But in reality, this isn’t the case at all. In fact, email marketing still has the highest ROI in B2B marketing. Email provides roughly $44 for every $1 spent. And one-third of marketers across the world say email marketing is their best tool for generating ROI.
The key is to keep up with the times and allow your email marketing to evolve as needed, leaving behind outdated practices in favor of what actually works in 2022. Here’s what you need to know.
B2B Clients Want Email
It’s true that social media is on the rise. But it’s also true that email marketing is still here to stay: 99% of people still consistently check their email.
Just like B2C consumers, B2B clients expect a multi-channel strategy. They want to interact on different channels. McKinsey’s research shows that omnichannel marketing is now the standard, not the exception. And email’s astronomical ROI means that it’s critical in any B2B marketing strategy. In many cases, email is more effective than social media too. Email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new leads than social media.
Five Bad Email Practices to Leave Behind
The bottom line? Email marketing isn’t dead — but certain bad email practices are. Here are the ones you should stop doing.
1. Emailing Without Consent
The GDPR laws that were implemented in 2018 now restrict certain email practices related to gathering personal data from people in the EU and UK. Businesses can’t spam hundreds of people who didn’t give consent to receive marketing communications.
Make sure your email list stays compliant by getting clear consent from your subscribers using either a checkbox on your digital email opt-in form or using a simple pen-and-paper signup form instead.
2. Not Personalizing Subject Lines
Emails with personalized subject lines boost open rates by 50%. But some reports show that only 2% of emails use personalization. This is an easy way you can get ahead.
Craft subject lines that are short and personable. First names aren’t the only way you can personalize an email subject line. Try personalizing subject lines based on birthdays, anniversaries, location, or purchase history.
3. Sending Irrelevant Content
Relevant content is more than just sticking your customer’s first name at the top of an email. Content that’s truly relevant is carefully tailored based on consumer interests and behaviors. Draw on customer data to segment your email list (more on this in a minute) and send out highly personalized content. It takes a little extra time, but your brand will benefit: Segmented, targeted, and personalized emails generate 58% of all revenue.
4. Poor Email Design
Visuals aren’t the only thing to consider when you’re designing marketing emails. User experience matters too. 60% of email opens are from mobile devices, so make sure your template is mobile responsive. You can also see better results by optimizing your call-to-action button, making it highly visible and easy to click.
5. Ignoring Engagement
Use data to see what content your readers are engaging with. Next, segment your email list (your email service provider, or ESP, should let you do this). Dividing your list into segments allows you to send highly relevant content to your subscribers.
Ignoring engagement is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. Don’t fall into this trap — make sure you learn from what content is or isn’t working.
Redo Your Email Marketing Strategy
Email is only one part of a multi-channel marketing strategy. But it’s still very much a relevant one. When you use email together with other strategies like video or social media, you’re maximizing your reach — and your company’s potential for success.
Ultimately, the reason you might not be seeing results from your email strategy is not because email marketing is dead. It’s because of how you’re doing email marketing. Could your email marketing strategy use an overhaul? Extu can help. When you join our digital marketing program, you’ll receive benefits including:
- Professional email design
- Subject line testing
- Detailed analytics to inform your content roadmap
- GDPR compliance
At Extu, our team of marketing experts take advantage of each partner’s unique campaign reports. We combine your reports with standard industry knowledge to deliver the right content at the right time. What’s more, we do everything for you — we know our partners value their time, so we’ve developed a hands-off approach for email campaign development and execution.
Ready to dive into email marketing the right way? Reach out to our team via our IT partners or brokers program page to get started.
