Business & Tech
La Verne: An Effective Tool To Grow Business - Video Email
Rather than reinventing the wheel, though, sometimes you just have to just tweak what you already have.
June 01, 2020
As businesses carve a “new normal” out of the surrealistic economic landscape created by the pandemic, they need new, creative ways to reach out to existing customers and prospect for new ones. Rather than reinventing the wheel, though, sometimes you just have to just tweak what you already have.
Gary Howarth, president/CEO of Vaxishub (pronounced vee-axis-hub), leveraged the concept of musical video greeting cards that was conceived by his nephew several years ago. It didn’t exactly take off. “I was in a booth at a World’s Largest Mixer to publicize it, and people either loved the idea or were physically repelled by it – they’d take the long way around to avoid our booth,” he recalls ruefully. The concept morphed into Record A Card, but they found competition from established on-line greeting card companies too much to overcome. They threw in the towel, Gary says, and he reassessed the business plan.
He still had Record A Card’s video email system, which he recognized as a tool for online sales. He put together templates and other helpful tools and started reaching out to small businesses, “and it worked,” Gary says. “It’s one part of what they need today – they have to sell online and have a presence, even if they’re a brick-and-mortar business.”
Social media has its place, but email is far from passé as a marketing tool because its reach actually outstrips social media, Gary points out. “Social media is hit and miss – say you have 1,000 followers on Facebook. On average, fewer than 3% will see your posts – that’s 30 people. If you have 1,000 people in your email list and 90% go through, even with a 20% open rate, you’re reaching 180 people. Plus, how do you respond to people on social media? Usually, you exchange phone numbers and emails.
“Email is the currency of the Web,” he adds. “You have to have an email address to do anything online, even signing up for social media. Vaxishub is offering solutions for email marketing that include helping businesses make a video email to give your marketing an appealing look.” Ideal, he says, for mixer follow-ups and for businesspeople who hate cold calling.
Gary, a Chamber member, former La Verne Chamber of Commerce president and former resident of 34 years, is offering a special discount for Chamber members only. For more information, click here.
- Gary Howarth President/CEO
- June 01, 2020
- (458) 226-2685
- Send Email
This press release was produced by the La Verne Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed are the author's own.
