9.1: Is Email Marketing Outdated? Why One Well-Timed Email Still Brings Customers Back

Email marketing isn't outdated. For a small shop it's still the cheapest and most direct way to talk again to customers who've already visited, because an email list belongs to you, not to Facebook. One email sent to the right person at the right time can bring in a few bookings without a dollar of ad spend.

Many owners hear "email marketing" and think spam. Fair enough, since everyone's inbox is full of it. But spam is email sent to strangers without permission. An email from your shop to your own customers, who agreed to receive it, is a different thing entirely.

This is the first of six posts on email. It answers two questions: is email still worth doing, and where should your shop start?

What is email marketing, in plain terms?

It's sending emails to customers who gave you their address, to stay in touch and invite them back.

Think of the card a shop sends to regulars: a birthday greeting, news of something new, a "we haven't seen you in a while". Except it goes by email and can run automatically.

Why email is still worth it in the age of Facebook and TikTok

The list is yours

Followers belong to the platform. If the platform changes what it shows, locks your page, or goes down for an afternoon, you lose contact with your customers. An email list stays in your hands and moves with you to any software.

Email reaches the right person

When you post to your page, only a small share of followers see it. An email lands in each person's inbox. Whether they open it is another matter, but it arrives.

It costs very little

Sending to 300 customers costs almost nothing more than sending to 30. Many email tools have a free plan for small lists.

It can run automatically

Write once and the software keeps sending: a welcome email, a birthday email, a "long time no see". Post 9.5 covers this in detail.

Email versus posts, SMS and chat messages

Email doesn't replace the others. Each has its job:

• •SMS for tomorrow's appointment reminder.
• •Zalo and Messenger for answering questions.
• •Email for the longer story: the monthly offer, a new service, a greeting.

An honest note: many older members of our community rarely open email and are far more at home on Zalo. So email works best with younger customers, English-speaking customers and office workers. Use them side by side.

What email marketing is NOT

• •It's not buying an email list and blasting it. That breaks the law and damages your name.
• •It's not daily sending. One or two emails a month is enough for most shops.
• •It's not all discounts. Good emails are useful: nail care tips, a seasonal dish, a story from the shop.

The law to know: CASL

Canada's anti-spam law is called CASL. In plain terms it comes down to three things:

1. •Get consent before sending promotional email.
2. •Say clearly who you are, including your shop name and contact details.
3. •Give an easy way to unsubscribe in every email.

Decent email tools add the unsubscribe link for you. Post 9.2 goes deeper on asking permission.

A 10-minute self-check: what does your shop have?

Answer these five:

1. •How many customer email addresses does your shop have?
2. •Where are they: booking software, a notebook, receipts, or scattered?
3. •Were customers asked before you saved their email?
4. •Can you tell regulars from one-time visitors?
5. •When did you last email your customers?

If the answer to 1 is "no idea" and to 5 is "never", you have sleeping revenue: people who came and paid, and nobody has invited them back.

Where to start

• •This week: do the self-check above and gather emails into one place.
• •Next week: start collecting emails properly in the shop (post 9.2).
• •After that: prepare a small gift that makes people want to sign up (post 9.3).

Don't rush to buy software. Get a clean list first.

Quick recap

• •Email isn't outdated. It's a channel you own, it's cheap, and it automates well.
• •Email doesn't replace SMS or Zalo. It does a different job: long-term care.
• •Only email people who agreed, say who you are, and let them unsubscribe.
• •First task: count how many emails you have and where they live.

Next up (9.2): how to ask for a customer's email without annoying them.

If your customer list is scattered across several places, Wizy CRM brings it together and sends automated emails and messages from there. Questions? Book a free 15-minute consultation.

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✍️ About the author: Do Ngoc Hoan Founder of Wizy.ca, a marketing agency for Vietnamese businesses in Ontario. I write to make marketing simple for busy shop owners — no confusing jargon. More at dongochoan.com.