Sagefrog is happy to have a contributing writer, Erica Bell, guest blog for us today. Erica is an email copywriter and the Social Media Specialist at Business.com Media, Inc., a lead generation company. She writes on a number of topics, including email marketing and social media marketing trends. Erica is guest blogging on Sagefrog’s blog about B2B Email Marketing.
We’ve been hearing it for years – email marketing is being killed off. First, it was going to be phased out by instant messaging, then by social media. The truth is that email marketing isn’t going anywhere. Email is an established marketing tactic that continues to evolve as the marketing landscape as whole shifts with technological advancements and the emergence of new communications platforms, such as IM and social media. A recent BtoB Online study, “Email Marketing: An Established Channel Evolves,” looked at the ways in which email has developed from a simple message into the automated, engaging campaigns now prevalent. Here are a few of the top takeaways and email marketing tactics.
Pulling the Trigger on Automation
The BtoB Online study found that the content that inspires registration is the most common trigger for an email campaign: 63% of respondents reported that event and trade show registrations provide leads for email marketing campaigns, with 62% saying that it’s form registration for webinars and white papers. An automated email campaign that responds to action taken is essential and as Business.com notes in an email marketing blog post, accurate timing is key to email marketing success. A quick turnaround, from registration to an email landing in their inbox, ensures they don’t forget your business or brand.
Hoisting the Homegrown
Homegrown email databases are still a favorite for B2B marketers. 84% of respondents favored homegrown email lists to those they acquire through vendors. A purchased or bought email list may be seen as less favorable due to quality, permissions, higher bounce rates and the number of people who are also going to be receiving and sending to this new database they are acquiring. Before your business begins building on to its current database, consider whether or not bought or rented email lists will help you achieve the desired results and ROI.
Boosting the Email Budget
Marketing budgets shift within each company and industry every year. As new media outlets arrive and come to the forefront, budgets and resources have to be reallocated. BtoB found that for email budgets, the biggest change from last year was in the budget boost among relatively big email spenders. The percentage of marketers spending $150,000 to $250,000 annually rose from 6% to 8% year over year. Those who are spending on email marketing continue to see the value in doing so and as such are increasing their budgets. In order to perform well, make sure your business is investing in the right areas of its email program, whether it is a better design, mobile optimization, or new send and segmentation strategies.
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