Is B2B Email really dead?

B2B Email Marketing ROI within SMEs: Outperforming All Other Channels

By Mark Stephens

Despite its bad press and constant references to its diminishing impact by competing channels, email marketing remains a cornerstone of B2B marketing strategies.; especially, for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Its ability to deliver a high return on investment (ROI) makes it a preferred channel over others and in this article I will outline what it is that most email marketers are doing wrong, what you need to do, to get it right, and the stats and research to prove that email marketing is still the preferred route to finding new clients.?

Lets start by pointing out that, according to recent research and statistics available from credible sources such as Forbes and Statista, B2B email marketing can deliver an ROI of more than 30 X the investment put into it, across most sectors, when done correctly.

Even at a 10X return, compare that to paid traffic on Google or LinkedIn, with an average of just 3 X ROI and internal marketing teams delivering around 2.5 X ROI, and you have to ask yourself the question – Why are so many companies not capitalising on email?

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This article explores why email marketing outperforms other channels and addresses the challenges faced by email marketers to maximise their Returns of Investment.

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The Problem

Despite its proven potential, email marketing is not without its challenges, and the majority do get it wrong.

?Here are some key issues that email marketers typically face:

1. They do Not Properly Understand Their ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)

Many SMEs struggle to define their ICP accurately. Without a clear understanding of who their ideal customers are, email campaigns can miss the mark, leading to the acquisition of the wrong data and this misalignment also often results in irrelevant content being produced and sent to recipients who are not interested in the offerings.

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1. The Impact of Poor Quality Data

Data quality is crucial for the success of email marketing campaigns. Poor quality data, such as outdated or incorrect email addresses, can lead to high bounce rates and low deliverability. This not only wastes resources but also damages the sender's domain reputation, making it harder to reach the inbox in the future. Most importantly without the right quality of data, you are communicating with the wrong people.

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1. Not Executing an Effective Email Delivery Process

Getting emails in front of the intended recipients is becoming increasingly challenging due to changes in email legislation and spam reduction measures by major providers like Microsoft and Google. New requirements for bulk senders to authenticate their emails and allow a recipient to unsubscribe are aimed at reducing spam but also complicate the delivery process for legitimate marketers. ?

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1. Generating Poor Content

Content that fails to engage recipients around their pains and objectives can lead to low open and click-through rates. Effective email content should act as a conduit between the recipient and the sender, clearly communicating the value proposition and addressing the recipient's needs.

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1. Low Adoption of AI, Automation, and Real-Time Analytics

Many SMEs have been slow to adopt AI, automation, and real-time analytics, which can significantly enhance email marketing performance. These technologies enable personalised content, optimised send times, and real-time campaign adjustments, leading to much higher engagement and better ROI.

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The brutal truth is, that any one of these issues is capable of completely destroying an email campaign – All 5 elements need to work in harmony.

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The Solution

?To overcome these challenges and maximise the ROI of your email marketing, SMEs should focus on the following critical aspects:

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Define and Understand Your ICP

Invest time in researching and defining your ideal customer profile. Use AI Agents and data analytics to fully understand your audience's behavior, preferences, and pain points. This will ensure that you acquire the right data, and help tailor your email content to meet their specific needs and increase engagement.

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Ensure Data Quality is A Grade

• Only use clean and updated email lists. Use tools to verify email addresses and to segment your audience based on accurate data. This will improve deliverability and engagement rates.
• Data is no longer an expensive commodity, and it is a false economy to think that you are saving money by using old data when the value of one more new customer represents 10-50 X return on that data investment.

