What B2B Marketers Can Learn From Some of 2017's Best Emails
Today's
inboxes are more crowded than ever. But the silver lining for marketers is that
whether you're a marketing team of one or a thousand, it's possible to compete
with the emails of the biggest brands out there.
How so? With smart design and
strategy, marketers from companies big or small can become the heroes of their
firms by building email campaigns worth celebrating.
We've compiled an overview of
some of the best emails from the past year, along with some tips to ensure
yours stand out in the inbox and you're able to maximize engagement and
conversion rates to achieve the highest possible email ROI in 2018.
1.
A Design Strategy That Scores Major Points: Vanderbilt
Athletics
Fully 80% of people are only
scanning your email, according to the Nielsen Norman Group. People
are busy, which means they're checking their email quickly while waiting in
line at the coffee shop, say, or if they get to a meeting a couple of minutes
early. You have only a few seconds to make a big enough impression for them to
engage right then or remember to revisit your email later.
The email
from Vanderbilt Athletics follows the playbook on how to share a lot of content
in a scannable, digestible way. By breaking up the design into clearly defined
buckets with compelling headlines, the company has given fans easy access to
all the information they need to know; plus, the email is easy to scan on a
mobile phone.
This is a tactic that B2B marketers
would be wise to emulate: Instead of stuffing every newsletter with a wall of
copy and text links, organize your email content into an attractive, scannable
format like this one.
2.
Tease Subscribers With a Compelling GIF: Southern Proper
Including a GIF in your email design occasionally
is a great way to lift click rates and freshen up content. They add some
movement to what's traditionally been a static medium, and that helps to grab
readers' attention. Plus, they flat-out work: GIFs have been shown to increase
email conversion rates by up to 130%.
In this campaign, Southern Proper
create interest with an animated hero image but also keeps things focused with
plenty of white space and a clear CTA. (According to WordStream, emails with a
single call to action can increase clicks by up to 371%, and sales 167%.)
Marketers who have multiple
products, services, or pieces of content to show off may want to consider using
an animated GIF to display them all, as Southern Proper has done, without
cluttering the email design.
3.
The Power of a Little Gratitude: GoldieBlox
Goldieblox makes toys and games
designed to help girls develop an early interest in engineering and
problem-solving. The company has a wonderful relationship with its customer
base, which is very loyal; to show its appreciation for five successful years in
business, the company sent this simple, heartfelt thank-you email that
includes a video message from its founder and CEO.
This is a good example of how to
turn everyday customers into fans who will sing your praises from the nearest
mountaintop... or Twitter account. It's brilliant marketing, especially since
video has proven time and time again to be one of the most reliable ways to
lift click rates and drive people to your website.
According to eMarketer, video in
emails can increase clicks, shares, and forwards as much as 50%. Furthermore,
70% of marketers say video produces more conversions than any other type of
content.
4.
Design for the Small Screen First: Aaptiv
According to Qualcomm, 29% of
people say their mobile phone is the first and last thing they look at each
day. As more and more people turn to mobile, it's important that brands have a
mobile strategy for all elements of their digital marketing.
A solid mobile strategy is
particularly important for brands to succeed in the inbox, especially because
75% of consumers are highly likely to delete an email that doesn't render well
on mobile, according to Chadwick Martin Bailey.
For Aaptiv, this grid of icons
stacks beautifully into a single column on mobile to ensure every recipient has
a great user experience regardless of the device used to open the email.
5.
Don't Forget Your Most Important Audience: Philadelphia Zoo
Far too many marketers ignore
their base of customers, members, donors, or fans while chasing down new
prospects. It's important, however, to not fall victim to that mindset; current
customers are one of the biggest untapped resources in marketing, especially when
the probability of selling to a customer is 60-70% (compared with 5-20% for
prospects).
Marketers should make customers
feel as though they are truly a part of a community, and a valued member at
that. When that's the case, they will likely show more loyalty to your brand
for the long haul.
Takeaways
for 2018
So what can B2B (and other)
marketers learn from these emails, and how can they implement these strategies
to be successful in 2018 and beyond? Here are a few ideas.
Simplify
When Possible
Peaking from a budget and time
standpoint, most marketers are being asked
to do more with less. Therefore, the key to success in the inbox is
simplifying your design, template, and messaging to help your team to not only
move faster but also create a more scannable email that looks great on all
devices.
Clarity, simplicity, and substance
over style will be the ultimate differentiators when competing with top brands
in the inbox.
Fewer
Discounts, More Value
There's nothing wrong with a
"Buy Now" message every now and again, especially if you're sending
to a segment that's expressed interest in your product or service. But to truly
stand out in the inbox, marketers should focus less on how much they can slash
prices and more on the value they can provide.
Everyone's offering discounts, so
establishing other ways to provide value is how successful brands like the ones
highlighted in this article are setting themselves apart.
Speak
to Humans, Not Email Addresses
The biggest thing to remember,
whether you're in B2B or B2C, is that on the other side of that email is a
human being. So you have to provide value, you have to be helpful, and you have
to establish trust and credibility.
Subscribers want to relate to
your brand; just because you're a B2B marketer doesn't mean you have to sound
like a robot spewing jargon. Adopt a human, conversational tone; speak in their
language; and communicate that you're all in this together.
If
you do, yours will be one of those emails that subscribers are excited to open
when it lands in their inbox.
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