Hoursmap Introduces Ultra-Affordable Email Marketing Suite to Help Local Businesses Recover From the Pandemic

Hoursmap’s all-in-one email marketing and referral platform enables local businesses to share information, get customers to return, and attract new customers. Businesses may choose the self-serve Essentials Plan for only $7.50 a month or let Hoursmap develop and manage their email marketing campaigns with the Standard+ Plan for just $89 per month

As local businesses work to recover from the pandemic, they are dealing with changing Covid recommendations while also managing labor shortages and rising inflation. Local businesses realize the importance of connecting with customers to share updated rules, hours of operation, and available services. Yet, the evolving pandemic landscape and labor shortages make it difficult for the businesses to adopt new technologies or take on yet another expense.

With the launch of Hoursmap’s Essentials Plan , local businesses can access a suite of digital marketing tools to connect with current customers while attracting new ones. Businesses can set up online menus (or list of services), send emails to customers, and offer referral programs. Ready-to-print QR code flyers enable in-person customers to sign up for emails and access information. Unlike online marketing tools with a steep-learning curve, businesses can get up and running in minutes with Hoursmap. Priced at $7.50 a month (or $90 a year), it costs significantly less than similar options.

For local businesses that want to increase revenue, email marketing is a powerful tactic that will bring customers back again and again. Many business owners assume that the best way to increase revenue is attracting new customers. In fact, a study cited by Harvard Business Review indicates that getting just 5 percent of customers to return on a regular basis could increase revenue by 25 to 95 percent.

Unlike other email marketing services currently available, the Hoursmap platform charges only for contacts emailed, rather than for contacts stored. This can result in significant cost savings for hard-hit or budget-conscious local businesses.

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Email contact lists grow with time, which means higher and higher costs for the businesses as time passes. For example, if a customer last opened an email over a year ago, should the contact be kept or deleted to save on email costs?

In an industry first, Hoursmap’s innovative SmartList Algorithm solves this dilemma by lowering the cost for the businesses while reducing inbox clutter for their customers. For example, if a business has over 500 contacts, they would pay $21 to $45 a month with other email services. With Hoursmap, they can just choose to email the top 250 contacts per month by selecting the Essentials Plan and pay only $7.50 per month. The SmartList Algorithm will email contacts that haven’t opened an email in a while, but only a few times a year.

What happens if a business decides not to send emails temporarily, perhaps because they are short on staff, closed for renovations, or because it’s the slow season? With other email services, the business would still pay $21 to $45 a month, just to store the contacts. If they have thousands of contacts, they would pay around $100 a month. With Hoursmap, the same business would pay just $7.50 per month.

To help businesses attract new customers, the Essentials Plan includes a referral platform that makes it easy for customers to refer large numbers of people at a time. Internet referral marketing is viral word-of-mouth marketing that is commonly utilized by online companies such as DoorDash but under-utilized by brick-and-mortar businesses. With Hoursmap, local businesses can set up a referral program in mere minutes, with no coding required. It’s an invaluable tool, particularly for service businesses that rely on word-of-mouth, such as salons, auto services, and activities for kids.

The marketing suite also includes QR code flyers and landing pages for online menus, lists of services, and other information. Customers can click for driving directions, tap to call the business, or access online ordering pages. In-person restaurant customers can access online menus and view food images.