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Optimise Email Delivery Processes

• Stay compliant with the latest email legislation and spam reduction measures.
• Implement email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to improve deliverability.
• Make it easy for recipients to unsubscribe to maintain a positive sender reputation.
• Use an alternative set of .com Gmail domains, and warm up emails for at least 2 weeks before starting your campaigns.
• Use a professional ESP tool like Instantly, SmartLead or pipl.ai
• Pause your emails and return to warm up as soon as their health score drops below 80%
• Use Spintax and avoid spam words
• Send out first emails in plain text and avoid links and CTA’s
• Only send emails during working hours, and vary send times to replicate genuine human behaviour

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This challenging, practical aspect of email marketing alone, is where many companies decide to outsource their email delivery.

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Create Engaging Content

• Focus on creating high-quality, relevant content that addresses the recipient's pain points and objectives. Use compelling subject lines, personalised messages, and clear calls to action to drive engagement. Ensure your content aligns with your value proposition and resonates with your target audience. Avoid generating and sharing content that does not align your product or service with the prospective clients pain points or objectives.

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Adopt AI, Automation, and Real-Time Analytics

• Leverage AI and automation tools to personalise email content, optimise send times, and automate repetitive tasks. Use real-time analytics to monitor campaign performance and make data-driven adjustments. This will help you stay agile and responsive to your audience's needs.

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If you do not have the internal resources, tools or sophistication to do all this in-house, then outsource it to people that know what they are doing.

Use this checklist to evaluate their processes and ability to execute to a high standard in addition to what they charge.

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The Statistics

I’m constantly seeing posts that talk of the demise of email marketing, but I am afraid that this is nearly always by marketing people that have failed to adapt to current-day requirements, or they are posts from people whose conflicting agenda, is to sell you an alternative solution.

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My recommendation, is to do the research yourself, and let independent sources without a personal agenda, guide you towards what is working and what isn’t.

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Yes, Email Marketing has changed, Yes it has got far more complex, and Yes it is harder to generate consistent results.

But most importantly to you, and to your business, it's still statistically, BY-FAR, the top-performing channel when done properly, based upon the most important metric to you – The ROI.

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In my research and personal experience, email marketing consistently demonstrates superior ROI compared to other marketing channels, and internal marketing teams, and here are some key statistics and insights that I was able to source, to back this up:

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Email Marketing ROI

• mail marketing delivers an average ROI of more than ￡30 for every ￡1 spent. This is significantly higher than other channels, such as paid advertising, which averages ￡3 for every ￡1 spent.
• In 2024, email marketing revenue was projected to surpass ￡12 billion globally, highlighting its effectiveness and continued widespread adoption.

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Comparison with Other Marketing Channels

• Email marketing outperforms social media advertising in terms of cost per acquisition by 3:1. While social media advertising can be effective, it often requires a higher budget to achieve similar results.
• The average click-through rate for email marketing is 3.2%, compared to 3.17% for Google ads. This demonstrates email's ability to engage recipients effectively at lower cost.
• According to Statista, the average ROI for SME internal marketing teams is just over 2.5 X and has declined by more than 25% in the last 3 years

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Customer Preferences

• 70% of customer recipients prefer email content over traditional advertising when learning about products. This preference underscores the importance of email as a communication channel.
• 73% of millennials state that email is their preferred channel for business communication.
• Customers demonstrate that they are willing to consume significantly more content by email, that they are via Social Media and WhatsApp

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Internal Marketing Teams vs. Email Marketing Agencies

• Email marketing agencies often provide higher ROI due to their specialised expertise and access to advanced tools and strategies. These agencies can enhance campaigns to improve engagement, deliverability, and overall performance.
• Internal marketing teams offer greater control and flexibility but may lack the specialised knowledge and resources that agencies can provide. This can impact the effectiveness and ROI of email campaigns.

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For a free consultation on adopting an effective Email strategy for your business, book in a call with Mark Stephens using the diary booking link below.

https://calendly.com/mark-bmd/30min

End to end Email Marketing Services starting from just ￡495 per month

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Article Citations

Forbes Advisor. "49 Top Email Marketing Statistics." June 24, 2024.?Forbes

Statista. "E-mail marketing worldwide - statistics & facts." December 10, 2024.?Statista

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