Its low cost and instant global reach means email marketing has become an important advertising tool for many corporations. While many companies classify email as another duty of traditional marketing and advertising executives, other organizations may hire an email marketing manager who specializes in handling electronic correspondence. These managers are responsible for gathering lists of email contacts, composing marketing letters and handling customer feedback. An email marketing manager also spends time with the regular advertising and marketing teams to plan and synchronize the overall marketing strategy for the company.
One of the most important duties of an email marketing manager is handling the list of email contacts. This list can be generated from current customers who have opted to receive advertising materials or purchased from vendors who specialize in providing sales leads to clients. Managers must determine how often to send marketing emails to current or potential customers and implement a system for contacts to remove themselves from future advertisements. An email manager also may create web-based surveys to collect more demographic data about the customers.
Another part of an email manager's job is creating the marketing materials that will be sent to customers. This usually involves coordinating with internal or external copywriters and graphic artists to produce advertisements that will persuade contacts to purchase goods or services from the company or thank an existing customer for his patronage. The messaging in these materials may be part of a larger advertising campaign involving print and other media or an independent strategy developed by the email marketing manager. While the conversion rate of email marketing campaigns is usually low, this messaging can help reinforce other advertising and act as a reminder to customers.
Once a campaign has begun, an email marketing manager must judge the customer response to the company’s messaging and adjust future marketing accordingly. The manager must verify that the email messages contain accurate, up-to-date information and that contacts are not being besieged by too many emails that they will ignore or delete. Messaging may be adjusted to fit changing demographics or to reflect a company’s latest offerings.
As more consumers turn to the Internet for shopping and consumer information, email managers will become increasingly important assets for companies using email for advertising and customer retention. While some smaller organizations may assign these duties to a traditional advertising executive or assistant, a dedicated email marketing manager can focus all of his energies on creating effective, consistent messaging. This can be an excellent career opportunity for people who can successfully adapt traditional marketing strategies to an electronic medium.