Email marketing is here to stay. Like an established firm, it’s stood the test of time.
In both cases, longevity counts.
Email remains vital to marketing, even in the social media era of hot takes and short videos. Similarly, a mature company enjoys stability despite new players entering the scene.
But without innovation, email marketing won’t drive new growth. The same is true for a long-standing firm.
So, forget those tired old email campaigns and up the ante.
Read on for four email marketing strategies to supercharge growth and leave your competition behind. In this article, we also discuss:
- Email marketing challenges and benefits for established firms.
- Email marketing statistics.
- Email best practices.
Ready to unlock new success? Let’s get into it.
Marketing challenges mature firms face
A mature firm is typically a well-established company in its sector. Growth is slow but usually steady. Competition is fierce, and market share is up for grabs.
Prominent industry players face various marketing challenges. Once a company matures, it must keep up with economic growth trends to avoid decline.
That’s just one of many obstacles. Here are three more major marketing challenges that mature firms face.
Challenge 1: Lead generation
50% of marketers rank lead generation as their number-one priority. That’s according to HubSpot’s State of Marketing 2023 Report.
Lead gen is tricky, especially in saturated markets. Newcomers tend to be disruptive with more modern approaches. As such, mature firms are often perceived as less innovative. They may find it difficult to capture new attention and generate high-quality leads.
Challenge 2: Reaching new audiences
A mature company’s strength lies in its proven track record. That’s not always enough to reach new audiences. Return on investment (ROI) is also lower for new vs. existing clients. Changing customer expectations shifts the goal posts, too.
Challenge 3: Outdated systems and processes
Many established corporations still struggle with legacy systems. With artificial intelligence (AI), new tools surface every day. It’s difficult to adapt to changing trends in such a scenario. Similarly, outdated marketing practices stifle new business growth.
The above list is by no means exhaustive. Still, it offers a clearer picture of how mature firms can quickly lose ground.
The good news is that an innovative approach to email marketing can make all the difference.
Let’s see what the statistics reveal.
Email marketing in numbers
Email marketing is fundamental to business growth. Few channels can compete with its average return on investment (ROI). According to a Statista poll, 51% of respondents reported doubled ROI improvement rates.
Here are a few more noteworthy statistics:
- The number of email users worldwide sits at 4.3 billion. (Statista, 2022)
- 376 billion emails are sent every day. (Statista, 2022)
- 99% of users check their inboxes daily. Of those, 58% check their email in the morning. (HubSpot, 2023)
- Email marketing has a global revenue of $10 billion. (Statista, 2023)
- 69% of B2B marketers use email newsletters for content marketing. 67% use other forms of email. (Content Marketing Institute, 2023)
- 27% of consumers said they were likely to make a purchase after receiving an email newsletter. (Statista, 2022)
- 83% of B2B marketers use email engagement to track performance. 59% look at subscriber numbers. (Content Marketing Institute, 2023)
- 49% of respondents enjoy receiving weekly promotional emails from their favorite brands. (Statista, 2017)
The above numbers show how powerful email marketing is. The benefits are vast and varied. Let’s look at a few for mature corporations.
Email marketing: The not-so-obvious benefits for established brands
Well-established brands enjoy unique advantages of email marketing. It’s a robust form of self-promotion and a direct communication channel. After all, your customers want to hear from you.
You also have more control. You own your email list, which you can update and optimize. The result? Better campaign success.
Here are three more unique benefits of email marketing for mature corporations:
Cost savings with a high ROI
A limited marketing budget is a common challenge among mature firms. Funds are usually prioritized for new products and technologies.
With email marketing, you can leverage existing resources and spend less. Compared to other channels, it’s cost-effective and has an extremely high ROI.
Email marketing earns $36 for every $1 spent. That translates to an ROI of 3,600%. Comparatively, the ROI of keyword ads and SEO are $17 and $22, respectively.
More leads and better sales
Digital lead generation ad spend in the U.S. is astronomical. It amounted to an estimated $4.6 billion in 2021.
Mature companies are always looking to generate high-quality leads and boost sales. Email marketing helps you do both.
It’s a top lead nurturing technique for 47% of marketers.
An effective lead magnet and drip campaign attracts and qualifies more leads. Targeted emails can then nurture these leads, leading to higher conversions.
This way, you waste less time and resources on dead-end leads.
