Despite one’s scale of business or overall strategy, email marketing has become a primary tool to acquire and retain customers. According to research, 4 out of 5 marketers prefer email marketing over social media, as it generates a whopping 4,200% ROI, making it one of the most powerful marketing tools with limitless reach.
Statistics show that the majority (64%) of small business owners are using email marketing to reach their customers. There are multiple reasons for doing so, a major one being that smaller firms have more image flexibility.
While one may quickly establish trust with local clients at a small firm, larger organizations struggle to connect with small communities. Another advantage is that small organization can use this distribution channel to be transparent, honest, and open in their communication, which the modern customer highly appreciates.
While this includes using personalized subject lines and sharing helpful information to increase CTR, the general idea is to engage with the customers to create a one-on-one experience.
Email marketing is the most important for small businesses as it can help set them apart from other players in the market and push them forward. It can attract new customers, help gain their loyalty, build long-lasting client relationships, and increase more opportunities to thrive.
It is why small businesses need to utilize a reputable email service provider with responsive templates that can automatically optimize their daily emails and tailor them around their brand. Here are a few of the most distinguished email marketing tools to help you always hit the mark.
HubSpot
HubSpot, an inbound marketing platform, provides email marketing solutions which integrate CRM while addressing the needs of a small organization. Businesses can create customizable email templates to engage and expand their audience with the easy drag-and-drop email creator.
Take a cue from this compliance platform that saw astounding results (96% increase in revenue) after switching to HubSpot.
Small businesses can use personalized tokens to alter their links, subject lines, CTAs, content, etc. They can also use automation tools to collect leads, create landing pages, and enable insightful information in analytics.
Additionally, HubSpot offers a free tool for small organizations on a budget, which offers up to 2,000 monthly emails, with premium options starting at $50 for MarketingHub Starter.
Mailchimp
A dominant player in the email marketing space, Mailchimp offers small businesses one of the most cost-effective ways to promote their brand and launch their products/services into the marketplace.
From A/B testing, reporting, and monitoring analytics to adhering to a ‘growing’ plan that is the main focus for small businesses – Mailchimp adapts to every operating model and business strategy. It’s no surprise that Mailchimp recorded 14 million users in 2020, helping these small enterprises make $61 million in online sales that year.
Small businesses also require a more comprehensive set of marketing tools, including lead generation, automated visual design, signup tools, advanced segmentation features, time optimization, email/live chat support, etc. This allows the business to focus on specific products/services that interest their customer and make the most of their efforts.
Enterprises can choose a suitable free subscription option to add up to 2000 subscribers & send 12,000 emails in a month. The unlimited account starts at $10.
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An alternative to Mailchimp
Mailchimp, an email marketing tool, works smoothly to build a customer base, trust, and longevity. However, many users have switched their preferences over time due to limitations in creating email lists, high-cost subscriptions, and user-unfriendly interfaces. There are a few listed alternatives for Mailchimp, some of which we will discuss later in this article:
- Constant Contact
- Sendinblue
- ConvertKit
- MailerLite
- Hubspot
- BayEngage
Sendinblue
Small enterprises can increase and segment their audience without the restrictions of using automated technology. Sendinblue has received innumerable positive reviews from its users, who are pleased with its clean interface, seamless performance, classic templates, which assist in better outcomes.
The free plan allows businesses to send and receive 9,000 emails in a month. This offer is too good to pass, even without catering to the additional features, which may not be essential for a brand to widen its audience among potential customers or improve its reach.
In a case study, Love Energy Savings stated that Sendinblue, the e-CRM team of the company, has noticed a significant rise in and improved performance in both CRM and marketing efforts. They were able to create leads six times more than earlier.
AWeber
73% of marketers say Click-Through Rate (CTR) is crucial for assessing campaign effectiveness. AWeber is a suitable tool for small and medium-sized enterprises, linking to various platforms, including WordPress & Canva.
It provides excellent customer service, including live chat, email support, and live webinars that educate small businesses on making the best use case of their email marketing strategies.
With several innovative templates and efficient mailing features, AWeber is a one-in-all, complete platform that can help small businesses achieve multiple goals in the long run. Features like automation, segmentation, and tagging are well-integrated in this platform, allowing seamless and efficient communication with customers.
Also, particular focus is given to email design and formatting to make it a more engaging experience for the customer.
Keap
Enterprises are betting high on automation. It is a crucial feature that is driving the digital transformation. Keap is a professional tool that provides all the necessary elements, including CRM tools for client management, appointment tools, and full invoice & payment processing. According to the Keap Customer value survey, 84% of businesses increased after switching to the platform.
It is integrated with more than 2500 applications, enabling small businesses to manage their business worldwide, from one single place. This email marketing tool was one of the first to have drag-and-drop tools which aid layout creation and remains No.1 when it comes to visually appealing email designs.
With powerful segmentation and subscriber-tagging features, Keap looks beyond the box, allowing small businesses to segment their consumers with perfection.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit is a platform designed for professional creators and small businesses to build their audience and grow their business for free. This tool’s strength is its simplicity. Small companies get robust automation and labeling options that are simple and effective to use. Small enterprises can use the email marketing tool to send out content-focused targeted emails that drive sales.
With well-designed templates and diverse use cases, ConvertKit offers a great set of automated features such as custom landing pages, accessible and personalized mail templates, seamless workflow, automated email funnels, etc. All of which can be truly helpful for small companies to expand their reach with new and improved email marketing strategies.
GetResponse
GetResponse is a great place to start if you’re new to marketing automation. This email marketing software offers industry-leading integration partners and fantastic workflow management to give businesses insight into their customers’ journey and create better offers.
It aids in generating additional leads for your business and offers low-cost intelligence products with some of the most sought-after email marketing tools. The ‘Perfect Timing’ option provided by GetResponse lets you forecast the optimal time of day to send your emails to your clients’ inboxes. It provides a 30-day free trial, with a subscription rate starting at $15 per month.
BayEngage
BayEngage is one of the few up-and-coming email marketing software that’s been used by over 4,800 small businesses. It is highly acclaimed for its collection of 380+ email templates that cover most of the customer journey. In addition, all of these email templates are mobile-responsive and come with a drag and drop editor.
It also has everything you need to run successful email campaigns: Ecommerce pop-up creator, coupon code creator, email automation, SMS marketing, segmentation, and UTM tracking.
BayEngage also has an Email Deliverability team, which helps its clients get higher email deliverability rates!
Listed above are great examples of email marketing tools that small businesses can help build their brands into a trustworthy and credible space. You can consider them to optimize your existing business models and strategies or to discover a new innovative method for doing business.