Email marketing is a tried and tested method of engaging with your customers and creating new prospects. For many small business owners, managing an email list can become overwhelming. I’m going to help you find the best email marketing tools to make your e-commerce store a roaring success.
Do You Need an Email Marketing Tool for Your Online Store?
Email is a wonderful business tool. It is straightforward and trusted. Typically, an online store will utilize emails in several ways.
When managed properly, marketing emails will improve sales. As a transactional tool, email is also a vital part of ensuring your business runs smoothly. Sending confirmation emails to customers when they make a purchase provides peace of mind and trust in your brand. You may also send subsequent emails to update them on the delivery schedule or send a post-sale survey to gain insight into how your customers rate your service.
Using generic email apps, like G Suite or Outlook is not the best way to manage an effective email marketing campaign. For one thing, these platforms are not intended for bulk emails, and you may find your account being suspended.
Apart from this, there are many practical advantages to using business email service providers:
- Some recipients may block your email address, making it impossible to send them crucial operational or transactional notifications.
- Using a single email account makes it difficult for more than one person to manage an email list.
- A business email marketing tool will analyze your campaign, providing valuable statistical data like open rates and click-throughs.
- You want to ensure that emails are user-friendly across all devices.
- A growing e-commerce business will benefit immensely from automation, particularly when it comes to transactional emails.
- Email marketing tools provide easy ways to manage and optimize your email lists.
Steps To Choose the Best Email Marketing Service
Searching the “best email platforms list for business” on Google will probably leave feeling a little bewildered. There are hundreds of options for email marketing software. Naturally, everyone wants you to believe that their platform is the best.
How do you know which email marketing software is the best for your online store?
Before you can even begin comparing services, you need to know what your objectives are, both now and in the future. I’ve listed some easy-to-follow steps that will send you well on your way to securing the best way forward for your email marketing strategy.
1. Know What You Want
Business email marketing platforms can offer a myriad of functions that may not be applicable to your needs. Choosing the software with the most features can make things overly complicated and difficult to use. Instead, you should carefully consider what your individual needs are and choose the app that works for you.
2. Find the Email Marketing Software that Meets Your Requirements
Once you’ve established what is important to you, you should compare what each provider has to offer.
Here are a few of the most important services most business owners look for:
- Supporting both transactional and marketing emails
- Email software that can be integrated with your website, in order to automate transactional emails.
- Analytics and data integration. For maximum effect, you need to ensure that your emails are sent to the correct address and that you have the best analytical data on how customers respond to your emails. Ideally, your email marketing software should make this as easy as possible.
- Sending email and SMS
- Multichannel list building, utilizing website pop-ups, social media, and live chat, or chatbots
3. Compare Prices
You want to get good value for your money. This means comparing what each service provider is offering vs what you’re paying for the service.
Depending on the volume of emails you send and what features you require, you can choose between several pricing options:
- Free Options: Some service providers will offer a limited amount of emails that can be sent for free. This is usually a starter trial, generally for the first month. This can be a good option for startups, allowing you to try the service and see how it works for you.
- Pay as You Go: You only pay for the services you use and the volume of emails you send. While this will be more expensive if you’re sending thousands of emails, it can be worth it for a small business that is still growing.
- Monthly Fee: This is the option that most businesses opt for. You can sign up for a package that will accommodate the volume of emails you intend sending. You pay a fixed monthly fee, which is generally the most cost-effective.
- Extra Services: You may have to pay an additional fee to make use of certain features.
4. See If Ease of Use
We all want the best price. At the same time, we want a service that is efficient. Time is money and an easy-to-use system with relevant automation may end up saving a lot in the long run, even if it costs more to buy the software.
5. Comparing Features
There are many features that can make your life much easier and optimize your email marketing strength. These include:
- Segmentation and Personalization: Personalized emails are the most effective way to engage your customers. Segmentation allows you to customize your email list according to certain criteria, like location, gender, interests, and buying habits. By utilizing this feature you can customize the emails sent to the various customers on your email list.
- A/B Testing: This is a common analytical tool that allows you to compare the effectiveness of an email campaign. By sending two versions of an email and then comparing customer responses, you can decide which one works best.
- Automation: With easy-to-use automated features, you can save heaps of time and effort. This could include automatic birthday messages, resending unopened emails, reminders for abandoned shopping cart, and many more.
Which is the Best Email Marketing Platform for E-Commerce?
While individual needs differ, there are two business email platforms that have proven to be a top favorite amongst online store owners. The Omnisend vs Drip debate is one that can only be decided by your own preferences.
I’ll provide you with a general overview of these highly popular products and leave you to decide which is best.
Omnisend
- Campaign setup with SMS integration
- Advanced segmentation
- Automatic resending of unopened emails
- Drop and drag builder
- Email templates
- Image library
- A/B testing
- Mobile optimization
- Email marketing automation
- Omnichannel automation
- Landing page integration
- Landing page builder
- Landing page templates
- Integration with SMS, Facebook, Instagram, and Google Adds, as well as push notifications
Drip
- Campaign setup
- Segmentation
- Drop and drag builder
- Email templates
- A/B testing
- Email marketing automation
- Landing page integration
Conclusion
There can be no doubt that good email marketing software can help you grow your online store. When choosing the best email marketing platform for your business, you should not only consider the cost but, more importantly, what you’re getting for your money.
You need to choose a plan that will accommodate the number of emails you intend to send and the size of your contact list. Features can vary quite a bit from one service provider to another. It’s important to understand what these features are and which of them you need. Only by carefully assessing your needs and comparing business email software offerings, can you find the ideal solution for your business.