With 64% of marketers lacking the time and resources they need, it’s only natural that some best practices might slip through the cracks when it comes to email marketing.
Colby Cavanaugh, SVP of Marketing at Emma, uncovers some of the key items to evaluate that might be missing from marketers’ email strategies in order to quickly get more ROI from marketing efforts.
What are some of the key components many marketers are missing from their email strategies?
Colby Cavanaugh: Email is such an effective channel that far too many marketers are still sending their audience irrelevant, “batch-and-blast” emails. They don’t feel like they have to change.
But inboxes are already incredibly crowded, so delivering relevant, personalised email is a must if you want to hit your goals and take your marketing to the next level. And with the sheer amount of powerful tools at our fingertips (like segmentation, automation, and data integrations), there’s really no excuse not to get to know your subscribers and send the kind of personalised, data-driven email that truly gets results.
What are a few tips email marketers can follow to ensure more ROI is generated from marketing efforts?
CC: Marketers that are thinking in terms of “What do I want to tell my audience today?” aren’t taking full advantage of email as a channel. When it comes to generating the highest possible ROI, the key for marketers is to get closer to their customers, track their behaviour, and trigger one-to-one communications based on their actions in-store, on the website, or wherever they engage with a brand. That’s what will pull people farther down the funnel and drive conversions.
Why (and how) can marketers embrace automation for email?
CC: If you think about it, what are the attributes of a successful email? It’s timely, relevant, and personal. By firing based on actions your subscribers take, automated emails check all three boxes – and you never even have to hit send. That’s probably why automated email messages average 70.5% higher open rates and 152% higher click rates (Epsilon).
One of the easiest ways to get started with automation is to set up a welcome email that fires off immediately when someone signs up for your list. Not only do welcome messages typically have four times the open rate and five times the clickthrough rate of other bulk mailings (Experian), they can actually increase long-term engagement by 33% (Brightwave).
Industry reports have revealed email may be on the downturn with fewer professionals checking their business and personal email as thoroughly over the last year compared to 2016. Do you think it might be losing its momentum?
CC: Adobe may have found that people are checking email less frequently, but that doesn’t mean it’s going anywhere anytime soon. In our own 2017 Email Marketing Industry Report, we found that 47% of marketers still report that email generates the most ROI for their organisation, and 58% plan to increase spending on email marketing in 2018.
The fact of the matter is that despite all the rapidly shifting trends in tech, email remains a cornerstone for many channels: you need an email address to even sign up for most services, including social media accounts. Because of that – and because it continues to drive incredible results for businesses – I don’t believe email is losing momentum at all.
What have been the biggest challenges for this channel? And the biggest opportunities?
CC: Batch-and-blast marketing has plagued our industry for years and given email marketing a bad reputation. It certainly has its allure: it’s just so much easier, right? However, if marketers want to hit their goals, personalisation is the key. According to the Direct Marketing Association, segmented campaigns can lead to a 760% increase in revenue.
Targeted, persona-driven marketing is our biggest opportunity and the secret to success in the inbox. So stop wishing you could execute more targeted marketing, and start doing it. Analyse your data and embrace tools like segmentation, automation, and dynamic content. You’ll be amazed at the results you’ll see and the time you’ll save in the long run.
What do you think the future might bring for email marketing?
CC: Marketers that are thinking in terms of “What do I want to tell my audience today?” are going to get left behind. The key for marketers is to get closer to their customers, track their behaviour, and trigger one-to-one communications based on their actions in-store, on the website, or wherever they engage with a brand. That’s what will create the kind of personalised experiences that keep people engaged and coming back for more.