Ways the Green Industry Can Use Email Marketing to Their Advantage Now

I don’t know about you, but with the Coronavirus and the Flu going around, I’m limiting everything that I physically touch. Is it time to think about shredding direct mail and door hangers? 

Maybe, maybe not. But what we do know works is email marketing. Harvard Business Review did a comparison between direct mail and email marketing and to summarize their case study: direct mail costs about 100x as much as email marketing and ROI-wise, email marketing campaigns performed about 95x better.

But, we are all inundated with emails already and Covid-19 has amplified that even more. So it’s our duty to be brief and to the point. Use imagery to show instead of tell what you’re explaining. Stick to one call to action per email (ie: what action step do you want the reader to take?) 

The majority of us welcome positivity and feel good vibes in our inbox instead of cancellations, closings and craziness. Remind clients of your commitment to buy from local small businesses, such as your vendors and even list them by name. Don’t forget to use an impressive subject line to improve your open rate. 

One of my email marketing clients, College Fund Landscaping is a company rooted firmly in the community. Twice per year they do a scholarship fund and donate money back to local schools in their area on behalf of college students. During this time of need, they are offering free bi-weekly mowing to clients who have been laid off work and don’t have the equipment to mow their own lawn. 

This is a great way to stand out in your community as well as to reinforce why it’s a great thing that lawn care and landscaping companies are on the exempt list and allowed to work during the Stay at Home mandates in force all over the US. 

On a personal level, transform your client walkthroughs into videos. They may not be able to ride around the HOA, but you can take them along with you! A personalized video from you will go a long way to let your client know that you’re still with them and you care. You can also use video for conferencing using free platforms like Zoom, Join.me and Google Hangouts. 

Internal communication is just as critical. Your team needs to hear from you about what you’re doing personally and what the company is doing to help them in these uneasy times. As a leader, be calm in your communications. Be transparent about the budget, financials and your backlog of work. Limit the use of exclamation marks and caps lock as this can be construed as screaming or yelling. 

Then, be ready for what’s next. Use your free time at home, not fretting over the news, but to create templates and proactively write emails for when there is a thunderstorm that takes down trees and creates an opportunity to clean up the mess. Think it might snow again in your area before the real spring comes? Draft that email now so you’re prepared in the future. Worst case scenario, you use it next year. 

Do you need help coming up with a response to the Stay at Home Mandates? Looking for someone to proactively create press releases and email responses to clients and employees on a regular basis? Send me a message. I am happy to help.