How to Choose the Best Email Platform

Don't get left behind with your email marketing

Digital marketing has become one of the most important forms of marketing and several platforms and tools have been introduced along the way. There is such a large variety of services available now to help build your brand's visibility and growth but what you do with this traffic is key to success. Growing your customer database is critical and can be done through a number of channels:

• Pay-per-click (PPC) Advertising

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• Content Marketing

• Social Media Marketing

• Email Marketing

• Mobile Marketing

• Marketing Automation

One area that is of huge importance is Email marketing. This is one of the most important and widely used methods. Many international survey results say that it is the most effective method and results in the above industry average in both online conversion and customer satisfaction.

Email has been around for a quite long time and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. It’s the most professional medium to communicate with and is the quickest and most direct way to reach customers, supported by a well-tailored informative approach.

Each customer is attached to their own individual email address, which creates a key opportunity for businesses and brands. But what email platform should you use?

These are the five factors to look at when choosing the best email marketing platform for your business:

1. Reliable inbox delivery

There isn't any need to send marketing emails to your costumes if they never get past the spam filter. Depending on the word use, emails can be flagged as spam. Choose a platform with reliable inbox delivery.

2. Synchronise the third-party platform with your existing CRM

It isn't very easy to import, export and manage your contact lists from other platforms. So choose a platform that can easily combine lists, remove unsuccessfully delivered emails, and update existing contact information, and require users to remove duplicates or incomplete information manually, is what you should look for.

3. A platform which stays within your budget

The cost, capabilities and contact features of email marketing platforms vary. Evaluate the number of contacts you have and how automated you would like to make your email marketing process. Free trials and direct support determines which platform’s the best.

4. Performance Analytics

Experienced email marketers know that you need to try different things to find out which one works and which one doesn’t. You need to manage the effectiveness of various email marketing strategies. Before choosing an email marketing platform for your business, make sure you can measure your results and optimise your email content based on these learnings.

5. Segmentation of audiences

How many times have you received a marketing email promoting a product or topic you don’t like or care nothing about? Even if it’s your favourite brand, these rouge emails make us feel spammed. This totally ruins the effect of personalised email marketing, leaving us desperate to click “unsubscribe!”.

Audience segmentation is a key tactic and tool that every email marketer should use. As the number of your email subscribers’ increase, don’t use the tools just for the sake of doing so. Instead, you will want to customise your messages based on your audience’s interest, engagement, purchase history, and more.

Final Thoughts

When you choose a platform, choose a platform based on the amount of time that you can spend on email marketing. If your time and budget are limited, it’s better to use a more straightforward email marketing platform such as MailChimp or Klaviyo rather than a larger or more complicated one such as Bronto or Emarsys. However, if you're not limited by budget or time then looking at a large more robust platform will provide greater benefit to your business. 

Choosing an email marketing platform is a big decision that can have a long-term impact on your business. Never mind what platform you choose, make sure it will realistically meet the needs of your business. Don’t forget about the CRM capabilities, time restrictions, and budget requirements. Make sure the platform you choose allows users to unsubscribe and that it can personalize content to ensure that your email makes it into the right inbox at the right time. Then take the plunge and get started with growing and serving your email audience!

If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further please feel free to contact one of our specialists.