One of the questions we often hear is “What’s the best marketing I can do to gain new clients?” As you might imagine, the answer is always complex. The “best marketing” for one location may be ineffective for another. The competitive landscape, location and population demographics all influence a business’ marketing mix.

One suggestion we almost always make, however, is to implement an email marketing program as early as possible.

We encourage our partners to utilize email marketing for the following important reasons.

1. It’s is personal. When you take the time to send a message, you take the conversation to another level. Your communication encourages existing clients to return for a second visit. The same messaging can also help a first-time client take the next step and schedule a consultation.

2. It helps with client retention and loyalty. Email marketing can help you keep the clients you’ve won and increase loyalty to your brand. Most large brands recognize this and try to stay in front of their customers. Whether the brand is marketing shoes or expensive handbags, they take the time to communicate to their customers. The rule of thumb is simple: if you’re not communicating with you client list, somebody else will.

3. It is great for referrals. Email marketing can deepen your connection to your clients and, in doing so, encourage your existing fans to tell others about you and your services. You need to consider the message carefully. Try to be entertaining, yet informative. Take the time to inspire others with a success story or provide information that your clients will absolutely love. This is the kind of messaging that gets shared and forwarded. The end result is that you earn new business.

The one thing you should never do in your email marketing is make a hard sales pitch. It’s fine to mention special offers and discounts. Most recipients will appreciate the chance to save a little money. But never send a message that simply sells your services. Doing so will only encourage people to unsubscribe.

Keep in mind that email marketing works best when integrated into a full marketing mix that includes social media, SEO, live events and traditional methods. It is not the only tactic that anyone should employ. Thanks to tools such as Constant Contact, AWeber and many others, email marketing is now extremely cost efficient. Once you have the hang of the system you choose, it takes very little time to maintain.

The bottom line is that email marketing can help you keep the clients you already have and attract new ones. Any marketing tool that accomplishes both is definitely one of the “best.”