What is an Email Marketing Tool: Benefits, Types, and Factors to Consider Before Purchasing

Digital marketing strategies have evolved over the years. As new marketing channels and trends emerge, the importance of email marketing is being questioned. The truth is that email marketing continues to remain one of the most effective strategies to connect with customers. 

Email is used by more than 4 billion people around the world – that is more than half of the global population [1]. What’s even more interesting is that around 72% of customers, even today, prefer emails as their core business communication channel [2]. Looking at these figures, it is safe to say that email marketing is not going anywhere. 

Since email marketing continues to stay relevant, the adoption of email marketing tools remains strong. Email tools or email marketing tools enable companies of all sizes to communicate and connect with their customers in a personalized way. 

Let’s take a look at how the best email marketing tools add value to your marketing strategy. But before that, it is important to understand what we mean by email tools. 

What are Email Marketing Tools?

Email marketing tools are software solutions that are used by marketers to design, send, test, and optimize their email marketing campaigns. The most basic and common email tool is an email service provider. 

The best email tools allow you to curate engaging content and deliver tailored messages to improve customer relationships. 

Benefits of Email Tools

Now that you are acquainted with what email tools are, let’s take a look at the benefits. 

Over the past decade, email marketing solutions have proved to be an affordable medium to deliver content, promote products, and announce new deals and offers. 

The whole cycle of managing an email campaign can be cumbersome, which is why email marketing solutions are in demand. 

Here are the most prominent benefits of an email marketing tool. 

• Email automation

Imagine you have to deliver 2,000 emails at one go. Just the thought of it can easily send jitters. If you do it manually, you are going to waste a lot of time sorting email addresses, copying and pasting the body of your email.

This is where email marketing tools come to your aid. After you refine your message, an email marketing software will automate your email campaign. Right from sorting recipients to scheduling emails, it will do everything for you. 

• Reach wider audiences

As long as you have your mailing list ready, an email marketing solution will enable you to reach a wider audience at a considerably lower cost in comparison with conventional mediums. 

Besides, since your audience is segmented, you can only deliver content that is relevant to each user segment. 

A lot of companies opt for a purchased list to rope in subscribers, it is best to curate a list around your clients. 

• Accurate data

The post-campaign analytics generated by email marketing solutions provide you with all information you need. Data on forwarded messages, click-through rate, open rate, bounce rate, and engagement level is provided in a detailed report. 

• Customer loyalty

Since the best email tools make it extremely easy to launch different campaigns, you will never lose touch with your customers. You can craft your content in accordance with your customer’s interests, offer deals on products and services they have shown interest in the past, and more. 

The best email marketing tools are one of the most effective tools to nurture customer loyalty. 

• Measurable ROI

These tools offer accountability in your marketing. You can easily keep track of every key metric of different email campaigns you are running. Apart from increasing brand awareness, email marketing campaigns have the potential to generate immediate revenues. 

Different Types of Email Marketing Software

Although the best email marketing solutions provide the same benefits, there are a few differences in their features. 

• Direct sales

Product promotion has to be the most important reason why companies use an email marketing software. These emails could include a catalog of new products, seasonal promotions, and content on similar lines. 

• Newsletter

Email software also serves the purpose of a communication tool. You can create engaging newsletters to provide different types of content such as guides, tips, articles, and announcements that are in tune with your customer’s preferences. 

• Transactional emails

Typically, transactional emails have an opt-in phase. This means that customers have to give you their consent before you can add them to your email list. 

Some of the most common examples of transactional emails are password reset requests, order confirmations, and email receipts. Transactional emails have a higher open rate in comparison to newsletters since customers have opted in. 

• Autoresponders

Autoresponders enable you to send multi-tiered emails depending on the feedback received from the recipient. 

Autoresponders are widely used to send welcome and thank you emails. A lot of customers appreciate the personal touch your brand provides. 

Factors to Consider When Buying an Email Marketing System

As a business owner, the price is the first thing that you are likely to consider while purchasing an email marketing system. However, do not let pricing be the sole factor that determines your choice. 

Here are a few other factors you should consider:

• Ease of use

An email marketing system should be very intuitive and easy to use.

• Display

A lot of customers go through emails through a smartphone or a tablet. The software solution of your choice should be able to display emails on mobile applications. 

• Features

Other than the pricing, explore the set of features offered by an email marketing software. Evaluate whether the software has all the features you require to attain your email marketing objectives. 

• CAN-SPAM compliance

Regardless of how engaging or appealing your email marketing campaign is. If your content is breaching the law, your campaigns are pointless. 

• A/B testing

A/B testing allows you to test different subject lines and optimize different campaigns to generate the best results.

Apart from these, you should also look at the number of emails you are allowed to send per month, integration options, and quality of customer service. 

We understand that selecting the best email marketing tool for your business requires considerable research. Apart from the monetary investment, you are likely to spend quite a bit of time choosing an email marketing software for your business.

This is why we have compiled a list of some of the best email marketing tools on our platform. Read our tool reviews and compare the various features of different tools before you make a choice. 

Image Source: Prodeep Ahmeed from Pixabay

Image 1 Source: rawpixel.com

Image 2 Source: rawpixel.com

Sources

[1] [2] Link. J (2021) “10 Email Marketing Statistics You Need to Know” Constant Contact [online] Available from: https://blogs.constantcontact.com/email-marketing-statistics/ [accessed May 2021]