Email is 40 times better at customer acquisition than Twitter and Facebook. (Brevet Group). Meanwhile, 43% of sales representatives cite email as the most effective selling channel. A further 56% get referrals from existing customers.
Whether for lead gen or sales, email marketing gives mature firms a competitive edge.
Enhanced communication and trust-building
Long-standing companies have a steadfast customer base. In fact, 86% of loyal consumers recommend a trusted brand to friends and family.
Most companies agree: customer retention is more cost-effective than acquisition. A mere 5% increase can boost profits by 25–95%.
That’s on top of the business from existing customers. An average company gets around 65% of its sales from established clients.
Loyal customers come with countless benefits. Mature corporations are uniquely positioned to leverage these advantages through email marketing with:
- Customized campaigns and personalized offers.
- Customer feedback and experience surveys.
- Newsletters and other email content that provides value to your audience.
The above contributes to trust-building and enhanced communication. Increased customer loyalty is another bonus. With that comes new sales growth and a higher ROI.
4 secret strategies for email marketing success
Long-time brands must be proactive in maintaining market dominance. This is where innovation meets email marketing.
Here are four secret strategies to drive growth and stay ahead of the competition:
Secret strategy 1: Gain a competitive edge with DMARC and BIMI
Cybersecurity and email marketing are entirely separate departments. And yet, they’re intrinsically linked. Statistics from Norton indicate that 88% of organizations face spear-phishing attacks every year.
That translates into daily email threats for many established businesses. Phishing statistics for 2022 show that there were over 300,000 phishing victims in the U.S. alone. The total costs incurred reached over $52 million.
Statistics like these affect email marketing more than you think.
Cyber attackers are always looking for vulnerabilities and opportunities. Many attempt to defraud victims by impersonating established brands via email.
Email service providers (ESPs) know this. That’s why email authentication standards like DMARC exist. It’s a protocol that prevents spam and phishing and improves email deliverability.
What is DMARC, and how can it improve email deliverability?
Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance is the highest email authentication standard available. It ensures only legitimate emails from your corporate domain are delivered to recipients.
DMARC improves email deliverability for three reasons:
- DMARC bolsters your sender reputation. It signals to ESPs that your company takes email security seriously. Around 80% of ESPs perform DMARC checks on inbound email. They’re more likely to accept emails from a domain with a DMARC record.
- Legitimate emails can still end up in a recipient’s spam folder. DMARC ensures your authenticated emails are delivered directly to recipients’ inboxes. (Best email practices still apply, though).
- DMARC mitigates the risks of phishing and spoofing attacks. ESPs know that recipients can trust your emails.
With proper DMARC enforcement, emails impersonating your company are never delivered.
Still, while brand impersonation surges, companies are slow to adopt DMARC.
According to CIO Insights, 67% of Fortune 500 companies have no DMARC records. A 250ok survey found that 79.7% of organizations don’t have DMARC, either.
These companies have inadequate email security. They don’t enjoy the DMARC benefits of email deliverability. Protect your company and customers while gaining a competitive edge. But that’s not all.
You can also leverage DMARC with BIMI.
What is BIMI, and how can it improve email visibility in the inbox?
Brand Indicators for Message Identification, or BIMI, is an emerging standard. It’s built on DMARC. BIMI displays your official brand logo in customer inboxes within supported email clients. Only DMARC-authenticated emails show your brand’s logo.
BIMI improves visibility and strengthens your email marketing efforts. Other benefits include the following, with statistics by Red Sift and Entrust:
- Enhanced brand recognition in inboxes: Customers quickly recognize your authentic emails with your official logo displayed. BIMI increases open rates by 21% and brand recognition by 18%.
- Trust-building: Recipients know your emails are legitimate. This boosts domain reputation with a 90% increase in email confidence.
- Boosted sales: With your logo displayed, your emails stand out better than the rest. BIMI increases the average purchase likelihood by 34%.
Despite these benefits, only 9% of organizations use BIMI. This is another competitive edge you can leverage. Current service providers that support BIMI include Gmail, AOL, Apple, Fastmail, and Cloudmark.
Better deliverability, visibility, and brand recognition. These aspects translate to increased revenue and a higher ROI. So, supercharge your email marketing efforts. Use DMARC and BIMI to keep your mature firm ahead of the competition.
Secret strategy 2: Expand your reach through email marketing partnerships
Email marketing partnerships represent a goldmine of untapped potential. They’re inexpensive, mutually beneficial, and effective.
