7 Must-dos When Generating Leads Through Email Marketing

In its ’2009 Response Rate Report’ – DMA states, Thirty-five percent of marketing budgets were allocated to direct mail and response rates were higher than in previous years, perhaps as a result of better list management and more sophisticated targeting.

These figures clearly indicate that email marketing continues to be an integral part of any B2B marketing plan. Needless to say that the increase in number of spammers using this medium to clog the inboxes of users and with the social media emerging as the preferred channel of communication and building customer relationships – emails are slowly losing their sheen as a lead generation tool.

But if used wisely, this marketing channel still has a lot of potential to create awareness and generate leads for any B2B Company.

Below is a list of seven must-dos for generating quality leads through emails campaigns.

1. Respect the individual

The person you are trying to reach over email is not a robot but a human who has reason and enough skills to decipher the useful emails from the junk. It is good to remind yourself at the onset that you are invading a person’s personal space and seeking his time and attention, your message better be important enough, not so much from your perspective but definitely from his.

2. Add more information to the names in your database

It does not matter if the database of people you intend reaching out to has been bought from outside or has been developed in house, make an effort to research the list. Categorize your list so that you have different segments of people. The segmentation could be based on designations, industry type, company size etc. The one size fits all concept is outdated. Remember even within the same industry the issues faced by a mid-sized company would be very different from those faced by a start-up. The solutions they seek will also be different. The more information you have on the person you are reaching out to, the more you will be able to customize your email content and improve your chances of being read.

There are a whole lot of people out there to grab attention. Customizing your message in such a way that it touches the pain areas or issues relevant to the specific segment of people, can make all the difference.

3. Give them a reason to read you

When using email as a marketing tool, it is good to create a campaign and then use emails to market it. The campaign could be a Webinar your company is organizing on a subject which is of interest to the receiver, the email could be an invitation to attend and register for the event. Similarly, you can have emails to promote any contests the receiver can participate in or some competition for which he can send an entry. Ensure your email has a call to action like ‘register now’ or ‘submit now’ which links directly to your event registration page. Such campaigns which are action oriented encourage the receiver to take an action, indirectly implying his level of interest and involvement in the solution you offer. Also, since the subject of such invitation is of interest to the person, the chances of him responding are much higher.

4. Guide him right

Ensure, you have a separate landing page created with all the necessary details of your event or whatever you are trying to promote. Use, this link to the landing page in your marketing email. You don’t want your receiver to hunt for information on your website. It is a waste of time for him and increases the chances of him losing interest mid-way.

5. Gather references

Keep track of your email receiver’s actions – did he open the email, but did not click on the link? Did he register? Did he unsubscribe to your emails? Did he send an email reply? Add these to your research on the receiver and also make these your reference points for future interactions with him.

6. Learn from your mistakes

The fate of your email once it reaches the receiver’s inbox can provide a lot of information for your future email campaigns to the same person. If the email was never opened it probably ended up as spam or the subject line was not inviting enough for the reader to click it open. If the receiver opened the email but did not click on any of your links there, then probably the subject line was good but the content was not something of his interest. It is important to keep track of all the minute details once you have started an email campaign – these little inputs can give you enough dough to improvise on your current campaigns and strategize better for future campaigns.

7. Allow them to opt-out

Every individual likes to be in control, especially when it comes to his personal space – his inbox. Ensure your campaigns give the option to the receiver of unsubscribing to future emails from you. This is one of the basic etiquettes of email marketing and should be followed as Gospel. Also ensure once a person has unsubscribed to your emails, he is removed from your database. Sending him emails even after opting out, can be disastrous. In these time where people have multiple channels to vent their anger and frustration, I am sure your company would not like to be on the receiving end. Being reported as a spammer is another threat that lurks around if you forget the rules.

Email marketing is an effective marketing tool – it is direct, its personal and it has the power to put across your message in the most effective way, however for it to be successful, it requires a little more effort, thought and care.