Email marketing might be a cheap and easy way to deliver a message to your key prospects, but get it wrong and the price could be dear. Research shows that as a marketing tool it is on the rise; the B2B Marketing Insight report 2007 uncovered it as the fastest growing medium in terms of investment, but as with any upward trend there is the danger that without boundaries it will eventually crash and burn. This effect has already been seen to some extent in the B2C sector, thanks to a proliferation of spammers and their relentless attack on inboxes.
While the threat of spamming may not be as great an issue within B2B marketing given its natural tendency to be much more targeted, it is still one of several things to consider when devising an email campaign. The physical act of putting an email together, complete with pictures and fancy fonts, is child’s play given the number of software tools on standby to assist, but the thought process surrounding its conception is crucial for any marketer who doesn’t want their efforts to end up straight in the spam or deleted items folder. Read on to discover the seven steps that read win, not sin, for your email campaign.
1. Keep it clean
An email campaign is nothing without a list of contacts to send it to. And while it might be tempting to get your campaign in front of as many people as possible, it actually makes more sense to ensure the database of contacts you do have is of a high quality.
As a starting point, use your existing contacts that are relevant targets and acquire others from appropriate and credible bodies to grow the list. Regularly cleanse the data so that it always contains valid targets -and on a more basic level – up to date email addresses. And use the existing customer base to help support your data management strategy.
“Getting the customer involved in an interactive process is a great way of managing your data attributes,” explains Bill Marjot, director of operations at marketing agency Planet. “An interactive process, whereby receivers can manage their own preferences and opt in and out of the communications as they please, means your customer data set is regularly cleansed. Organisations that practice this are shown to maintain a greater level of opt-ins.”
2. Don’t spam your audience
There is a fine line between what a target considers literature worth reading and spam, according to Ed Weatherall, MD at email specialist Concep. “People aren’t likely to consider reading something that isn’t of personal interest and directed at them,” he says. This doesn’t just mean making sure the recipient’s name goes at the top of the email; because as Weatherall points out, it’s of little use personalising an email to the CEO of a company and then offering him an IT service that is probably not within his remit.
Consider three key things before you send out a communication to help make sure your emails don’t end up in the trash can: relevance, content and frequency. Be aware too that if you hire an agency to implement a one-off campaign, its drive to achieve the maximum number of sales without looking at the bigger picture could do long term damage.
“There is no assessment of the knock on effect for the next campaign,” says Weatherall. “A bad email campaign can yield good ROI short term, but if you’ve upset five targets for every one you have won, you’ve done yourself long term damage. Remember that the B2B sales cycle is longer than a B2C one.”
3. Keep it legal
Unless you want to end up in court or with a hefty fine, this is a crucial consideration to make. A lazy approach in adhering to legislation will do much more damage than a failed campaign. Not only will respect for the brand be lost, your company will forever have a black mark against its name legally.
“Put simply, marketers must have permission to email someone and the addresses they use must comply with UK data law,” points out Nigel Bennett, sales director at data provider Market Location.
“In addition, each email has to give the recipient a chance to opt-out and include details of the sending company. Not only are these legal requirements but they will also foster trust and build confidence in the brand.”
4. Content is king
It may sound obvious, but the content needs to be relevant to each and every recipient. Unlike B2C, which generally relies on mass marketing methods, B2B campaigns are more often about showing attention to key accounts.
Broadly speaking, there are two routes to consider, depending on the size of the business you are targeting, says Paul Coffey, client services director at digital marketing agency Twentysix London. SMEs want in-depth, thorough leadership pieces which are relevant to their sectors and give them access to information and views not normally readily available. Larger corporate clients, however, want a more bespoke and personalised communication.
“Corporates demand that B2B communications reflect their privileged position at the top of the sales food chain. Email marketing in this context is adjunct to the day-to-day communication between salesman and client and consequently, content has a greater emphasis on personalisation and account management rather than all out sales messaging,” he says. Above all, an email campaign is a user-driven one, so constantly ask yourself ‘what’s in it for them to make them want to keep subscribing?’.
5. Watch your formatting
Content might well be king, but even the most relevant and targeted copy in the world will go unread if the formatting is bad. There are three main points to consider here, according to Denise Cox, newsletter specialist at Newsweaver. Firstly, the format of your email should make it look clear, quick and easy to read. “Business people are time starved so you need to get to the point quickly, which your formatting should reflect,” she says. Secondly, be aware that a large number of email software packages allow for image blocking these days. “You need to be able to get your message across without relying on images, but at the same time encourage the receiver to want to switch their image function on to look at your product,” she says. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, give great consideration to the subject line. “It is crucial in enticing people to read your email. Keep it to between 37 and 50 words, as statistics have shown that people are turned off by long subject lines,” Cox advises.
6. Look at the bigger picture
“When used correctly, email is an excellent marketing tool,” says Mark Grey, MD at e-marketing agency Abachi. “But it must be used as one, integrated part of the overall marketing mix.” Email campaigns are more vulnerable than most of falling victim to the ‘blast’ approach, considering their minimal price tag and the ease with which they can be sent. Consider that your email design template should fit with the overall corporate design so that it remains an identifiable part of your brand and to avoid your e-campaign looking like an afterthought to your marketing plan. “The entire process must be embedded within the overall marketing campaign to ensure messages reflect the voice of the organisation and build upon existing brand values,” says Grey.
7. Review each campaign
Learning from the achievements or failures of a campaign can only make your next one stronger. “An email campaign shouldn’t be seen as a one hit wonder, and you should take your learnings to the next level,” says Philip Scotcher, head of digital at brand response agency Personal.
Carrying out a comprehensive review means tracking everything, not just click-through rates but opt-out rates, clickable links, emails, telephone calls and faxes received in relation to the mail-out. In the early days, email campaigns were measured against their out-bound push but technology is now sophisticated enough to follow the process the whole way through, so take advantage. Quantify your responses too. “Remember that ten responses from 50 is better than five responses from 500,” points out Scotcher.
