk that folks keep calling in saying that they've sent emails and no one is getting back to them.  Then it dawns on you...

So, how do you make sure that doesn't happen to you?  Simply use email aliases for your website or other places sending you leads.  For example setup a simple websales@yourdealership.com email alias that gets forwarded to the saleperson(s) email address you would like.  Then if that person ever leaves you only need to change where those email leads get forwarded.

Email aliases are super simple to setup and manage. Just ask your email admin to help you out if you don't already know.

Now, that you know how to proactively handle a potentially harmful email situation make sure you make it a part of your employee termination checklist.

What is email marketing?

Putting it simply, email marketing takes place every time you send out an email to a prospect, lead, or customer. It can be a simple reply from your website contact us form or it might be a email broadcast going to your website leads and current customers telling them about an appreciation event you have going on.

The point is every email communication you have is considered email marketing. This doesn't mean that you bombard every email with sales/selling info/content. Some emails are very low key and just your word-smithing ability supports your 'brand' and continues to build confidence and earn trust with your prospects and customers.

The Everyday Email

These are the emails that you use for correspondence day in and day out. These emails re-enforce your brand, who you are as a dealership. As email correspondence increases it is critical for your dealership to create some simple standards and best practices. Here are some suggestions...

• Use email addresses that represent your dealership domain name. An example would be joe@franksrvs.com instead of joe5233@yahoo.com.
• Have the folks that use email at your dealership use a common or standard signature or closing in their email. Your prospects and customers will feel that you have it together as multiple employees interact with them through email.
• Give your employees using email a brief lesson in wordsmithing and email etiquette. A quick 15 minute overview will go a long way. You wouldn't let your employees talk rudely on the phone or come dressed to work innapropriately would you? A simple search on Google.com for email etiquette will get you started.

Everyday email communication can be a good marketing tool or a negative marketing tool. Don't be fooled into thinking it's not a big deal. It's a big Internet world and your competitor is just a click away.

The Broadcast Email

There are a number of questions/statements I get regarding email broadcasts. Here are a couple...

This is just spamming and my customers won't like it.
Email does get a bad rap, however if it is done correctly and professionally it can produce results like you've never been able to produce before with radio, tv, and billboards.

• It has to be permission based. Make sure when collecting your prospect and customer email addresses they are aware they will be receiving emails in the future. Make it very easy for them to unsubscribe from receiving future emails.
• Make it personal. Email can include your prospect and customer names. It can be targeted toward their desires and needs. Getting personal builds confidence in your ability to meet their current and future needs.

Can't I send email broadcasts myself from my Outlook software?
Technically, sending emails from your own computer using your email software is doable. However, there are a few things you want to consider before doing so...

• One of your goals for sending a broadcast email is for everyone to actually receive it. Sending it through your email software, like Outlook, uses your ISP's network and more than likely they will block it or blacklist your connection. Using a service  to send out emails eliminates that problem. In addition they have relationships with ISP's like AOL, Yahoo, MSN, and others that allows all the emails to go through and not get blocked.
• Crafting or word-smithing your emails is critical to the success of your email making it through spam-blockers and actually getting read. Services like Constant Contact have filters/tools that you can test your emails on before sending them out.
• Using an email service also gives you list management tools like subscribe, unsubscribe, bounce management, and click-thru reporting. All these tools make the $30-$100/mo a very cost effective service.

Sending emails is or will be an important part of your business as more and more prospects and customers continue to flock to the Internet for researching their next RV purchase and finding a dealer who can give them what they want.

Take these simple suggestions to heart and start making a difference in your email marketing today!