10 reasons why email marketing is key for lead generation

With the prominent rise of social media, you can be forgiven for listening to the “email is dead” whispers. The truth is, however, that email is very far from dead and in fact, makes up an integral part of any successful marketing strategy.

According to this report from the Direct Marketing Association “Email has an average ROI of $38 for each $1 spent. ” The incredible statistics in this report show that email marketing is most likely the most effective way to reach your target audience.

Email is a dynamic and responsive way to get the right information to the right people, and these are 10 reasons why email marketing is essential for lead generation:

YOU CAN USE AN OPT-IN STRATEGY

Buying email lists and spamming your potential customers is a sure way to get them to unsubscribe before reading your email, which is obviously the opposite of what you want. Focusing on an opt-in strategy allows your email marketing to reach the people who actually want your content. Give your potential and existing clients the option to receive newsletters, emails, and advertising and you will find that your click-through rates will increase as a direct result of having people that genuinely look forward to receiving your content.

IT ALLOWS YOU TO SEND VALUABLE OFFERS

The great thing about email marketing is that it can be segmented. That means that you can split up your customer database according to certain criteria like their stage in the buying cycle, their demographics or simply what product or service they are interested in. When you know what it is that your customers are looking for, you can then create high-quality content that is well received by the customer that includes valuable offers like downloads and products. The more segmented your email marketing is, the more likely each email will resonate with the person who receives it.

IT’S COST EFFECTIVE

One of the biggest advantages of email marketing is the fact that it is incredibly cost effective. There is no need to spend money on printing, posting or advertising, which means that the return on investment of email marketing is much higher than most other forms of marketing.

IT’S MEASURABLE

The success of any campaign relies on the data and analytics gathered that allow you to see how well your campaign is working and where it is failing. Other forms of marketing can be difficult to measure and generally give back mostly estimated results. Emails are a channel that can be measured precisely, and your delivery, open, click-through and subscriber rates can be measured to the exact number. These are also great as they aren’t just numbers telling you where to improve but also give you direct insight into your target market’s interests and habits so that you can adjust to fit them perfectly.

IT’S CUSTOMISABLE AND PERSONALISED

We’ve already spoken about CTAs in our previous blog, and being able to send the right information to the right people at the right time. What’s more, is that if you use your email marketing software to the best of its ability – you will be able to send out personalised emails that have the reader’s name in the subject line. Not only is there more chance of the reader opening an email directed to them by name, but they will also find relevant and valuable information within the email that makes it more likely for them to open your next email.

ACCESSIBILITY

Another great factor about email marketing is that it’s extremely accessible. Long gone are the days of waiting to get to the computer to download emails, as the explosion of mobile phone technology has made it possible to open emails where ever you are. According to TechCrunch, 75% of Gmail’s massive 900 million strong user base open their emails on their mobile phone, this shows that your emails are reaching their intended target no matter where they are.

IT INCREASES BRAND AWARENESS

Every single time someone is opening an email from you, they are being exposed to your logo, name and your (hopefully) high-quality content. Email marketing is a great way to build brand awareness and build value for your business. This way, when a customer needs a service or product that you offer they will think of your business and are much more likely to move from a being a lead into a loyal client.

IT’S SHAREABLE

While it’s incredibly easy to share content on social media, emails are just as shareable (if not more so). If a customer receives an email that has an offer they love, or someone they know will love, all they have to do is click the forward button. Customers who forward your emails are a form of brand ambassador that exposes you to more brand awareness and recognition every time they send the information on to someone else. This makes it all the more important to ensure that your content is valuable and sent to the relevant target market.

HIGHER CLICK THROUGH RATES THAN SOCIAL MEDIA

We don’t deny that social media is necessary and very effective when it comes to marketing campaigns. However, Facebook, for example, has less than 3% click through rate for the best campaigns, whereas emails have around a 20% open rate – with this information in hand – you know that your message is around 6 times more likely to be seen in email form rather than social media.

THE VOLUME OF CONTENT ISN’T AS HIGH AS SOCIAL MEDIA

The main thing that makes social media wide-reaching, innovative and effective, is the very same thing that makes it a very hard marketing channel to successfully navigate: the sheer amount of content. This high volume of content makes social media highly competitive and 55 million Facebook statuses are created every day, this means that only a small amount of your audience actually get to see your updates. The competition is much less fierce with email marketing, as your information is making it straight into your targets’ inboxes and this makes it more likely that your customers will see and click on your email than they are to notice a social media update.

Email marketing is certainly one of the most essential channels to use in a successful marketing campaign, and it is absolutely key for lead nurturing and generation. If you would like to get more expert information, tips, tricks and advice on how customized digital communications can help your business get better lead generation,