Is email still a leading channel for B2B marketing ROI?

Email marketing has had a tough time of it in recent years. With the introduction of new and exciting digital marketing alternatives, email marketing has had to compete with the growing popularity of channels like social media and mobile marketing.

However, according to the results of the 2015 Email Marketing Industry Census from econsultancy and Adestra, email marketing continues to be one of the top two marketing channels for delivering ROI. Moreover, 25% of company and agency respondents have rated email marketing and SEO as ‘excellent’ in terms of providing a return on investment.

It’s still got it!

But let’s not get too excited. Despite its ability to provide value, companies are actually now spending less on email marketing than before, with almost 39% spending less than £5000. For the first time ever, the highest proportion of companies surveyed are spending within the lowest budget bracket. Coupled with this, email is assigned just 13% of overall marketing budget, a figure down by 19% since 2014.

So what does this mean? Naturally, there are repercussions from these budget reductions; most significantly a loss of revenue derived from email marketing as a channel. Organisations attributed an average of 20% of their total sales to email, a number down from 22% in 2014.

Whilst disappointing, these results show that companies need to be investing in their email marketing in order to ensure continued success. For B2B marketing, this means understanding how to engage with content that is relevant and interesting to the target audience.

When it comes to B2B email marketing, buyer persona insight is key. Marketers need to research the lifestyle, views and motivation of their buyers, and customise and personalise content to meet these needs. Buyer persona and email can be a powerful team when combined, offering a way to target and personalise content and products more effectively.

The future of email marketing is unknown. For now though, it continues to be a fundamental aspect of solid lead generation, and deserving of its place amongst newer digital channels.

For a complete guide to creating B2B buyer personas that will improve ROI, download our eBook: B2B Buyer Personas: A Marketer’s How-to Guide