Most digital marketing campaigns are built on the back of email marketing. It remains one of the best ways to target current and potential customers with personalised messages. From newsletters to surveys, special offers and direct marketing, email is a proven method to increase customer acquisition, engagement and retention.
Scale of mail
According to Statista, around 306 billion emails were sent and received daily in 2020. There are 4 billion email users worldwide. That’s about half the world’s population! These figures are expected to grow to 376 billion daily emails and 4.6 billion users by 2025. That’s a lot of words flying through the air. It’s also not a vehicle you can ignore if you want to spread your brand voice far and wide.
Successful email marketing takes more than just a few email addresses compiled on a spreadsheet. You should also consider how your email marketing efforts tie in with other systems on your backend. Customer relationship management, order tracking and history are other considerations when choosing an email marketing platform. You must also be able to segment your audience, automate your communication flow, design a decent-looking mail and ensure it gets delivered. As with most things, there is much more to email marketing than meets the eye. You’re in luck because there are hundreds of email marketing software platforms that can help you do all of the above. Let’s look at some of the biggest ones and what they are specifically designed for.
Salesforce Pardot
Salesforce does not come cheap, but it’s worth the investment. It can run very sophisticated marketing automation and analytics. The design features are intuitive, andoffers a wide range of email and automation options. You’ll benefit from AI decision-making tools, social media integration, and a polished user interface. The biggest deterrent is the price tag. Not many startups can afford it. If you can, go for gold. Because it is worth it.
Campaigner
Marketers will enjoy this well-priced platform for email marketing, automation and analytics. Campaigner is suitable for newcomers and experienced marketers alike and their 24/7 support goes a long way to smooth over any challenges that might arise. As with most software, support is what sets products apart. You don’t want a problem on the eve of a massive campaign you’ve worked on for months. The comprehensive onboarding process and the myriad of training videos go a long way to help clients perform complicated workflows and tasks. Although it is one of the easier platforms to manage, it does not stand back in delivering highly customised marketing campaigns and CRM functions. Campaigner is suitable for companies that want to scale their email marketing efforts. If your marketing efforts are still in their infancy, another platform might be a better bet.
HubSpot
This end-to-end marketing solution offers sales, email marketing and marketing automation suitable for both large and small businesses. The CRM integration, a vast selection of social media management options, stellar marketing automation and integrations with other HubSpot solutions puts it on par with Salesforce Pardot. It’s much more than an email marketing solution. It’s a comprehensive platform that tracks the whole customer journey, not just emails. The biggest drawbacks of HubSpot are the price and steep learning curve. Although it does not come cheap, it is well worth the cost, considering you don’t need other solutions to solve almost any marketing problem. HubSpot also runs a comprehensive library and offers an academy where marketers can learn how to use the platform or find answers to marketing questions.
Mailchimp
Hailed initially as the alpha and omega of email marketing, Mailchimp has evolved to embrace ecommerce enabling merchants to create online stores. It has become a turnkey, multichannel marketing hub offering various pricing options, from free plans to revenue-sharing options. Some of the biggest drawbacks of Mailchimp are the lacklustre template experience and limited campaign tracking functionality. The original email offering is solid, although some added features don’t stack up to their competitors. You might want to look elsewhere if you’re looking for a comprehensive digital marketing package..
Although email marketing is here to stay, how people read their mail is changing. Statista figures indicate that more people today access their mail via mobile devices than desktops. When looking at email marketing tools for your business, keep this in mind and ensure the platform you choose pays special attention to this channel.
