Email Sequence:
An email sequence is a series of emails sent to contacts as part of a marketing campaign. Objectives may vary depending on the campaign, but marketers generally aim for a conversion. They are usually targeted to specific audiences, but can be used as part of cold outreach, or for a mailing list. Marketing automation software is most often used to carry out email sequences.
Despite the evolution of the digital landscape, email marketing remains one of the most popular forms of marketing, especially for B2B companies. In fact, around 87% of marketers still use email as one of their primary methods of disseminating content.
Email marketing has become even more prevalent in the current challenging economic climate. Our research found that, in 2022, outbound marketing was the most successful marketing strategy for B2B.
So, why is email marketing still so critical to the marketing strategies of today? The best email marketing can be used to target buyers at all stages of the marketing funnel, and to achieve a variety of goals. These include driving lead generation, increasing web traffic, nurturing leads, and more.
Coordinated email sequences are a great way to stay in touch with your potential customers. Ensure that you’re getting the maximum ROI from your email marketing campaigns.
The Importance of an Email Sequence
Email sequences remain so popular due to their effectiveness. This isn’t to say that email marketing can be relied on solely. The best B2B marketing will use a combination of channels and approaches. However, other marketing methods, like inbound, can be relatively slow to show results. Making changes to that messaging is even slower.
If you’re looking for speedy results, or speedy feedback, email marketing is a great option.
In fact, an email sequence isn’t just about outreach to your contacts and leads. Email marketing is a great way to test your marketing messages and continue evolving your wider marketing.
Your email platform will likely provide some kind of analytics or metrics for each of your email campaigns. However, outside of your platform, the number of responses will give you a good indication of how well you’re resonating with your contacts.
Use this information to inform your other strategies. If you’re not getting much feedback from a certain message, it’s wasteful to spend time pushing that same message via inbound or paid advertising. Use email sequences as a tool for further marketing development.
Popular Types of Email Sequence
Email sequences can be used for a variety of purposes. You will need to employ different skills and different email types to achieve different goals. However, the key is to identify what you’re looking to achieve with each of your sequences. Here are some ways that email sequences can help you to build relationships with your audience:
Attract
Not every email should be targeting a sale. In fact, the best email sequences will build trust with your contacts over time. You don’t garner that trust by repeatedly pushing a pitch or deal. Email sequences are a valuable component of an effective demand generation or awareness campaign.
If you’re going to attempt cold outreach, or you’re looking to reinvigorate your contact list, consider an email campaign that provides content. Your content is the best way to provide value, especially to less engaged contacts. Offer something in return for your recipients’ engagement. This also allows you to gather more information about what each individual is specifically interested in, encouraging you to tailor further messages.
Nurturing
A nurturing email sequence has the primary goal of staying in touch and engaging with your engaged contacts. You might add users into a nurturing sequence if they download a specific piece of content, or fill in a particular form.
Each of these sequences should be tailored around the specific engagement they had with your content or business. Provide them with more information on the topic they are interested in, and show that you understand their needs and pain points. The more you can resonate with a buyer, the stronger that relationship becomes over time.
Newsletters
Newsletters are probably one of the most common forms of email sequences in marketing, both B2B and DTC. Chances are, you already have plenty of these in your own inbox.
However, these email sequences are a great opportunity to remain connected with your potential buyers. Keep them updated with your business news, but don’t focus on your products. Consider what your buyers are looking for on a wider scale. Do you have some new and valuable content available? Or, are you offering a webinar or seminar?
Newsletters help your business to stay in your target audience’s inbox, without demanding any specific engagement. Again, this is an excellent approach to demand generation in the earlier stages.
At Nituno we work with B2B tech and SaaS companies to implement a variety of marketing strategies. We believe that email marketing serves two key functions, nurturing leads, and gathering marketing data. Email sequences are invaluable to your wider marketing strategy. Want to learn more about the importance of email marketing in SaaS? Get in touch with us today.
