Does Email Marketing Automation Even Work Anymore?

Email marketing automation is a game. Some are winning, some are losing.

But does it work?

It’s been hailed as the King of Conversions. It’s been held in contempt by the court of public opinion. Some people think it’s dead, others wish it were so.

What is the truth about email marketing automation? Is it even effective anymore? Is it indeed deceased? Or is it alive and kicking, helping businesses just like yours improve lead generation, transform leads into customers, and turning customers into delighted customers?

The answer might surprise you.

What the research says

You know why your company uses email marketing automation. At least you think you do. If you’re like more marketing professionals, your company uses automated email marketing to increase leads for the sales team (58 percent), to increase customer engagement (50 percent), to increase sales revenue (47 percent), to increase brand awareness (45 percent), or to reach new customer segments (45 percent).

If your company is like some others, you might even use it to improve customer retention (21 percent), reduce marketing costs (8 percent) or reduce customer service costs (4 percent).

At least that’s what the research says about why companies use email marketing automation.

Your reasons might differ slightly or be a combination of those listed above. But in general, you use it as a tool to move more product.

And it’s working.

According to the Digital Marketing Survey, automated email marketing works–at least somewhat–for?88 percent of the organizations that are using it. That’s right: 88 percent. More specifically, 60 percent say that the tactic is “somewhat successful.” That’s not a bad number, but it’s more impressive when you combine it with what comes next.

In addition to the 60 percent of companies that consider?their digital marketing efforts to be somewhat successful,?28 percent say that digital marketing, which includes email marketing automation, is “very successful.”

So here’s the answer

There you have it. Email marketing automation still works. At least it does–at some level–for the majority of companies using digital marketing.

But the question remains: If it’s not working for 12 percent of companies, what are these companies doing (or not doing) to sabatage a tool that seems to work well for the vast majoritity?

To understand the answer to that question, you have to look at what companies say are the biggest challenges to implementing an effective digital marketing strategy:

Putting in place an effective strategy
Inadequate budget
An inability to improve your return on investment
A lack of training and experience
A lack of useful data about what works and what doesn’t
Lack of creativity
Increasing competition
A lack of effective marketing software

Do these reasons for a lack of success look familiar? If so, you might be able to make corrections quickly if you find the right partner. And if you do, you wouldn’t be alone–61 percent of organizations using digital marketing outsource all or part of their efforts.

And that might explain the biggest difference between the winners (the 88 percent of companies that see value in automated email marketing) and those who are not winning the digital marketing game.

To learn the specifics on what Digital Marketing Professionals have said about what strategies in email marketing have and have not worked, check out our B2B Digital Marketing Strategy Report compiling information from 333 businesses and professionals executing digital marketing tactics. Just click the button below.