What B2B Marketers Can Learn from Email Marketing Campaigns
Mar 27 2019 | 11:00 PM | 3 Mins Read | Level - Basic | Read ModeCourtenay Worcester Director US Marketing, GetResponse
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Courtenay Worcester is the U.S. Director of Marketing for GetResponse. She is responsible for driving the company's marketing strategy in the U.S. including positioning, competitive analysis, lead generation, customer engagement, and brand awareness. She brings more than 10 years of experience in digital marketing to GetResponse. Prior to joining GetResponse, Courtenay drove corporate events for Seismic Software, a leader in sales enablement and content management. She has additional corporate and digital marketing experience gained at Attend, Inc. where she developed traditional, digital, and event marketing strategies that attracted and engaged target segments.
Courtenay Worcester, U.S. Director of Marketing, GetResponse, shares insight based on recent email marketing survey by GetResponse. She also covers corporate investments in email marketing, industry-wide best practices, and the challenges keeping marketers up at night.
A recent survey conducted by GetResponse and Ascend sheds light on the current state of email marketing among B2B companies. Of the survey participants, 18 percent were employed at companies with more than 500 employees. Companies with between 50-500 employees made up 26 percent of respondents and companies with fewer than 50 employees represented 56 percent of the survey respondents. Below are the key takeaways from the survey.
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DownloadEmail Marketing Budgets Are on the Rise, Increases Linked to Campaign Performance
According to the survey, two thirds of B2B marketers, or 63 percent, report that they are moderately increasing their email marketing budgets this year. Not surprising, two thirds of survey participants also reported an improvement in their campaign results.
However, not every business is investing more resources into email marketing this year. The survey revealed that 18 percent were decreasing their investments in the marketing channel. Interestingly, the survey also found that 17 percent report that their email marketing campaign performance is declining. Arguably, those companies that increase their efforts and investments in email marketing are realizing stronger campaign results.
Also Read: Latest Email Marketing Benchmarks Reveal Global Trends Across Industries
Top Objectives of Email Marketing Campaigns
The objectives of email marketing campaigns vary based on the strategy, goals and offerings of each company. Yet most campaigns are typically driven by the need to increase engagement and drive leads and conversions.
Breaking down the specifics behind the campaign objectives, survey respondents were asked, “What are the primary objectives for an email marketing strategy to achieve?” According to the survey, the number one answer was increasing engagement (25%). This was followed by increasing lead generation (20%) and improving brand awareness (19%). Further down the list was conversions (18%), personalization at seven percent and increasing list growth at six percent.
Of less concern was improving list data quality. This could likely be a result of last year’s GDPR mandate, which drove many email marketers to clean up their lists and confirm subscribers.
Engagement, Conversions, Lead Generation Cited as Top Three Challenges
When it comes to determining the most critical challenges driving the success of an email marketing strategy, participants were almost evenly split with regard to the top three responses. Below are their responses to the question, “What are the most critical challenges to the success of an email marketing strategy?”
- Increasing engagement: 21%
- Increasing conversions: 19%
- Increasing lead generation: 18%
- Improving list data quality: 16%
- Improving personalization: 12%
- Increase list growth: 8%
- Improving brand awareness: 6%
The Top Three Most Effective Types of Email Marketing Campaigns
While every company can cite different approaches and varying results in pursuit of campaign goals, the survey sought answers to the most effective approaches overall. When asked “What are the most effective types of email?” the majority of respondents cited single topic/dedicated emails (26%). This was followed by personalization (23%) and automated/lead nurturing (15%).
In general, it’s clear that email marketing will continue to be a core part of the B2B marketer’s toolkit. While the survey results reveal increased investments in the channel, there’s also room for improvement when it comes to engagement and personalization. Of note, while “increasing conversions” ranked at the top of email marketer’s primary objectives, it’s also found to be among its top challenges. This shows that while campaign objectives are clear, the ability to achieve the goals is not always easy.
Also Read: 5 B2B Email Marketing Best Practices You Can't Afford to Miss
Results can be hindered by experience, dedication to the channel, clean lists, and the technology’s ability to overcome those top challenges. The key for email marketers is to understand the underlying causes. One way to resolve this is through advanced analytics that provide a big picture view as well as micro insights. Adding to this is the need to step back from their own results and see how they’re stacking up against the competition. Meanwhile, email service providers will continue to enhance their offerings to address common challenges, providing the tools and insights that make it easier to boost campaign performance.
