Tahir AkbarSalesforce.com’s 2015 state of marketing survey indicates numerous changes in the marketing world. Particularly when it comes to selection of channels to generate leads and drive sales; the priorities are shifting from ads and banners to social engagement, mobile, and effective usage of marketing automation. Check few stats below.
- 38% of marketers plan to shift spending from traditional advertising to ads on digital channels.
- 84% marketers will increase marketing budget for the year 2015.
- 73% marketers agree that email marketing is core to their business
- 41% marketers will increase spending on automation and mobile integration into their email operations.
Salesforce State of Marketing 2015
These findings indicate that email marketing is not dead; however, there is a big question mark on the success rate of campaigns as majority marketers are not satisfied with their drips. In the following, I’m sharing some suggestions to help you increase email marketing success and achieve your business goals.
Design A Content Plan For Your Drips:
Though 73% marketers take email marketing as a key enabler of products and services but majority is concerned about success rate. One of the prime reasons of failure is ‘ill-planned content.’ You need to design a dedicated content strategy for emails, newsletters, and other direct communications with prospects. Content strategy should address What, Why, Where, How, How much, How Often, and Whom. Decide what type of content will be used, in what quantity, and through which medium. In addition, keep “mobile factor” in mind as 68% marketers agree that a responsive design is a key factor in decisions regarding landing page or email template.
Understand The Hyper-Personalization Trend:
In 2015, the most effective marketing strategy is to create and deliver a ‘personalized experience’ to customers. Personalization goes deeper into every aspect of marketing like; your message, content, offer, templates, timings, and mode of the communication. Feed people what they are looking for and avoid spamming. Knowing about the people who took interest in your offers, who clicked on your links, who responded positively, and who bounced helps in personalization of the message and offers. Similarly, use industry-specific designs, messages, templates, and target the right audience.
Go Mobile; It’s The Future:
2015 State of Marketing survey confirmed the mobile email trend had substantial growth from the past year.
This is a clear indication that irrespective of your marketing channel, small screen’s vitality cannot be overstated. From website design to newsletters, email template, and landing pages; everything has to be responsiveness as a key feature. The landing pages and email’s templates should be mobile friendly in terms of content, design, and outlook. In addition, if you use social buttons in the email, the success rate can soar higher. Studies indicate 130% increase in clicks and shares on the templates with social sharing enabled.
Invest In Analytics:
They say, if you invest $ 1 in email marketing, the average return is $ 44. But if you spend a dollar on analytics, it can save your $ 1 million from going waste. Why? Because data and analytics ensure that you pick up the right approach, right channel, and receive better results. Therefore, gain maximum knowledge about what you are doing, what’s general market behavior, what’s users/visitors/prospects’ general behavior towards your brand and then do it wisely. Plan the right message and send it on the right time.
Go For Cross-Channel Integration:
Did you know that around 40% of sales manager complain this ‘inability to integrate’ as a key hindrance in the achievement of sales and revenue goals. There are platforms that offer sales and email marketing campaigns but when it comes to integration, they fail. Integration of your email marketing, marketing automation, and CRM system increases success rate and saves a lot of time.
Cross-channel integration creates efficiency in the entire marketing process and improvises content utilization. In addition, different teams’ performance goes in complete alignment.
Keep Communication Alive:
I do not encourage spamming or mass messaging; instead, I advise you to use nurture tracks feature. It allows creation of additional touch points and keeps communication alive. Understand modern-day buyers’ behavior. They are self-educationist who use blogs, social portals, and vendors’ websites to understand and compare available options. Your simple job should be to facilitate prospects in making the right decision.
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