How to build a knockout email marketing strategy
Out of all the ways you can advertise your business, products and services online – email marketing is still one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal.
This goes far beyond just “sending emails” and hoping someone converts. This includes leveraging marketing automation, stunning designs and compelling email content. You can take advantage of a holistic email marketing strategy to build long-term customer relationships, and ultimately, drive better conversions.
So, whether you're just starting out with email marketing – or hope to level up your existing strategy – this article is for you. Let’s dive into the key ingredients of a knockout email marketing strategy for distribution businesses.
3 main challenges that companies face when it comes to digital marketing:
Limited Resources. Companies often struggle with tight budgets and limited staff. This makes it difficult to afford a dedicated marketing team or expensive marketing tools. Owners or leadership may wear many hats, and marketing often falls to the wayside.
Demonstrating Product Value. Your products can be complex and technical – and your in-house team, admin staff, or you – might not have the ability to clearly communicate your unique value to potential customers and partners. This skills gap often leads to missed opportunities.
Reaching the Right Audience. Most of you probably cater to a specific niche audience. Identifying and targeting your ideal customer – with limited resources – can be an incredible challenge. And you may struggle to cut through the noise and get the best message in front of the right buyers.
Three Main Challenges of Email Marketing
Email Content Creation. Most people struggle to create email content that's both informative and engaging for their audience. They lack the resources to create professional visuals or translate complex product features into easy-to-understand language.
Building an Engaged Email List. A targeted and engaged email list is crucial! But gathering qualified leads and convincing them to purchase is exceptionally difficult. Plus, if you don’t already have a strong online presence or ways to capture the right leads, progress can be painfully slow.
Standing Out in a Competitive Inbox. The bottom line? Inboxes are overflowing. You can spend plenty of time writing high-quality emails, – but if your subject lines don’t get noticed – they won’t get clicked.
Despite all of these challenges, email marketing success is possible with the right blueprint.
Benefits of an Email Marketing Plan
Are the benefits of email marketing really worth the challenges it brings? Yes! Here’s why incorporating email is key to an overall Digital Marketing strategy.
Email Builds Brand Awareness
Email marketing gets your name into customers’ inboxes. And consistent, informative emails build brand awareness and generate fresh leads who are interested in what you offer.
Email Nurtures Prospects
Email marketing turns those prospects into a loyal audience. You’re nurturing relationships, providing valuable content, and building trust. People are starting to look forward to what you’re sending them.
Email Drives Sales
This is where you can drive sales too. Targeted campaigns promote new products, highlight special offers, and remind customers why they need your solutions. And if these sales are 100% completed online and automated… even better!
Email marketing keeps the conversation going, no matter how someone interacts with your brand. It's the perfect tool to turn website visits, social media buzz, and past purchases into lasting customer relationships.
Overwhelmed by the ongoing work it takes to maintain email marketing? What if you could send targeted emails automatically, without lifting a finger?
That's the power of email marketing automation.
Why Email Automation is so Powerful
Free Up Your Time
Stop wrestling with repetitive tasks like scheduling emails or sending out welcome messages. Automation can handle those for you, giving you back precious time.
Trigger Emails
Set up automatic emails based on specific actions. Someone grabs a discount code? Boom, they get a set of emails with a curated list of products. A customer abandons their cart? A friendly reminder email nudges them to complete the purchase.
Segment Audiences
Automation lets you group your email list based on interests, purchase history, or any other data point. This way, you can send targeted messages that resonate with each segment, maximizing engagement.
Personalize Emails (at Scale)
Automation also lets you personalize content based on subscriber data. For example: What if a prospect downloads your guide to "Choosing the Right Industrial Saw?" Automation can send a follow-up email highlighting specific saws relevant to their needs.
We like to think of email marketing like a conversation, not a broadcast. Well-crafted and strategized automation tools can personalize that conversation, building stronger relationships with each subscriber, and ultimately driving more sales.
How to Build out Email automations (With Examples)
Sending out random email blasts won't get you anywhere. In fact, it can backfire – costing you money, losing leads, and even tarnishing your reputation.
