I'd been collecting e-mail addresses at the store for quite some time anticipating that I'd start a weekly e-mail to customers, then finally started it the Friday that the markets fell & people freaked out about the recession beginning.  Originally I'd intended on using a service like Constant Contact, but ended up simply designing the message myself and sending it out.  Once I got the voice & style I wanted to use down, it was pretty simple.  Intro - New Products This Week Blurb - Website Traffic Driver - Sales & Specials info - two coupons.  Eventually, in order to drive traffic on our slowest day of the week, I developed (and promoted in the e-mail) "The Tuesday Special" with a rock-bottom deal only available in store the following Tuesday.

It wasn't the most stylish design (I really should have used more graphics), or utilizing a fancy customer contact platform, but I was most proud of these e-mails because, simply, they did their job.  They drove interest & sales of new products, increased website traffic, increased Tuesday sales (which for many specials meant they also cleared out overstocked product), and the coupons got good response rates (almost always on multi-line tickets).  Since I knew many customers personally, I could tell after only a few weeks that engaging them by e-mail was turning "regulars" who visited monthly into weekly customers.  Some who were less technology-inclined called or visited more frequently for advice & information (which usually led to sales) because I was able to leverage the store brand I created ("The Electronics Solution Store") by e-mail and website each week.  As we built a strong e-mail database & continued sending useful information, it was almost funny how the store owner could watch me send the weekly mailing, and within ten minutes the phone would start ringing and customers would start coming in the door for the items I'd listed.  If I had to name the most successful marketing initiative I designed at Shakeshaft's, this would be it.