If you’re a small business or start-up, it can seem difficult to get the ball rolling when trying to promote your products or services to the world.
That’s where email marketing comes in. It is generally free, it is easily accessible, and it’s simple to master!
Here are 5 reasons why email marketing is a better route than other forms of marketing for B2B:
It is the most popular marketing channel
Who hasn’t heard of email? Did you know, there are more than 3.8 billion email accounts in the world? That’s like saying every other person on the world has an email account.
Now, email is a broad market, and compared to social media, it is the easiest way to get hold of leads that are business-minded. Custom email domains are your way forward, and you’ll realise it is a lot easier to find those B2B prospects through searching a company’s email contact address, as opposed to messaging people on Facebook. Social media marketing is indirect, and is best kept in the B2C format – So if you’re B2C, perhaps try both!
Email is a more formal way of marketing, and you have to look professional!
If you want to stand out as a business that knows what they are doing, popping up to someone on Facebook, Twitter, or even LinkedIn probably won’t do you much good (It might work, it’s just a little bit intrusive).
Email is where businesses want to receive contact ideally – Emails can be seen by everyone in the organisation generally (info@ sales@ emails work best for this).
If you try and call a director/owner, chances are you won’t be pitching to him, but the receptionist there. The same goes with social media marketing – Depending on the size of the company you’re trying to form a relationship with, you might just be messaging the IT guy there, or just somebody who works in admin.
Marketing emails on the other hand, can be picked up by the owners when they are casually scrolling through their inbox, and if you can catch their eyes with a good subject line, you’re golden!
Email marketing delivers the highest average ROI
The stats don’t lie! Email marketing offers by far the highest rate of return on your initial investment, sometimes as high as £40 per £1 spent ( A 4000% return!). You don’t have to pay for advertising, you don’t need to leave the office or your place of work, and best of all, you can start building your list straight from your website.
A direct approach to marketing
You might think social media marketing or TV advertising could work wonders as a new business, but in truth, it is very hard to consistently gather people’s attention. As you aren’t a recognised brand, you need another way of gaining people’s attention. Email marketing gives you an even playing field, and if you learn how to use subject lines, imagery and tone to your advantage, you’ll get those emails opened in no time at all.
Plus, when you send emails, it goes straight to the person’s or the business’s inbox, as opposed to if you’re advertising on Facebook. A timeline or news feed gets scrolled through more easily, and people are more caught up with trends and funny videos these days, rather than looking for new services to help their business.
You can build a contact list that is secure and flexible
With other forms of marketing, you don’t really have a way of building a list of contacts – Social media marketing is based off people liking your page, and advertising is based on anonymous clicks.
Email marketing on the other hand, gives you a way of accessing basic information about people, such as their name, age, email address and gender. This is where you can start off your first email campaign – Get a sign-up form on your website, offer a sign-up freebie like a guide or catalogue, and get your mailing list built up!
