Email Marketing Facts No B2B Business Should Ignore

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Email marketing’s hardly a secret to any business, but that doesn’t mean companies don’t still have plenty to learn about it. With a sky-high ROI and a ubiquitous presence in modern life, email’s importance can’t be overstated. Here are some key facts, along with the statistics to back them up, that show just how important email is and why a marketing automation system that can manage it is vital.

Email Is Here to Stay

First, instant messaging was said to be an email killer. Then, it was social media. No matter what new marketing channels spring up around it, though, email hasn’t budged. In fact, businesses consistently rank email as their most effective marketing channel in terms of ROI year after year. In 2015, 68 percent of respondents ranked it as either “good” or “excellent,” with most of those falling in the latter category. That number’s up over previous years, showing just how robust email remains as a marketing platform.

Customization Counts

Email is key to a marketing strategy, but not all email is created equal. Customization – addressing mail directly to individual leads’ needs and interests – increases response rates by an average of 25 percent, according to marketing polls. In B2B sectors, where purchases tend to be larger and require a much longer sales interval, that figure increases dramatically. When your marketing automation system sends out customized messages, they get opened.

Mailers Have Gone Mobile

No other technology has had a more transformative effect on email than mobile devices. Today, fully 80 percent of email readers check their mail on a mobile device, and that figure rises every year. To make the most of email marketing, companies must not only be mobile-friendly but become mobile-first mailers. Responsive email design is the simple and brilliant solution to making mail accessible to everyone. With responsive design, you’re even able to anticipate devices that haven’t been built yet – good news for any business with long sales cycles.

Timing Matters More Than Ever

From microwaved meals to Google search results, people have grown to expect instant gratification. They don’t want to wait for information or spend too much time seeking it themselves when they can get it delivered to their in-boxes as they need it. One way to guarantee effortless responsiveness and flawless timing is through triggers. These messages are set to go out in response to a request from a lead or even based on that lead’s behavioral cues. Triggered emails give your prospects information precisely when they expect it – no delays involved. On average, triggered emails have a 120 percent higher open rate than the same message delivered conventionally.

Simplify and Sell

Whether it’s due to increasing time crunches or smaller mobile screens, email readers have voted with their wallets in favor of simple, streamlined email design. They want to take in all the salient details at a glance. Make it happen by including clear graphics, straightforward text, and direct calls to action in email design. When you do, consider this: Images increase email click-throughs by 65 percent on average.

Email’s too important to leave to an email service provider that can’t give you all the tools for success. Move up from email management tools to full-scale marketing automation, and you’ll build the last email marketing strategy you’ll ever need.

Sources:

EConsultancy Email Census, 2014

Marketo, “The New Metrics of Email Marketing”

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