Permission Marketing and How It Works

Have you ever driven to work one day, a day that happened to be your birthday, whilst bored bordering annoyed by traffic you eventually get to your desk and open your emails, and then something magical happens.

Starbucks offers you a free drink or a 15% off coupon because it’s your birthday. If this hasn’t happened, it means you haven’t given them permission to communicate with you.

In simple terms, that’s an example of permission-based marketing.

To explain it further:

The term was coined by Seth Godin.

It basically describes the ability of businesses to market to a subscriber who wants to play along and gives their permission to be marketed to.

These are people who want to receive offers and brand announcements, and they would never be annoyed by the freebies.

Let’s think about it.

Allowing your consumers the power to choose how they’re marketed to should be the most liberating and exciting thing of the 21st century.

And of course, on the business side, it could mean profitability and efficiency.

However you look at it, when consumers agree to receive your marketing emails that simply means you’ll be better equipped to cater to their interests.

It’s a win, win situation…

The scenario is, the customer provides you with their information in exchange for something of interest.

Permission Marketing: The Two Types 

Implied-permission marketing –This implies to the existing relationship between the business and the consumer.

 Express-permission marketing – This is when your audience provides you with their email information so that they can receive your marketing messages. Newsletters are one example. It’s usually used in creating new business relationships.

Where non-permission based marketing, on the other hand, means the exact opposite. Which is quite self-explanatory, and obviously has a different consumer response.

So, Is Permission marketing worth it? 

With all that’s being said, we hope you’ve figured the cost-effectiveness of permission marketing and its method.

However, that’s not the only good thing about it. Maintaining a strong customer relationship, boosting leads, and reputation building, are others.

Because ultimately, brand loyalty is the result of what you put into giving your audience. It’s about time you invest into what your customers see, customers.

Furthermore, permission-based marketing, as a business initiative, aims to generate fresh leads. Because when one subscribes to your content, that means they want to learn more about your business.

Well, we must admit. There are a few downsides to permission marketing. Like the fact that they are often automated for example, or even worse, they might be too many.

Logically, overloading a customer’s inbox with feature launches, new deals, and sales, might diminish the audience’s interest.

How to get it right? What kind of content would you require?

We’ve listed some tips to get your ball rolling:

Newsletters – For keeping your subscribers informed with stuff like your latest product changes and or updates

Promotions– Notify your subscribers about a promotional event which exclusive to their interests.

Membership perks– Entice your subscribers invested with member-only offers.

Remember, sharing irrelevant content can lead to clients opting out.

Listen to your customers; because when they sign up for weekly newsletters about Facebook marketing that means chances, they are not interested in new product sales announcements.

Examples of Permission Marketing

This form of marketing comes in many different ways.

Below are a few rules of thumb in building a rock-solid permission marketing email campaign:

• Pick content that motivates the subscriber to continue coming back for more.
• Use personality as your charm.
• Clearly declare the privacy of your consumer’s information.
• Ensure that your customer grants you the permission.
• Provide easy-to-locate unsubscribe options.

These emails should be concise, with the use of captivating graphics, and they should include a call-to-action on each page.

Tip of the day: “Later,” is one such excellent email list to subscribe to. It shares I Instagram feature updates with a clear and crisp content displays clear, including stimulating call-to-action buttons.

Conclusion: 

You’d much rather use permission marketing in your business than not because doing so will yield more results in terms of reaching your desired targets.

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

DSM is the only college to offer accredited education in the digital arena. We are accredited by the MICT SETA. We invite you to visit our website so that you can see how we can help you supercharge your career!