Email marketing. Few B2B marketing tactics have been as beleaguered. The “email is dead!” battle cry rang strong for a few years, but now we’re hearing it much less frequently. It’s become universally accepted that email is here to stay. Not only that, marketers are realizing it’s an incredibly viable ‒ and valuable ‒ way to reach both prospective and loyal customers.
Email is the go-to way to communicate with all subscribers or shoppers in the most clear and concise way. In fact, B2B marketers agree that email marketing is crucial to their business and 40x more effective than social media for generating leads. You read that correctly: It’s forty times more effective.
And those numbers will only continue to grow. The current estimate is that there are 100 billion business emails being sent every day, and the number of business email accounts is expected to rise to 4.9 billion by the end of this year.
In the B2B world, email is particularly useful, as it allows for a longer “life-span” for communication, at least in comparison to social media or other forms of messaging and interaction. That means it brings you more time to make a sale or close a deal. With the rise of marketing automation programs, behavior-based email, and highly personalized segmentation, B2B marketers realize that email marketing is, and will likely continue to be, the best communication channel in terms of return on investment. In fact, 68% of companies consider email ‘good’ or ‘excellent,’ and companies credit email for bringing in 23% of total sales.
So, how are brands using email and these automation technologies to their best advantage? Let’s take a look at four brands that have figured out how to maximize email marketing and turn it into one of their best, most business-savvy advantages.
1. Moz: Bringing Carefully Curated Content
Most of the time, clients and potential clients sign up for an email list because they believe they’ll get something out of it — something they’ll find of value. This value can be provided through the content of the email. By receiving carefully curated content that’s segmented by area of expertise or industry, readers will stay engaged and become more motivated to buy a product. Email can also be a great, non-intrusive way to deliver informative content like white papers. Moz, an SEO SaaS company, sends regular newsletters and updates with high-value content like the example below.
2. Usertesting.com: Offering a Free Trial or Demo
Targeting prospective customers with a free trial or demo can be a powerful way to give them a peek at how great the product is without any pressure to make a purchasing decision. Through highly targeted email marketing campaigns, brands can make this offer and then follow up with those who do not immediately take advantage, reminding them of the limited-time offer. Usertesting.com, a leading user-experience research platform, does this well, using email to offer a free trial of their site. They focus the email on explaining who uses their product, why the target should take advantage of the free trial, and where the prospect can find further resources on the website.
3. Perfect Audience: Re-engaging Inactive Users
A recent report found approximately 40% of a typical email list is inactive, meaning nearly half the audience is no longer interacting with a brand’s communications. However, the right email, sent at the right time, can reinvigorate the interest of dormant targets. For example, Perfect Audience is a brand doing a great job using email marketing to restart conversations and remind users how they can use their product.
4. Adweek: Promoting Events and Webinars
From in-person happy hours to webinars, the point of applying resources towards events is typically to entice current or potential customers to attend and engage. Email can be an ideal tool to promote upcoming events ― from letting the audience know what will be covered to providing information about how they can register. This sort of email should also include a catchy subject line to ensure the recipient opens it. The below example from AdWeek, regarding an upcoming webinar, contains a few key email elements that make it effective. The large callouts, CTA, and descriptive-but-short paragraph about the webinar draw people in and encourage engagement.
Email Marketing Can Be Your Superpower
Email marketing is a measurable and cost-effective way to market products and services. According to impressive industry statistics, email can have a major positive impact on lead generation and client retention. Delivering targeted pieces of potent content can help B2B businesses build their clients lists, and, ultimately, increase those bottom-line profits.
Ready to learn more? Find out how your organization can stay ahead of the curve with the right email marketing and automation solution.