A cross-promotional email campaign grows your audience and attracts new prospects. This leads to more customers and higher conversions.
The best part about this strategy? You can have multiple campaigns with various non-competitive brands. The opportunities are limitless. But the key to success lies in finding the right partners. Here are four tips to help your email marketing team achieve that:
- Set clear goals for your email marketing partnerships. Do you want to boost brand awareness? Attract leads? Increase conversions? Defined objectives help you decide the format and collaboration style of your campaign.
- Your mature corporation likely has an impressive email list. Leverage it to find high-quality partners that bring results. Don’t neglect small businesses, though. Sometimes, they have more customer trust than larger organizations.
- Find partners with similar objectives. Goal alignment makes for a more seamless and simplified campaign. Consider non-profits, educational institutions, and non-competitive brands in your industry.
- Get a cross-promotion contract in place. Include in-depth descriptions of the campaign details, parties’ duties, deadlines, and guarantees.
- Choose an ideal email type that resonates with your overarching strategy. Newsletters, special offers, product launches, giveaways, and collaborative announcements each have unique benefits.
Cross-promotional email marketing taps into new markets. Don’t give your competitors that advantage. Seek out high-quality partners for long-standing, beneficial campaigns before they do.
Secret strategy 3: Use the Boomerang Boost method to revive and encourage engagement
Getting your emails into the inbox, opened, and read is no easy task. People get tired of commercial mail. They experience online ad fatigue regularly.
Emails from your established brand can remain unopened, despite your best efforts. This affects the way ESPs view your company.
Low-engagement emails are more likely to end up in the promotions, spam, or junk folders. The opposite is true for highly engaged emails.
So, how can you get your existing subscribers excited and interested again? With the Boomerang Boost method. It’s simple. Get people to reply to your emails, and your engagement rate increases. Here are three ways:
- Ask for feedback. Customers love being heard. Get their opinions on upcoming products, new systems, or anything else. Collect new suggestions and ideas. Offer incentives, and make sure they respond with the reply button.
- Craft a simple email with a question or use a quick, multiple-choice survey. A poll or quiz are also attention-grabbing options. Your customers feel heard. Your engagement rate increases; and you’re gaining real insights. It’s a win-win-win.
- Diversify your email senders. Use specific personas for different aspects of your email marketing. Emails sent from a person feel human and relatable.
Customers are more likely to respond to a real person than a faceless brand. Mature firms have thousands of subscribers. So, personal replies are impractical. Use automation to stay highly responsive.
Engagement increases your chances of landing in the primary inbox. It also gets people thinking about your brand.
Secret strategy 4: Excite subscribers with interactive content
How can you stand out in a crowded inbox? With interactive content. Emails with a personalized element or multimedia feature draw readers in. They cut through the noise and encourage engagement.
An interactive email includes an element that recipients can interact with. Countdown timers, embedded videos, GIFs, and personalized calculators are all excellent examples.
According to Litmus, marketers saw a 200% increase in click-through rates. All due to interactive email. Here are three ways to leverage it:
- Use GIFs to highlight new products. A few striking images with bold headlines are much more engaging than a long email.
- Incorporate quizzes into giveaway promotions. The excitement of winning a prize is fun and intriguing. Get customers to answer a question or complete a small quiz to receive a gift. Make it a regular part of your email marketing efforts.
- Gamify your emails. An interactive game encourages high-quality engagement that drives conversions. It can be product-focused or silly fun. Tailor your interactive emails to your target audience.
Use interactive elements to put a modern spin on your marketing emails. Attract more leads, boost conversions, and get your subscribers excited.
A quick recap of the 7 best email practices
An email marketing strategy is nothing without the best practices baked in. Here’s a quick rundown of seven vital elements that mature firms can’t do without:
1. Hyper-personalize your emails
Salesforce says 66% of customers expect brands to understand their needs and expectations. Build connections with your subscribers by hyper-personalizing your emails.
- Personalization increases click-through rates by 139%, compared to static once-off sends.
- Address recipients by name and keep your preheaders relevant. Personalized subject lines boost open rates by 26%.
- Deliver highly personalized experiences to prospects and customers by segmenting your email list. Segmentation increases email revenue by 760% compared to bulk email campaigns.
According to SuperOffice, 64% of subscribers open an email based on who it’s from. Avoid using “no reply” addresses. Instead, send your emails from a member of your team, yourself, or your CEO.
