Email marketing has been at the forefront of digital marketing since 1978, when Gary Thuerk promoted his company’s computers in a group message to 100 recipients. That email generated millions of dollars in sales for him—and it has done the same for countless other companies since then.
The reason email marketing is so successful is simple: it works. People are on their phones constantly. They check their email multiple times a day. After all, the email inbox is a gateway into your personal interests, business, and social life.
Manufacturing businesses should take note. These people are not just statistics. They are real people – people who hold positions of authority at companies you care about. People who fit the target audience of your business. With 3.9 billion active email users at the end of 2019, and likely to grow to 4.48 billion by 2024, manufacturing as an industry simply cannot afford to ignore such a vital foundation of modern marketing.
Now that you understand the true power of email marketing, I’m going to go over how to use email marketing to grow your manufacturing business by going through some of the most common questions I get from manufacturing companies.
Does My Manufacturing Business Need Email Marketing?
Ascend2’s 2019 Digital Marketing Strategy Survey Summary report found that email marketing still ranks as one of the most effective marketing channels you can use.
There are a number of reasons for this. The main one is that any email you send is going to individuals who, at some point, have already agreed to receive emails from your company. This makes any leads that come from email marketing pre-warmed and more likely to convert into actual sales.
Another great benefit is that email marketing is easily automated. Since running a manufacturing business is so office 365 database detail-oriented and complex, the ability to simplify and streamline any process is crucial.
Email marketing is necessary for your manufacturing business because the return on investment is significant. With the right tools, the effort required to create and implement a program is relatively minimal, and the returns can be exponential.
What should I send in my manufacturing marketing emails?
It’s not enough to just send random emails. They have to be strategic. Messages sent into the void without purpose or intent will stay in that void. Over the years, I’ve found that following these two basic content rules has produced the most positive results for manufacturing companies:
Start with an immediate welcome. You’re making a mistake if you don’t immediately acknowledge and thank the prospect for giving you their email address. They are giving you a gift, so treat it as such. Welcome them and let them know what to expect from your future communications. You can show them highlights of the resources on your website, but don’t be overly salesy with your welcome. This is a good time to make sure they know who to contact if they want to talk to you further, but this is the “sales” you should get across in your initial communication.
Create a list of potential "connect" opportunities.