Things to Look Out For When Selecting an Email Marketing Service

Choosing the right email service provider for your business is not always quick or easy. You will want to ensure that you choose a software program that includes all the different factors your business needs in order to make sure that your email marketing methods are a success.

In addition to a marketing software program that integrates seamlessly with whichever customer relationship management software you are using or one that has CRM built-in for you to use, you’ll also need to consider a range of factors like mobile optimisation, email response, and automation functionalities. After all, automated email campaigns make up a huge over 100% of all email marketing revenue, so it’s safe to say it’s an important consideration for your company. We’ve looked in more detail at the various factors to keep in mind when choosing an email marketing service.

#1. Mobile Optimization:

With over 50% of email now opened on mobile devices, this factor is becoming increasingly more important when it comes to choosing an email marketing service. You can craft eye-catching, interesting emails that should convert – but the sad truth is that if they can’t be opened and easily read on a mobile device, all your effort will go to waste. Plus, statistics show that emails read on a mobile device are more likely to be re-opened, so it’s certainly important to look for software that provides optimised mobile templates. And, you can find more tips and advice for optimising your marketing emails for mobile from the Digital Marketing Institute.

#2. Automation:

Whether you are sending just a few hundred or hundreds of thousands of emails out every month, opt for software that provides you with tools to automate the process and leave out as much manual work as possible. Even if you’re not sending out masses of monthly emails, the amount of time that it can take you to send just a few hundred out manually can be significant, and it’s time that you can and should be spending better elsewhere. When it comes to choosing an email marketing solution, the more automation, the better.

#3. Integration:

Your customer relationship management software is a key component in building and maintaining good relationships with both existing customers and new prospects, many of whom will communicate with you via email and all of whom should be recipients of your email marketing campaigns. It’s crucial to look for an email marketing service that is able to seamlessly integrate with any CRM software that you are currently using. Or, if you are not yet using a CRM software this could be an ideal time to consider implementing one in your company, with many software programs that will combine CRM with email marketing for efficient and hassle-free integration. Check out this list from Sendinblue where you can compare prices and features for email marketing services that will work with various CRM programs.

#4. Email Response:

Responses from customers to your marketing emails are an instant sales lead, so it’s important that this is something the relevant team can be notified about quickly so that you can get back in touch straight away and start a conversation when required. So, look for an email marketing software program that offers the option of automated responses, or if you prefer to offer a more personal response, opt for one that can aggregate any responses into tickets, which can then be passed quickly on to the relevant employee or team to be dealt with. It is worth looking for a software program that offers both these features; recipients will be able to get an instant automated response before you further contact them in more detail. This helps you build trust immediately with new prospects by showing them your company is quick to respond.

#5. Ethical Marketing:

Today, the concerns for our data and how it is used are growing, so you will want to ensure that your email marketing campaigns are as ethical as possible. With GDPR now in full effect, the first feature that you’ll need to look out for in this respect is a tool to help you ensure that all emails are compliant with this regulation and that no data is held unlawfully. GDPR saved email marketing, according to Campaign Monitor – you should only be sending marketing emails to recipients who have given you their express permission to do so; this is usually via a newsletter sign-up on your website, although there are other options for getting permission, such as adding it to a checkbox in the checkout section of your site or partnering up with other companies who will ask their customers permission to pass their details on to you. You will want to make sure that your emails are going to inboxes rather than spam folders, so look for an email marketing service with a delivery rate of at least 98%.

When it comes to choosing an email marketing service, there are several significant factors to keep in mind, from ensuring ethical marketing to integrating with your current software.