Even with the advent of multiple social media platforms and numerous digital marketing methods, email marketing remains the number one platform for business communication. Not only that, email marketing has one the best return on investment, click-through, and conversion rates.
Email marketing can generate $44 for each dollar spent by the company. It is one of the oldest, the most trusted, and most used B2B digital marketing channels. So, if you want to generate leads but haven’t included email marketing in your marketing strategy, you might want to rethink that after reading this article.
What is email marketing?
Email marketing is simply sending regular email updates to your customers or potential customers. It is a way of communication with your already existing customer base and prospective customers. With email marketing, you can send personalized and relevant content right to the inboxes of users. Email marketing saves cost, consumes less time, and renders better results. It is excellent for lead generations of B2B businesses if done correctly.
First, you need to set up a relevant contact list in place to start with email marketing. A contact list can be made by having users sign up on your website’s newsletter by offering them incentives like a downloadable file, coupons, or discounted service.
Make sure you’re forming the right contact list. Making sure you have relevant users on your email list makes it easier to increase conversions and sales.
What is lead generation?
Lead generation is essential because you can get in touch with customers looking for a solution you offer. Even though lead generation can be done on various platforms, emails and email marketing remain one of its best platforms to get people into your sales funnel.
Email leads are generated when a user fills out contact information or an opt-in form on your website to exchange any discounts, offers, or gifts.
There are two types of leads:
Warm Leads
These leads have the highest possible chance of converting into a sale. The conversion, click-through, and ROI rates with these leads are the highest.
Cold Leads
These leads have the least chance of getting converted. In some cases, these leads aren’t the relevant audience and need to be filtered out.
Nurture the right leads to increase conversions. With email marketing automation, you can try to make sure that most of the leads you end up with are warm leads and can increase the conversions and sales of your business.
How to generate leads from email marketing
If done right, email marketing can be the platform from which your business generates the most leads. These leads are mostly substantial, can be converted into sales, and increase return on investment for your business.
A good subject line, relevant content, and engaging images make an email more readable and reliable. However, that is not enough. To generate solid leads from your email marketing and increase your conversion rates, here are a few things you should keep in mind:
Finding the right lead
Creating an email list or picking the right customers from the top of the sales funnel is essential. Only when you select an audience that is relevant and interested in your offering will you be able to sell to them. Opt-in forms and permission-based emails work the best since they target the people who’ve already themselves showed interest in your business.
Segmentation and targeting
Along with choosing the relevant leads, it is also important to filter out the appropriate content. Not every lead of yours will be in the same stage of the customer journey or belong to the same demographics. Thus, it is efficient to segment your leads into groups based on similar characteristics, interests, and traits and then target personalized and relevant content to each group of leads.
Include a CTA in your emails
The call to action should be clear in all the emails you send. It should be explicit why you are sending out the email and what the next step is—clear and good CTAs help increase both click-through and conversion rates. Your email should always state what the user should do next, even if the next step is not the final step of your sales process.
A/B testing
When sending out emails, especially at the start, you can never be 100% sure of what works. It is a process of trial and error, and with A/B testing, you can do that efficiently. If you are skeptical about which subject line would lead to more open rates or which content for the email will lead to higher click-through rates, you can test that by A/B testing. However, keep in mind always keeping only one variable as the testing variable to precisely what caused better or bad results.
Email scheduling automation
Scheduling and automating emails for an appropriate time for a customer increases the chances of conversions. For example, a customer is more likely to buy winter coats near winter or during winter than any other time of the year.
Mobile optimized
Around 80% of business owners use cell phones or mobile devices for business purposes. And so, the emails you send out must be mobile optimized too.
- Find the right lead
- Segment and target
- Include your CTA
- A/B test
- Automate
- Mobile ready
Benefits of lead generation through email marketing
Here are a few benefits of generating leads through email marketing:
- Cost-effective and less time-consuming.
- Personalized and relevant content based on user’s insights and needs.
- Email is the most used platform for business communication.
- Email is the best place to generate B2B leads.
- Nurturing leads easier through regularly sending users personalized emails.
- It is one of the easiest ways to stay connected with your customers; however, form and communicate with potential customers.
Final Thoughts
Even though email doesn’t look like the fanciest or the most glamorous platform for marketing, it is the one that generates the most leads and sales. If you think it is obsolete, you should remember that around 73% of millennials prefer email for their business communications.
Through emails, you can maintain a personalized and regular touch with your audience. If you have a B2B business and don’t have email marketing in your marketing, it is time to change it now. Your bottom line will look better at the end of the day.
