With nearly half of the world’s population being active on social media, it’s no wonder businesses are investing huge chunks of their marketing budget on social media marketing. From video content to chatbots, the abundance of ways to reach and engage consumers online has left many marketers wondering whether email marketing is long past its prime.
Before you pull the plug on email marketing, though, it might be worth noting that email is still a big part of most people’s daily lives. If your email marketing strategy is not bringing in the expected results, it could well be that it is simply outdated.
Is Email Marketing Dying? Here’s What the Numbers Say
By 2024, over 361 billion emails will be sent and received each day, making email one of the largest communication mediums. The total number of email users worldwide is expected to grow too – from 3.9 billion in 2019 to 4.48 billion in 2024.
What is more, despite the rise of social media, email is still a favored communication tool. To put things in perspective, 83% of consumers state that email is one of their preferred methods of communication with trusted brands, followed by Facebook, postal mail, and TV.
All this data makes it clear that email is still relevant. With tactics such as mobile-friendly emails, personal subject lines, and engaging visuals, email can be a worthy tool in your digital marketing arsenal that can reach customers, boost customer loyalty, and nurture leads.
Outbound Marketing and Email
Email marketing is a versatile tool. It can be used for inbound marketing campaigns to nurture prospects all the way down the marketing funnel. Email can also be used as a SaaS remarketing channel for sharing premium content in exchange for contact information.
When it comes to outbound marketing, if executed properly, email can be beneficial for attracting prospects. Keep in mind, though, that as marketing emails are continuously crowding consumers’ inboxes – and spammy emails are never a great strategy – a well-thought-out email strategy is absolutely crucial.
Your first goal should be to build trust with your audience. Consider leveraging the prospecting lists that you’ve created for outbound campaigns and bringing them into inbound with remarketing. Cadences, automation, and multi-touch sequences are just a few of the methods and strategies SaaS businesses can further employ when working to combine email and outbound marketing.
Before you get started – regardless of whether you are using email as part of inbound or outbound – note that the buyer’s journey is non-linear and that a general-purpose approach simply won’t cut it. Because the user’s exploration and evaluation process can turn into a long cycle, you need to understand where prospects are in the buying process, tailor your messages, and account for the “Messy Middle” of the buyer journey.
Developing Strategic Email Marketing Campaigns
Ultimately, email is still one of the best possible strategies for SaaS businesses to convert leads into customers and first-time buyers into loyal customers. To see results, however, it’s important to boost up your strategy to reflect how email currently works.
The majority of consumers today are savvy individuals who can instantly spot a one-size-fits-all email marketing approach. Businesses looking to utilize email marketing need to ensure brand presence, stay on top of trends, map the true buyer’s journey, and invest in producing quality content assets.
Ready to get the most out of your campaigns? Check out our blog to discover how to use remarketing to nurture the buyer journey.
