Traits of the Best Email Marketing Companies

Email marketing is known for its high return on investment (roughly $42 for every $1 spent). But with all the information out there about email marketing, it can be a challenge to find a tactic that works for your business.

You know your business can benefit from email marketing, but how do you get started or optimize your existing efforts? How do you find someone who’s qualified to help and is more interested in helping your business than selling you something? There are a few key traits you can look for to find a quality email marketing company.

How to Choose the Best Email Marketing Service

To find an email marketing service provider, look for companies that provide data-driven services, experience with your existing technologies, honest conversations, and a fluid “test everything” mindset.

A lot of companies will use trendy email tactics that may work for a little while but eventually stop working because they don’t adjust strategy when performance dips. Others may promise the world but never deliver anything but “sorry.”

Partner with someone who knows what they’re looking for and isn’t afraid to explain it in terms you’ll understand. Here’s a breakdown of the top traits to look for when seeking a company’s help with email marketing.

The Traits to Look for During Email Vendor Selection

They Offer Data-Driven Services

A lot of people may compare designing an email marketing campaign to throwing noodles at the wall and seeing what sticks. But truthfully, quality email marketing companies follow a clear method, which may seem like madness when you’re in the thick of it but will show a positive ROI.

A credible email marketing company will consider its previous experiences, current industry trends, and week-to-week performance data to deliver optimized content that converts and an automation strategy that nurtures new leads.

Related Content: Email Marketing Frequently Asked Questions

They Know the Right Tech

Whether you’re currently using an email marketing software or are looking for the right solution, your email partner should be familiar with the application. A well-rounded email marketing team will have experience with a variety of email platforms and will likely have recommendations based on your business size and marketing team, and goals.

It’s also vital that your email marketing team understands how to navigate the CRM (customer relations manager) integrated into your email solution, as this is where they will locate data needed to see what needs fine-tuning. The team should be able to take that raw data from the CRM and interpret it into meaningful reports that let you see clearly what’s working and what isn’t so you can pivot as needed.

They Won’t Promise the World

It may seem obvious but trust your gut! If the company you’re in discussions with is spouting information that seems too good to be true, it very well might be. All email marketing is fluid; it will change depending on the service offered, target audience demographics, marketing goals, and more. Data and experimentation are vital to a purposeful email campaign. So, if a service provider is over-promising perfect performance, they may not get it – they just want to get you as a customer.

They’re Nimble and Run Tests

Some ways a knowledgeable email marketing company may suggest experimenting with your email campaign include:

• Email layout and design tests. This could include plain text vs. HTML, image selection and placement, P.S. vs. no P.S, or specific templates.
• Timing and frequency of emails. Going back to data-driven effectiveness, your email marketing team can help you determine the best day of the week and time of day to email for maximum exposure. This can help increase your open and interaction rates and, ultimately, your total conversions.
• Dynamic and personalized email tests. These tests can answer several questions: Should you include your customers’ first names or no names in the subject line or the email body? Should you include your company name?
• Email CTA (call to action) tests. Whether your campaign is aiming for the top, middle, or bottom of your sales funnel, CTAs should be tested and refined. From image vs. text CTAs to different CTA button colors, locations, words, type of social proof, and offer type.
• Email copy tests. Once someone opens your email, you have about 5 seconds to capture their attention. Some email copy experiments you could try include familiar vs. professional tone, having the word “free” in your content, changing email length, and A/B testing your subject line copy.

With all the possible ways to experiment with email marketing, it can be difficult to know where to start. A company with email marketing experience will know how to prioritize these changes and systematically approach the changes with proper tracking to prove what’s working and what still needs tweaking.

They Help with Cross-Channel Success

Just because you hire a team specifically for email marketing doesn’t mean they should sit in a silo. A good partner will offer suggestions for leveraging email lists, email-referred website data, and more to support other marketing efforts – like paid media campaigns and retargeting, and organic content marketing. 

Understand Email Marketing Lingo

You don’t need to know all email marketing lingo, but it helps to familiarize yourself with it to ensure your potential email vendor is presenting you with accurate information. A well-rounded email marketing company will be able to suggest meaningful KPIs (key performance indicators) for different campaign types.

They will also help you understand why those KPIs are important and where your attention should be to help you get the best ROI possible for your email marketing efforts.

Need Help Finding an Email Marketing Company?

You want a communicative and supportive email marketing vendor. After all, it takes two to tango. At Oneupweb we offer many email marketing services to nurture leads, grow prospects, build workflows, segment lists, and create a strong ROI. There’s nothing our team would enjoy more than helping your team succeed. Contact us today at (231) 922-9977, or complete our contact form.