The digital advertising industry is shifting away from licensing 3rd party data, due to data restrictions and user privacy issues. In order to survive and thrive, you should take every effort to start compiling your own electronic customer database – ideally including your customer’s name, address, phone and email. This should be permission-based, and allow for a customer to opt-out of your collection efforts. This effort will allow you to communicate directly to your database without fear of violating their user privacy and ensure they become life-long advocates and customers.

These are the 4 important steps you should take now to prepare: 

1. Start collecting your customer’s emails and/or contact information if you haven’t started to already. Whether it’s a simple ask upon check-out, or a more systematic approach on your website, always offer the user an option to decline sharing their data, in order to abide by online rules and restrictions.
   
   Insert a website pop-up window, simply asking for the email address – and include an incentive to do so. 10-20% off your first order will go a long way from a typical consumer’s perspective. Invest the time and energy to produce valuable ‘gated content’ for your website users, and offer access to this content if they will share their contact info back with you. 
   
   

2. License an email marketing platform, like MailChimp or ConstantContact, so you can start emailing your customers with valuable tips and offers to keep them engaged with your brand on a consistent basis. Be sure and provide the opportunity to opt-out of your list and communications in the process.   
   
   

3. Pay attention to the platform reporting, to see what content performs the best from an open-rate and click-through perspective. Even better, provide a unique offer to your audience so you can also calculate the ROI on your campaign. 
   
   

4. Contact 2060 Digital now to get help! Hubbard Cincinnati’s 2060 Digital is a Premier Google Partner, a classification that puts us in the top 1% of digital marketing agencies. We have a dedicated email marketing support team, based locally in Cincinnati, offering our partners the latest and greatest support needed to stay on top of the ever-changing landscape of digital marketing and measurement.