Businesses invest a lot in finding the right marketing technique for their brand. There are several new-age marketing styles, like influencer marketing and social media marketing, that are on the rise today. However, one strategy that has been around longer than any of those and still remains relevant is email marketing.
Even with the amount of time that email marketing has been around, though, engaging your customers and managing and growing your contact list can feel nearly impossible without some assistance.
That’s where email marketing software comes in. Choosing the right software will help you keep track of your customer lists, create, send and measure your email marketing campaigns. Here’s a breakdown of what to consider when choosing an email marketing software for your business.
Why is email marketing important?
Email marketing is so popular because it is one of the most effective methods to create long-lasting relationships with customers. In fact, according to a 2017 survey from the Content Marketing Institute, 93% of B2B marketers use email to distribute content.
An eMarketer survey also found that email marketing efforts had an 81% acquisition rate and an 80% retention rate. As a comparison, the same study found social media only accounted for 51% of customer acquisition and has a 44% retention rate.
[See more: A Guide to Email Marketing.]
Email marketing can have a huge impact on your business, so it’s important to choose the email marketing software that best complements your needs.
The type of software you choose depends entirely on your business and its needs.
Capabilities to look for in your email marketing software
The type of software you choose depends entirely on your business and its needs. Here are three things to consider when choosing an email marketing software for your business:
- Integration. You’ll want to ensure the platform integrates seamlessly with your other processes, like your CRM, to eliminate any unnecessary additional steps.
- Viewing options. Many consumers check their email on their mobile devices. If your email marketing template is not mobile-friendly, you’ll miss a major mark.
- Response handling. Email marketing is more than just sending out a newsletter or ad every few days. Whether your business is small or large, you’ll have to establish efficient email response handling. Consider software that allows automated responses or creates tickets for customer responses.
Top email marketing software features for audience engagement
Today, email marketing requires more effort than sending promotional emails to random people with the hope of attracting new customers. Here are a few specific features to look for to make sure you engage with your audience on a deeper level and make profitable conversions:
- Personalization. Consumers have come to expect spam email flooding their inbox and will ignore or delete blast emails. To entice people to open your emails, make sure your marketing platform has intuitive personalization features. According to Experian, personalized emails have 29% higher open rates, resulting in six times higher transaction rates.
- Segmentation. If your emails are not relevant to your users, they’ll be sent to the trash. Segmenting or grouping your customers by their purchase history, browsing activity or demographics will help you craft messages that are relevant to each user. According to Campaign Monitor, segmented campaigns have resulted in a 760% increase in revenue generated by email, so make sure your email marketing platform has this functionality.
- Automation. As your business grows, it will become virtually impossible to give individual attention to every customer. Make sure your email marketing platform has built-in automation features to send personalized emails to the right people at the right time.
There’s no right or wrong when deciding on an email marketing platform for your business. The platform you choose depends entirely on your needs, experience and desires as a business owner. Once you settle on the software that best suits your brand, work on boosting your email marketing campaign.
CO— does not review or recommend products or services. For more information on choosing the best email marketing services, visit our friends at business.com.
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