One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to successful email marketing

24 October 2019

How to generate leads and win new business from your email marketing campaigns.

Email marketing can now be classed as ‘traditional marketing’ – it’s been around for so long, but times have changed in the email world – no-one enjoys getting generic, irrelevant or one-size-fits-all emails. To really engage with your prospects and generate a better response, your audience needs to be segmented and your message needs to be tightly targeted, all of which will require a quality source of business data leads that meets the necessary compliance standards.

Demographics such as job title, company size, activity or even previous purchase history can be used to target those companies with the right messages.

Website analytics are available with tools such as Spotler GatorLeads which can provide a plethora of useful information about your prospects, when properly tracked. This can help you to send out targeted emails based on the pages they have or have not visited.

Previous email engagement – openers, clickers and non-responders are also segments that you can use to define & send tailored messages to.  In addition, a prospects position within the sales funnel is one of the most valuable attributes you can use to customise your message. Check out our useful blog post on data segmentation & profiling which goes into more detail on this subject.

So once you know what you want to say and to whom, how do you make sure your email is as successful as possible?

Here are some best practice top tips:

#1 Content is key

Make sure your emails are engaging and interesting to your audience, wherever they may be in the buying process. Think about what is important to your customer and view your product from their perspective.

#2 Get to the point quickly

Don’t waffle – recipients will often use their mobiles to check their emails, so optimise your message to view on a mobile, avoid clutter and include a clear call to action. Create a plain text (non HTML) version too and make sure you remove any unnecessary links.

#3 Images

If your message includes images make sure you add an “ALT tag” which gives a description of the image, for those email browsers or recipients who block images. It’s worth remembering that as the number of images in an email increases, the clickthrough rate of the email tends to decrease, so try to keep them to a minimum.

#4 Include relevant links

Make it easy for recipients to find out more about you. Include links to your website and social media accounts such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Facebook where possible.

#5 Keep up with email best practices

Limit email subject lines to 50 characters; avoid over use of exclamation marks and capitals – commonly used by spammers; avoid words that will trigger spam filters such as ‘free’; using personalisation in the subject line can be very effective, so this is always worth considering. Don’t inundate the recipient with emails – consider whether you should even send them an email in the first place.

#6 Implement a ‘nurturing’ campaign 

Don’t just send isolated emails to your prospects at random times – plan a campaign that builds interest in your product/service and starts an ongoing interaction with prospects rather than bombards them with overt sales messages.

#7 A/B testing

Quite simply a mailing list is split and separated into 2 groups and slightly differing communications are sent to each group to test which version is more effective and learn more about how to optimize your next mailing. Subject lines are one of the best & most simple areas to get started on this.

#8 Proofread

It may sound obvious, but it is vital that you send a test email to check the spelling, grammar and punctuation. Does it read well? Are you using the right tone? Is it the right length or do you ramble on! Remember to keep your language polite and to the point.

#9 GDPR compliance

As a marketer you need to understand the impact GDPR has on your marketing campaigns.

To comply with “legitimate interest”, marketers must offer a clear opt-out in any email messages & have a compelling case for why someone may be interested in their goods or services.

To comply with “consent”, marketers must ask someone for their permission to process their personal data. This could be by ticking a box online or answering yes over the telephone. Consent must be freely given, informed and unambiguous.

When it comes to GDPR it’s easy to become somewhat daunted by data and legal speak, but you can find out more from the DMA (Direct Marketing Association) on taking those first steps to GDPR compliance and they have also issued a useful GDPR checklist.

To summarise, multi-channel sales and marketing campaigns are the most successful and best practice implementation, whichever lead generation techniques you choose, is really important. We hope this brief insight into what is involved, when using email marketing, will help you make the most of the opportunities this gives you to generate leads & win new customers.

Useful Links:

Kompass Lead Generation Package: Our flexible solution to help you find, connect & engage with new prospects in the UK and across 70+ countries worldwide.

Spotler GatorLeads: Spotler work with their customers to deliver new business opportunities through their all-in-one marketing automation platform. On offer for every company with a Booster company profile on Kompass.com is FREE access to their IP website tracking service – helping you generate better value and more leads from your website.

DMA (Direct Marketing Association): A network of more than 1000 companies, of which Kompass is a member, the DMA offer research, free legal advice, political lobbying and industry guidance.

Contact Us: #seetrybuy for a FREE 14 day trial to Kompass EasyBusiness – our market-leading global B2B directory online.

Disclaimer: Please note that this blog only contains general information and insights about legal matters. The information is not advice, and should not be treated as such. Kompass.com