Why Email Marketing Excels In a Struggling Global Economy
When the economy takes a hit, it’s common to see brands cut their marketing budgets as they face times of uncertainty. Brands are working with tighter budgets, scaling back certain departments and trying to keep the business profitable. However, this is when email marketing really comes into its own. Often considered a well-established but slightly dated strategy, email marketings consistency and directness really excels in times of economic hardship and businesses who invest in email marketing are often less affected by recession than their counterparts.
We used data from a new report on ‘Email in an Evolving Economy’ to show the strengths and benefits of email marketing for your business in a struggling global economy.
Email Marketing Has The Highest ROI
In the report, marketers were asked which marketing channel they think will provide the best ROI during an economic downturn and in 1st place with 41.80% of the vote was email marketing.
Email marketing is said to have a ROI of around 4100%, for every £1 you spend you can expect to see a return on investment of £41. This is due to many different reasons.
- Email marketing lets you communicate with clients and prospects directly without having to work around social media algorithms.
- Your marketing to people who have already shown an interest in your business
- You don’t have to pay to reach your subscribers like you would on social media, with their insistence on sponsored posts.
- Email drives traffic to your website more efficiently than any other channel.
Digital Advertising was ranked 2nd most popular strategy, this refers to paid ads on social media sites. However, digital ads typically target new business which is harder to come by in a recession and are not always as effective for B2B companies who might not have the flashy products and services that B2C companies are blessed with.
Email Marketing Budgets Remain High despite General Budget Cuts
As previously mentioned budget cuts to marketing departments are common in times of recession however one thing that often remains untouched is email marketing budgets.
In the ‘Email in an Evolving Economy” report marketers were asked which sector of their marketing strategy are they planning to scale back in an attempt to save some money: Digital Advertising was first (26%) closely followed by event marketing. On the other end of the spectrum: content marketing, affiliate marketing and email marketing were all the least likely to see a reduction in investment.
In relation to Email Marketing specifically, 90% of marketers said they planned to invest more into email or maintain their current investment. When we look deeper into what these businesses are doing differently with their email marketing budgets, 30% of senders said they plan to increase their send rate and increase the volume of emails sent.
Top Email Marketing Strategies to Use in a Recession
Personalisation
Personalisation has again been voted the most successful strategy to use when email marketing in a recession. Adding the user’s name, age, gender, location etc to the subject line or copy text is a tried and proven tactic to increase all email statistics: open rate, click through rate, conversion rate etc. Click here to read our full guide on how the psychology behind personalisation in email marketing.
Email Newsletters
Email Newsletters are a great way to attract customers’ attention and keep them thinking about your company. A monthly email newsletter is a great way for B2B companies to keep their clients and partners up-to-date on the latest news and developments within the organisation. Click here to read our Email newsletter content guide.
Deliverability Monitoring
Actively monitoring your email deliverability is crucial if you want to improve your email marketing over time. Make sure you aren’t on any blacklists that send your emails to spam.
Wrap up
We hope this blog has convinced you that email marketing is the best way to futureproof your marketing in a struggling global economy. If email is already an important part of your marketing strategy then you need to protect that investment.
If you’d rather leave your email marketing to the professionals then feel free to get in touch.
Inbox offers bespoke email marketing services for B2B businesses. Our email campaigns are designed to get you noticed by the people that matter.
