Email marketers work in an increasingly cluttered and cut-throat environment. Getting the message out has never been easier, but having it opened, read and acted upon is just as challenging as ever.
In this ever more digital age, communication has technically never been simpler. But while sending a message is easy, marketers face a barrage of challenges in getting their audience to read, relate and respond to their offers.
There are certain obstacles that have plagued the direct marketing for decades, with market noise and customer perception undoubtedly topping the list.
When it comes to B2B email marketing in 2011, there are seven basic areas in which marketers need to succeed for campaigns to have the desired effect.
1. Relevance
In the same way that printed direct marketing materials are useless without a targeted mailing list, emails are far more effective when the B2B data in your business email lists brings you face to face with exactly the right audience.
The fundamental rule of marketing is to offer the best solution to a problem or need that the customer is looking to address. To understand their requirements, marketers have to know who they're speaking to.
While sending emails is arguably the most cost-effective form of communication, bombarding your prospects with irrelevant offers and information could have dire consequences further down the line.
2. Engagement
Delivering your message is the easy part; ensuring that it's opened and read is more difficult. As all good marketers are aware, the subject line for your email marketing campaign is where it's at in terms of piquing the prospect's curiosity.
"Give people a reason to open your email," says Paul Cross, Head of Retail at thomsonlocal.com. Admittedly, it needs to be super short and sweet – but the subject line often makes the difference between open and delete.
3. Accessibility
"Coping with multiple inboxes is a major challenge for B2B marketers," says Mr Cross. Social campaigns need to vary by design depending on whether it's Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn where the message is delivered.
With email marketing campaigns, the main accessibility factor involves your audience viewing messages on a mobile device. Marketers "need to be aware of portable inbox restrictions and cater for them in the email design," adds Mr Cross.
4. Noise
Something which affects all areas of marketing, particularly B2B email marketing – where prospects might receive hundreds of messages each day – is the 'noise' of a cluttered and competitive environment.
"Having a good subject line is more important than ever to help your message stand out in cluttered inboxes. You should give it the consideration it deserves to come up with something short, impactful and engaging," advises Mr Cross.
5. Spam filters
As if the noise wasn't enough, marketers are also up against increasingly 'clever' junk mail killers. If your email is picked up by software rather than your prospect, your efforts will have been wasted.
Luckily, there are simple ways to prevent your message from being banished to the recycle bin. "Help beat spam filters by avoiding exclamation marks, percentages, and words such as 'free' or 'money off'," suggests Mr Cross.
6. Skepticism
Similar rules apply when overcoming your prospective clients' skepticism. Recent waves of high-profile phishing scams and data security alerts have made the web-using public more suspicious than ever of whatever lands in their inbox.
Arguably the best way to combat this is to create personalised messages that genuinely communicate on the recipient's level. This is where B2B data and good targeting prove useful again – it's all about relevance.
7. Trust
"Targeted, personalised, engaging direct marketing campaigns are the way to gain trust, value and loyalty," says Mr Cross. Messages need to be regular, but not too frequent; and consistent, but never dull.
The way to generate leads is by satisfying that golden rule of marketing. Give your audience an offer they can't refuse – and present it in a way that intrigues and engages them.
Once you have them on board, it should be smooth sailing by comparison.
