Marketing is constantly evolving, but one aspect that hasn’t changed is the power of email marketing. When done correctly, targeted email marketing remains one of the most practical and effective ways to market building materials. It’s essential for a successful building materials business.
Yes, Email Still Matters
There are flashier and newer tools available, but few are as reliable. Email is an essential tool in the building product marketer’s arsenal. About 87% of B2B marketers say email is one of their top free organic distribution channels, according to a trends report from the Content Marketing Institute.
So if you market building products, don’t ignore it.
4 Reasons to Use Targeted Email Marketing
Email marketing has a ton of benefits for building product manufacturers.
Whether your business is big or small, email can help you generate revenue, create an engaging brand, target customers personally and build long-term relationships.
1. It’s the Most Cost-Effective Way to Generate Revenue
About 59% of the B2B marketers in the previously mentioned survey agree that email marketing is the most cost-effective way to generate revenue. Targeted email marketing can help you make the most of leads and understand your customers.
2. It’s One-on-One
Email is a direct and personalized form of marketing. Email helps you build a genuine connection with contractors, builders and any other customer.
3. It’s Brand-Centric
Email marketing creates brand awareness and cultivates brand loyalty with your customers. That makes those relationships even more valuable.
4. It Provides Valuable Insights
Email marketing can provide valuable insights into your customers’ needs and habits. You can learn exactly what your target audience responds to, what they need and when they like to hear from you.
That data will help you craft a more effective campaign. For example, you can perform A/B testing to see what kind of content or headline works best. Each new insight will help you further personalize your email communications.
You can see exactly how much your efforts are contributing to your bottom line. If something isn’t working, scrap it and try something else.
Related: How to Make Your Building Materials Website Architect-Friendly
Best Practices for Email Marketing for Building Products
To reap the benefits of targeted email marketing, you have to do it correctly. Here are some best practices to follow.
Talk About What You Can Do
Your emails to potential or current customers shouldn’t be primarily about sales. Your focus should be about what you can do for them. Address their pain points.
Can your building product or business approach solve a nagging problem? When you create value for your customers, they will remember it. If you clog up their inbox with spammy sales pitches, they’ll remember that, too.
Make it Personal
If you’ve done any building material marketing, you know personalization matters. But as Orange Inbound explains, your degree of success is in the details.
Segment your audience: Segmentation is important. You don’t want to send everything to everyone on your list. That’s a waste of time and money — and it’s ineffective. You need to segment your email recipients based on their roles, their needs and their past behavior.
Use automated email features: This includes a number of tools that are easy to use. For example, use the scheduling feature to send emails when customers need the information and are most likely to open them — meaning not on a Saturday. Send the customer who just purchased a building product a follow-up email with how-to information or helpful tips. For the customer who shared an email address for the first time, follow up with helpful data.
Personalize your call to action and more: The call to action or CTA matters. A HubSpot study found that personalized CTAs convert 202% better than CTAs that are the same for everyone. The same philosophy applies to the greeting and images.
Targeted email marketing can do a lot for your building materials business. It creates brand awareness and loyalty. It’s a way to stay in touch with customers and to build relationships over time. Done correctly, this direct line of communication can be a powerful tool. Use it well.
Written By Candace Shackelford