AUTORESPONDERS
Some may equate autoresponders with those nearly useless
instant-reply messages you receive whenever you send an e-mail
to a company (i.e., “Thank you for your question. Someone will
reply to you within 2 business days”). Actually, they can often be
effective in that they can be used as an extra arm to maintain con-
tact with the customer. Anytime you are asked to send informa-
tion, an autoresponder can do that for you.
Web Ad.vantage lists these benefits of autoresponders:
■Knowing who has requested your information
■Reducing site visits
■Tracking response rates and interest levels of your offers
■Automating follow-ups and reminders
■Saving time in sending repetitive informationTips to remember when using e-mail for marketing:
■Do ensure that each and every e-mail is responded to
promptly. Once an e-mail address is advertised, it can
be very difficult to navigate through the flood of
messages. But it is very important not to ignore or delay
an answer to a prospective customer.
■Do send positive and informative e-mails. Every single
e-mail message that leaves your office is part of the
overall marketing message.
■Do not send unwanted (or spam) e-mail messages.
These messages are often ignored or responded to with
a negative message. Instead, send mass messages using
list serves or mail lists.Measuring Success
Before you can measure the success of your electronic event mar-
keting campaign, you need to decide what you will measure your
success against. This can be determined by reviewing your origi-
nal goals and objectives. Try also reexamining two areas: place-
ment and the creative aspect. With placement, consider: Is this ap-
proach working for my organization? Is it bringing me more traffic?78 Chapter 3 Electronic Event Marketing Strategies