• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, October 27, 2015

According to the Ascend2 and Dun & Bradstreet NetProspex's report “Email Marketing Trends, B2B Benchmarks for 2015” marketers can leverage the Email marketing channel to engage with customers in nearly every part of the customer lifecycle. 91% of respondents consider their email marketing somewhat or very successful at achieving company goals.

60% of the 195 B2B business, marketing, and sales professionals surveyed, use email to boost engagement; additional main objectives include:

• Increasing lead generation (57%)email
• Improving acquisition and retention (43%)
• Enhancing lead nurturing (42%)

Todd Lebo, partner and CMO of Ascend2, opines that “… probably the primary reason why [email has] been so effective in a variety of areas like engagement is because most marketers are following best practices [of] opt-in email marketing, so people want to engage with them… ”

73% of professionals consider the click-through rate the most useful metric when measuring email marketing performance. Conversion rate came in a close second at 71%; open rate and email ROI, the next top contenders, significantly trailed behind at 42% and 40%, respectively.

Although the click-through rate is the favored metric, it's also one of email marketing's greatest hurdles. In fact:

• 53% cite low click-through rates as the biggest barrier to email marketing success, followed by:
• Lack of effective strategy (42%)
• Lack of quality content (33%), and lack of internal resources (32%)

While 41% of professionals say their click-through rates are increasing:

• 27% claim that their click-through rates are dropping
• 32% of respondents say their rates aren't changing at all

Lebo says “… it's hard to get people's attention… the secret to a successful email strategy… ensuring that it's customer focused… “

According to the report, including a meaningful call-to-action offer is the most effective way to increase click-through rates for 65% of professionals. Respondents also cite:

• List segmentation for targeting (51%)
• Message personalization (44%)
• Testing and observing (33%)

The most effective tactics can often be the most challenging to implement, says the report. And the numbers agree, says the report:

• 43% of respondents say segmenting lists for targeting is the most difficult method to execute to boost click-through rates
• 33% say the same for including meaningful call-to-action offers
• 34% say testing and optimizing

The report concludes recommending focusing more on list quality and less on list quantity. Lebo says “… as you (pursue) click-through rates… you can have a smaller list… much more targeted… much more engaged… a much higher value… have the patience to build a program… “

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