2. Be mobile-friendly and accessible
Most email users check their inboxes on smartphones. In fact, 41% of all email views come from mobile, followed by 39% from desktop. Messages that aren’t mobile-optimized are more likely to remain unopened.
Keep dark mode in mind too. This feature allows users to opt for a darker background with lighter text. It’s particularly popular on mobile devices as it reduces eye strain and saves battery.
Emails that aren’t optimized in this way can appear distorted and unappealing. Use transparent images and adjust the contrast and colors accordingly.
Email accessibility is equally critical. Ensure people with cognitive, visual, auditory, or motor impairments can read your emails.
Enhance the user experience. Expand your reach and bolster your mature firm’s reputation.
3. Test and optimize your campaigns
Use A/B testing to find out what works and what doesn’t. Use skimmable copy and compelling calls to action (CTAs), but test different variations.
Most users glance quickly at the preview pane when they receive an email. Make sure vital information and CTAs are visible. A decision to open an email relies heavily on these factors.
Effective button placement, design, and sharing options significantly improve your campaign’s success. Timing and frequency are also essential testing elements.
Emails sent Monday through Wednesday get the most engagement. Weekends have the lowest open rates. Moreover, 63% of marketers adjust their sending frequency for less engaged subscribers.
Use A/B testing to find the right email cadence for your target audience.
One famous example of A/B testing is Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. The digital marketing team tested various layouts, images, videos, and CTAs.
These careful experiments boosted the sign-up rate by 140%. They also increased the funds gathered by an estimated $75 million.
4. Collect and leverage customer insights
A deeper understanding of your customers’ needs leads to improved service. This, in turn, can increase your firm’s revenue.
Well-established companies often rely too heavily on their carved-out customer bases. But consumer behaviors are always changing.
Direct data from your target market offers invaluable insights. With authentic feedback, your firm can provide actionable solutions.
Quick surveys, interactive quizzes, and intriguing polls are excellent ways to collect data.
5. Use UTM codes and don’t focus on open rates alone
Open rates can no longer be tracked with Apple’s latest Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) feature. iPhone owners account for 49% of all U.S. smartphone users.
As such, open rates are no longer a reliable metric.
Still, tracking metrics like click-through and conversion rates is vital. Clicks per link, spam complaints, bounce rates, and unsubscribes are equally crucial.
Most mature corporations already collect this data. But Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) codes provide further insights. UTMs track traffic generated from your email campaigns, pages visited, and items purchased.
With this information, identify which campaigns drive the most engagement and conversions. You can then fine-tune your email marketing efforts, leading to a better ROI.
6. Regularly clean your email list
Email list hygiene is crucial to email deliverability. Inactive subscribers and invalid email addresses negatively affect your metrics. And without quality data, your campaigns aren’t as effective. Here are three tips to keep your email list clean:
- Clean your email list to limit the number of unsubscribes and spam complaints.
- Segment your recipients based on engagement level.
- Implement targeted campaigns to win back lost interest. This reduces hard bounces, improves open and click-through rates, and saves money.
Make it easy for uninterested recipients to unsubscribe. Also, consider double opt-ins to keep your list full of truly engaged readers.
7. Keep up to date with privacy laws
The privacy landscape continues to evolve with commercial communication regulations rigorously enforced. The most notable of these include:
- The CAN-SPAM Act: Applies to all U.S. commercial emails with requirements for opt-out options. Identifying information and using clear messaging are also crucial.
- The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA): Gives California consumers control over the sharing, collection, and sale of personal information.
- The Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL): Applies to emails sent to or from Canada. Its requirements are similar to those of the CAN-SPAM Act.
- The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): Governs how the personal data of consumers in the European Union may be handled and shared.
Mature corporations must stay up-to-date with applicable privacy laws. Make sure your email marketing efforts abide by these regulations.
Maintain market dominance and supercharge growth with email
Mature firms face various challenges. They’re also uniquely positioned to benefit from email marketing. But the same old campaigns aren’t enough to sustain new growth.
Cut through the noise. Get creative. Innovate. And give these strategies a try:
- Deploy DMARC and BIMI to gain a competitive edge.
- Create email marketing partnerships to expand your reach.
- Use the Boomerang Boost Method to revive engagement.
- Incorporate interactive content to excite and intrigue subscribers.
Increase brand visibility, engage new audiences, and drive more conversions consistently.
Business growth awaits.
Check out our blog for more helpful content and get in touch if you’re ready to reach new heights.
