Often rolled out in the 2010s in response to the rise of digital in the construction sector, the “email marketing” tool has generally received little scrutiny or enrichment from the sector's brands since. Given the major shifts of recent years, what if now were the time to take a fresh look at this communication channel? Is it still an effective lever, essential to any communication plan worthy of the name? And if so, how can it continue to deliver added value to your audiences?
In a spirit of plain speaking, our teams share 3 ideas to explore in 2023 to make your email campaigns perform to their full potential.
Your email campaign will be read if (and only if) the content is interesting and genuinely useful to your audiences.
Idea no. 1: what if we changed our approach?
Heard of “information overload”? Standing out amid an ever denser flood of information is becoming quite a challenge for construction manufacturers! Content production keeps diversifying and intensifying, so to promote it all, email campaigns get fired off faster than your shadow. Over the years, it is hardly surprising that your audiences have built up a resistance to this (sometimes rather too) intrusive and (often) too frequent content. The upshot: their interest dwindles as your inspiration runs dry.
“Less is more”, as the saying goes: a very current expression that champions quality over quantity. But that does not mean email marketing has no future! Far from dead, it remains an essential channel in a manufacturer's communication strategy towards its audiences (tradespeople, distributors, housebuilders, specifiers and more). To unlock its potential, however, it now needs a fresh pair of eyes…
At the agency, we regularly advise our clients to revisit a few fundamental questions: “What do my audiences really need? What do they expect from me? How can I be genuinely useful to them?”. Now there is an interesting idea: start again from your customers' needs — send perhaps fewer emails, but with far higher added value. Could that be the secret? Let's not get ahead of ourselves — the article has only just begun!
Idea no. 2: talk less about myself, and more about my audiences' needs?
It is a fact: to keep reaching construction professionals through email marketing, your strategy will have to evolve — in both substance and form! Out with “opportunistic” emails that are 100% product-focused and/or self-centred. Special cases aside, migrate your “opportunistic email” strategy towards what a few years ago might have been called a “newsletter strategy”. Evolve your tone, your message and your content to share knowledge and help your customers build their skills. In fact, we were already championing this approach in another article!
The point is to switch from intrusive “push” communication to “pull” communication that will genuinely interest your audiences. That way, you can create a virtuous rendezvous with the pros (specifiers, tradespeople, housebuilders, etc.) where you share value-added information. Less, but better: your email will be read because it is interesting and genuinely useful to construction professionals. Your brand image will thank you — and your competitors will envy you into the bargain!
And where does my product fit into all this? Rest assured, it will regain its rightful place by being woven into broader content, now contextualised and relevant to your audiences. A concrete example: rather than sending an email to present your new fast-setting mortar to tradespeople, help the pros prepare their winter site work by giving them practical tips and advice on productivity or safety. Then take the opportunity to introduce your new product as, in fact, part of the solution (since your product saves them time, doesn't it?).
Conversely, there is no need to over-editorialise your email: the aim is not to create a newsletter (that is a different topic, which we cover here); it is to borrow its best practices to make your campaigns perform and set them within a virtuous circle. Short, clear and concise.
The case study
Isover, a brand of the Saint-Gobain group, had a great deal to say on the subject of renovation (new products, services, a buoyant market, professionals hungry for information…). For the sake of coherence and clarity, the agency recommended setting up a bimonthly rendezvous with a genuine editorial line to support tradespeople: the “100% Réno” e-mag was born!
A digest of testimonials, site tips and tricks, key figures, news analysis, solutions, products and services… The new email format achieved its goal: supporting every tradesperson in the success of their renovation projects.
Idea no. 3: be rock-solid on the technical side!
To be sure your email is properly delivered and properly read, sound configuration is essential. Ultimately, the technical stakes matter just as much as the quality of the content...
So here are a few best practices we put to work for the success of our clients' campaigns:
- create a responsive email and make sure it is compatible with the various inboxes (Outlook, Thunderbird, Gmail – yes, plenty of tradespeople have Gmail addresses!)
- a recognisable email address, a clear sender name, a subject line and preview text that grab attention: when all these conditions are met, the open rate improves!
- beta-test! Do not hesitate to test your email internally, for example by running a quick poll with your team on the best subject line or the most engaging CTA.
- remember to configure the SPF/DKIM protocols to improve the deliverability of your emails and – as a bonus – to stop fraudsters impersonating you using your domain name.
- choose your recipients carefully, complying with the associated GDPR requirements, and do not forget to include an unsubscribe link!
- insert links back to your website or to web pages you want to highlight… but choose them sparingly! An overload of CTAs or links is generally counter-productive. So do not tell the whole story — simply make readers want to click to find out more.
- remember to include a mirror link so the email can be viewed in a browser.
- using UTM tags, track the journey taken by those who clicked on your email and improve your conversion accordingly.
- last but not least: if you want to build engagement, say goodbye to promotional keywords and figures, which sharply increase the odds of landing in the SPAM folder! (e.g. promo, sale, flash, -30%, exceptional, etc.)
Email campaign vs newsletter: torn between the two? Bear in mind that there is real complementarity between the two formats, which serve different objectives: the first is commercial, the second relational. It is the combination of both that will make you perform on this digital channel! To breathe new life into your email marketing, you will inevitably need to move towards a model that is less advertising-led and more informational. And we happen to know a communication agency specialising in the building and construction markets that could well support you on that journey… To talk through your needs together, it all happens here!