E-mail marketing is a powerful channel for companies seeking to communicate with a B-to-B or B-to-C audience. But to run a successful e-mail marketing campaign, it is important to follow certain best practices and choose the right tool. So how can you best initiate, manage and monitor your e-mail marketing campaigns? How can you adopt the strategy that best suits your needs? Nicolas Henry, digital marketing expert, explains.
E-mail marketing is used to communicate on a one-off or regular basis with contacts (prospects or customers) for marketing purposes. For example, this may involve special offers, new products or services, upcoming events or regular newsletters.
At the same time, the use of the marketing automationThanks to optimised scenarios, e-mail marketing makes it possible to be present at key moments and throughout the life cycle of your contacts.
Find out more
Marketing automation refers to the use of tools and technologies to automate repetitive marketing processes. This includes tasks such as sending emails or text messages, managing social networks, tracking customer interactions on a website and personalising marketing messages.
Automation allows marketers to set up campaigns or tasks that run automatically according to specific criteria. For example, sending a welcome email when a new customer signs up. These tools also enable your audiences to be segmented according to their behaviour, preferences and demographic data. This makes communication more targeted and personalised.
You can thus capture leads (potential customers) and nurture them throughout the sales process. This increases the chances of conversion.
When all is said and done, implementing marketing automation will give you a better return on investment (ROI) for your marketing campaigns.
A wide range of scenarios can be put in place to: thank a customer for a purchase, offer them a complementary product, recover an abandoned basket or alert them to the return into stock of a product that has been of interest.
How do you choose your e-mail marketing tool?
There are many e-mail marketing tools available on the market, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. To choose the right tool for your business, there are a number of criteria to consider.
Your needs and how you use it
If you're a single user and your needs are limited to sending out one newsletter a month to a few dozen subscribers, you won't need the same tool as a 20-strong marketing team with a well-developed digital communications strategy.
The price
Costs vary according to the number of subscribers, sending volumes, features and the level of service offered.
Functionality
E-mail marketing tools offer a wide range of functions. These include mailing list segmentation, campaign automation and orchestration, A/B testing and monitoring and reporting of your actions.
Integration
Choose a tool that integrates easily into your IS ecosystems, and in particular with the business and marketing tools you use. For example: cash register software, loyalty programme, stock management tool.
Customer support
It is important to have access to reliable customer support that is available when you need it.
Making sure your e-mail marketing is deliverable
E-mailing means deliverability. To write a good e-mail marketing campaign, it's important to follow these tips to ensure that an e-mail you send arrives in the recipient's inbox:
- Write a short, catchy subject line that encourages recipients to open the e-mail.
- Use a clear layout that identifies your brand at a glance and is easy to read (responsive design).
- Use images and videos to reinforce the message.
- Include a clear call to action that encourages recipients to carry out a specific action.
- Personalise e-mailing according to the interests and behaviour of recipients.
Example of personalised content based on behaviour:
If a customer has recently purchased a specific product, send them a follow-up email with recommendations for similar products or relevant accessories: "XXX, discover your exclusive offer - 50 % on your favourite products!" Make sure your e-mailing works on both desktop and mobile: e-mails optimised for a smooth user experience on all platforms.
To sum up, what are the advantages?
Personalisation: e-mailing enables in-depth personalisation based on the customer's behaviour, preferences and buying cycle, thereby boosting engagement.
Profitability: compared with other marketing channels, e-mailing is often more profitable, offering an excellent ROI.
Performance tracking: analysis tools allow you to track campaign performance in real time, providing data that can be used to optimise future strategies. For example: an abandoned basket campaign will give you the sales generated by this campaign.
Segmentation: segmentation of the mailing list makes it possible to target specific groups of subscribers, guaranteeing more relevant messages.
Best practice
To maximise the effectiveness of your e-mail marketing campaign, it is essential to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). You need to obtain the explicit consent of recipients before adding them to your mailing list. This will avoid being blacklisted by ISPs.
Also explain to your recipients what will result from this consent: the sending of promotions, product information, etc.
Segment your mailing list according to recipients' interests and behaviour, and send targeted messages. This will maximise your open and click-through rates.
Send e-mails regularly to keep recipients engaged.
