You have a winning product, a great elevator pitch, and an assortment of happy customers. However, what you may not have yet is the email marketing presence that takes your great idea and places it right in front of an eager audience. Your product is a seed, and all you need is the right soil to make it grow.
This is where a digital marketing industry steps out from the sidelines with their gardening gloves and a sprinkler, ready to create content that reaches the right audiences. But when there are so many email marketing companies to choose from, how do you know which to pick?
In this article, we’ll give you the insight you need to make the best decision for your business. We’ll break down the top items you should consider as you search for your perfect fit.
Get your notes app ready and let’s dive in!
What You See Is What You Get
First impressions matter (and we don’t just mean with social media ads). Transparency should be a huge factor when looking for the right agency. You don’t want to work with someone who will pull the wool over your eyes and focus only on what’s doing well. Rather, you want to work with someone who will celebrate the wins but also be straightforward with where there is room for growth and an action plan to get there. The following are indicators of a transparent agency:
- They list their prices online. This gives you a clear visual of whether or not the services may be in your budget. It can be frustrating to get on an exploration call and find out that services far exceed what you’re able to spend.
- They ask for a visual on your current email service provider and Google Ads. This allows the agency to see the current state of your marketing efforts and what’s working well/what isn’t. Which could lead to…
- They say no! This seems like an odd point to make, but you wouldn’t want an agency to sign you up for a service when they know that the opportunity for ROI isn’t high at the moment. An agency should be honest as to whether it’s a good idea to pursue outsourcing at this time. They may suggest you invest in a different service while you build up your subscriber base.
- They ask questions. You want an agency that cares personally about the unique facets of your business. You don’t want to sign on with an agency if all parties aren’t aligned on expectations and goals.
Pivoting Strategies: Lead Generation vs. E-Commerce
Unique strategies aren’t based just on industries, but also on how a business structures its services and collects revenue. One of the most important divisions is whether the business operates under the e-commerce or lead generation umbrella.
E-commerce: Rooted in online sales. A buyer can add items to their cart and purchase directly from the website. E-commerce sites generally don’t require users to request quotes or get in direct contact with an employee. The primary performance metric for e-commerce reporting is revenue attribution. Email marketing should ideally bring in 30 percent of a business’s total online revenue.
Common automations used for e-commerce:
- Abandoned cart
- Browse abandonment
- Replenishment reminders
- Customer winbacks
- Welcome series
Common segmentation methods for e-commerce:
- Order history
- Lapsed buyers
- Repeat buyers
- Website visits that don’t lead to conversions
Lead generation: Focuses on products or services that are not purchased directly onsite. These are oftentimes for higher dollar-value products and services: think auto body shops or party rentals. The sales funnel for lead generation conversions can be longer than they are for e-commerce. Lead-generation email campaigns are oftentimes based on educational content that builds brand authority. Common metrics tracked are attributed calls or quote requests as well as onsite activity.
Common automations used for lead generation:
- Quote request follow-ups
- Service follow-ups
- Welcome series
Does the Difference Matter?
When talking to a digital marketing agency, be sure that they have experience working in your business’s vertical. Reporting for e-commerce and lead generation is incredibly different; a professional must pivot their strategy accordingly. For lead generation especially, knowing how to track the ROI can present a unique challenge.
Proven Value
Any marketing agency should be able to prove that they’re skilled at, well…marketing. You wouldn’t order a birthday cake from a baker who has no images of past work, and the same should be considered when determining where to allot your marketing dollars. The following are different examples of how a business can prove its value:
- Case studies: Many established agencies have case studies from other email marketing clients onsite. These case studies often feature examples of creatives, as well as tangible numbers for how they’ve improved the client’s email marketing results.
- Awards: Check the agency’s website or ask a representative about any marketing awards their business has received.
- Partnerships: A strong indicator of an agency’s quality of service is if they have partnerships with different platforms such as email service providers or search engines. This is frequently an indicator that the company has points of contact that can escalate support tickets, give first access to platform updates, and communicate priority information on best practices and compliance.
- An audit: Another way a marketing company can prove value is by giving a complimentary audit of one’s current email performance. In this audit, the marketing professional should present key takeaways in terms of current performance and metrics, as well as share what action steps the agency would take to improve performance.
SMS Support
A final item to ask an email marketing company about is if they also offer SMS services. SMS and email go hand in hand, and campaigns are oftentimes executed within the same platform. Marrying your email and SMS strategy is essential because they can interact, allowing you to trigger communications based on a subscriber’s action. As SMS and email work together closely, keeping both services within the same agency is valuable.
DING! You’ve Got Mail
The email marketing ecosystem is ever-evolving with best practices and compliance regulations changing frequently. When there are so many aspects of a single business to monitor, keeping up with a litany of marketing avenues can be overwhelming. The right agency can take that heavy lifting off your shoulders and transform it into your business’s success. To get a free audit and learn more about Logical Position’s email marketing services, get in touch today. Happy sending!