You have to still incorporate your business into your automations to ensure you remain relevant and memorable to your audience.
Let’s define some of these campaign types so you have a better idea about what you can do with email.:
Email Campaigns to Incorporate in Your Overall Strategy
Cold Email
Your initial outreach to potential customers who haven't interacted with your business before. Cold email aims to introduce your company and its offerings, sparking initial interest.
Warm Email
Communication with existing leads who have already shown some interest (maybe they downloaded a whitepaper or , visited your website). Warm email focuses on nurturing relationships by providing valuable content and special offers.
Nurturing and Value Emails
A series of targeted emails designed to educate leads about your industry, showcase your expertise, and build trust. These email strategies offer valuable content (such as guides or webinars) to nurture them toward becoming customers.
Promotional Emails
Highlight special offers, discounts, and new product launches to drive sales and conversions. They are often time-sensitive to create a sense of urgency.
Confirmation Emails
Automated emails sent to verify actions taken by subscribers (such as account creation, registration or order confirmation). They provide essential information and next steps to improve the customer experience.
Abandoned Cart Emails
As we’ve touched on previously, these are automatically triggered emails sent to website visitors who leave items behind in their online shopping cart. Abandoned cart emails aim to remind them about their abandoned purchase and encourage completion.
Back-in-Stock Emails
Alert subscribers when a previously out-of-stock product becomes available again, generating renewed interest and potential sales.
Price Drop Emails
Notify subscribers about price reductions on specific products or categories, triggering purchase decisions.
And these are just some example strategies to get you started.
Now you might be wondering, “That’s great, but what platform do I use to send these?”.
Popular Email Marketing Platforms to Consider
HubSpot
HubSpot is an all-in-one marketing platform with robust automation features. It’s ideal for businesses with complex needs. Plus, it integrates well with other HubSpot marketing tools you might already have.
Mailchimp
A user-friendly platform known for its ease of use, which is perfect for beginners. However, it does have limited automation capabilities compared to other platforms.
ActiveCampaign
Another powerful platform with advanced automation features and segmentation capabilities. This is ideal for businesses who are ready to scale their email marketing and leverage all sorts of customer segmentation insights.
Crucial Tips for Email Marketing Strategy
There are countless email considerations to know, but here are our top 6:
1. Speak Your Customer’s Language
Avoid technical jargon and complex sentences. Your email is competing with hundreds of others in their inbox. It needs to be clear, concise, and compelling.
2. Testing!
You wouldn't launch a new product without testing it first. And you shouldn't send emails without testing them either.
A/B testing allows you to compare different subject lines, email copy, and even calls-to-action (CTAs) to see what resonates best with your audience.
3. Use Branded Domain Emails
Use your company's domain name in your email address. For example: Main Event Digital’s emails read “contact@mainevent.digital” or something similar. This also builds trust and helps you avoid being labeled as “spam.”
4. Provide Unsubscribe Options
Always include a clear and easy way for people to unsubscribe from your list. This shows you respect their inbox.
5. Conduct Regular List Cleaning
Periodically remove inactive or unengaged contacts. This keeps your list healthy and improves deliverability.
6. Focus on Quality (Not Quantity)
Don't bombard your subscribers. Send targeted emails with valuable content on a consistent schedule. People are busy. Give them a reason to open your emails.
Get Help with Your Future Digital Marketing and Email Strategy
We know that was an overwhelming amount of information and you might have some decision fatigue. If you don’t feel like wading through the learning curve or account setups, we are here to help.
After spending 25 years leading digital transformations at billion-dollar B2B companies like Thermo Fisher Scientific, Crescent Electric, and U.S. Electrical Services, Mike Mayer set out on his own and founded Main Event Digital. Launched in 2020, Main Event Digital is one of the only full-service, B2B digital agencies with a specific focus on distributors and manufacturers.
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The November/December issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Kimball Midwest. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dirk Beveridge, Frank Hurtte, and Mike Marks, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