Keep it healthy and engaging. Finally, test different topics, designs and calls to action to find out what works best.
A/B testing on the subject line
Send two versions of your e-mail to different segments of your list with different subject lines. Some tools even allow you to send 10 % of your database one subject line, then another 10 % a second subject line, and the segment with the highest open or click rate will be the one sent to the remaining 80 %.
KPIs to monitor for an effective e-mail campaign
Once the e-mail has been sent, it's time to analyse it. To track the effectiveness of your e-mail marketing campaign, remember to monitor these KPIs.
The opening rate
It represents the percentage of the total number of subscribers who opened your campaign out of the total number of e-mails sent. This rate includes recipients who have opened and accepted to display the images. Recipients who click on a link in the e-mail are added to the calculation even if they have not agreed to display the images. The open rate is one of the most reliable rates. It should be noted that new Apple privacy features have been introduced, which may affect the tracking of e-mail opens. For example, Apple Mail Privacy Protection prevents senders from knowing whether an e-mail has been opened by preventively downloading web beacons, regardless of whether the user has actually opened the e-mail or not.
Subject line A/B testing analysis
After sending the two versions of the e-mail to different segments, analyse the open rates to determine which works best.
Click rate
This is the percentage of recipients who click on a link in your e-mail.
Reactivity rate
It corresponds to the percentage of openers who click on a link in your e-mail.
The conversion rate
This is the percentage of recipients who carry out a specific action after clicking on a link in your e-mail. For example: buy a product or fill in a form.
Churn rate
This represents the percentage of recipients who unsubscribe from your mailing list.
How long does it take to analyse the results of an e-mailing?
Check that your mailing was sent a few moments after the estimated time. To analyse your KPIs accurately, consult them after 24 hours and D+3 of the sending. The lifespan of an e-mail is very short. You are therefore unlikely to find a peak in readership after 3 days.
For B-to-B strategies, you can also measure :
- The average time between the prospect's entry into the campaign scenarios and their arrival in the sales tunnel
- The average time spent in the sales tunnel up to the closing, won or lost
- The cost of acquiring customers through these campaigns in order to make them as profitable as possible
E-mail marketing in figures
E-mail marketing is an essential communication channel for B-to-B companies. According to a study by Belacom, a well-optimised campaign can achieve open rates of up to 35 % and click-through rates of 5 %. These figures are lower than in the B-to-C sector, with less decision-making power and more complex decision-making chains.
An example
A consulting firm, a Belacom client, launched a webinar campaign. It achieved an open rate of 45 % and a click rate of over 23 % on a mailing base of 3,837 people. This is an excellent result for a base of this size (the overall base is 5,842 contacts). The database is healthy enough to achieve such strong results.
At the same time, the average open rate for the last 5 newsletter mailings is around 32.11 % and the click rate is 3.48 %.
Well-optimised campaigns on a daily basis and a one-off campaign that stands out from the crowd can therefore achieve very high results.
Strategies to adopt
First of all, train yourself on the tools you use Do you drive a car without a licence? Automate data exchanges as far as possible update your database automatically and regularly. Met up scenarios to send personalised e-mails and maintain a continuous link throughout the relationship with your contact (welcome, post-purchase, reactivation, etc.). Don't forget to segment your database based on the interests and behaviour of the target audience. Renew and optimise existing facilities What was valid yesterday may not be valid today, and what is valid today may not be valid tomorrow. And finally, stay on standby on market trends.
3 key trends
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
L'IA is increasingly used to personalise product recommendations, improve segmentation and predict future subscriber behaviour.
Interactivity
Interactive e-mails, such as polls, quizzes and image galleries, help to increase engagement and gather feedback. For example: sending a selection of complementary products that can be added to the shopping basket directly via the e-mail. AMP technology.
Example of interactive e-mailing with survey: "What type of content would you like to see more of in our next e-mails?".
Advanced automation
Companies are adopting sophisticated automation workflows to deliver relevant messages throughout the customer journey.
What you need to remember: e-mail marketing is an effective channel for acquiring and retaining your contacts. By following good practice and choosing the right e-mail marketing tool, you can maximise the effectiveness of your campaigns.
