Q: Dear Mr. Steve Strauss: I have an export trading business with some problems. When I get foreign customers’ contact information, and send e-mail to them, how and what could I say that could let them trust us and use our service? I have tried several times to connect with some new customers, but I get no feedback mail, so what's the problem?
Thank you.
David - Shanghai
A: David, the fact that your letter comes from China is evidence of both the promise and peril of business in the globalized Internet age. The promise is that there are far more opportunities for all of us to reach many more people. Markets are available — virtual and physical — that were not around even a dozen years ago. So a great opportunity awaits those who are brave enough to tap this new world.
So the question really is — How? How do we tap the promise of these emerging markets? That's where the peril comes in. For, you see, the old rules don’t apply in this new world.
In the B.I. age (Before Internet), business was more personal, and certainly more physical. It was rare that any of us did business with people that we did not know or had not met. Sure, it occurred, but it was more the exception than the rule.
Today? Today it is common to do business with people you have never physically met. I have been writing this column for six years, yet only met in person my editor at USA TODAY a year ago. I am sure this is true for many of you as well. Virtual relationships abound.
But what that also means is that we need to invent some new rules for this new age. How does a company build trust in the non-virtual world? You meet people, crack a joke, look them in the eye, check out their store, call references — you know the drill. But because you can’t actually meet someone online, the old ways of building rapport and establishing trust do not apply. Yet establishing rapport and building trust are no less important in the online world; the difference is how you do it.
Because we are all so inundated with spam these days, blindly sending cookie-cutter emails to potential leads simply will not cut it. Either e-mail filters will zap them or people will ignore them. So the first secret to establishing rapport is that for every prospect you send an e-mail to, the e-mail must be personalized. Find the name of the person you need to connect with and send the email directly to that person at their own email address.
But that is just the start. Your email solicitation must very quickly answer the question that is in the mind of the reader — “What is in this for me?” You have to be offering something they want, or better yet, need.
Here are a few more ways to make sure your e-mail solicitations get read:
My brother is my Director of Marketing and we do a lot of e-mail solicitations and online business this way. It is very effective. The more you can show your prospects that you are legitimate, the better your chances.
Today’s tip: When I asked my brother what he thought the secret to our success with solicitation e-mails was, he said, “The e-mails don’t have to be short, but they do need to be catchy, succinct and to the point. Have an attention-grabbing intro, use examples and links, and make it easy to respond via e-mail or phone.”