- January 3, 2017
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How These 3 P’s Can Add Pop To Your Email Strategy
Still harboring doubts about email marketing’s effectiveness? You shouldn’t be. Even in in today’s complex digital environment, this tried-and-true tactic has proven its marketing mettle:
- Email generates more revenue than any other marketing channel (Source: MessageGears)
- Boomers, GenX, GenZ and Millennials all prefer email over social for brand communications (Source: Website Magazine)
- 84% of marketers consider email “important” or “critical” for building loyalty (Source: VentureBeat)
But email marketing success is never a slam dunk; it requires ongoing strategic tooling and retooling to expose the most effective (and rewarding) approach.
Summarizing key takeaways from the “2016 State of Email Production Report” from Litmus, an email testing and analytics platform provider, Direct Mail News asserts that SMBs can strengthen their email strategy by paying closer attention to critical factors it calls the “Three P’s,” summarized in part below:
Your Processes
Calendaring. Litmus Research Director, Chad White asserts that most companies could benefit from more planning and fewer ad hoc mailings. The advantage, of course, is being prepared (and not scrambling to react to) marketable events, occasions and holidays.
Often, White says, “It seems like it’s the need of the moment [that matters most] rather than…planning out into the future.” Only about half of repsondents polled maintain a year-round content calendar, while nearly a third say their “sends” are completely ad hoc.
Quality Control. White cautions marketers against rushing campaigns out the door without proper quality assurance. Many Litmus respondents are apparently heeding White’s advice:
74 percent report using an extensive pre-launch checklist; 55 percent use email preview software; and 38 percent require four or more approvals before email campaigns go live.
Your People
Talent Will Out. Not surprisingly, modern marketers boast a number of specialized skills, including email marketing expertise. Companies who employ these jacks of the marketing trade have a leg up on those who don’t, White seems to suggest. Perhaps surprisingly, most eschew hiring agencies or freelancers and instead, do everything with a very small team—just one or two people, say 48% of respondents from companies with fewer than 500 employees.
Your Platform:
Make Selection Strategic. To succeed with email, or any markeitng initiative, Whites says you must base platform selection on strategy, rather than chasing the latest bells and whisltes. In the case of choosing an email platform or service provider, busineses should carefully consider factors like: the vertical they compete in, their projected email volume, and the types of email they expect to send–transactional versus promotional).
