Did you know that the single most common reason small businesses fail is due to a lack of marketing?

With so much competition out there, a business can’t afford to get by on word of mouth alone. Rather, it’s important to run engaging marketing campaigns across a range of mediums. One of the most successful avenues involves emails because that’s something people often check on a daily basis.

To run a great email campaign, you’ll need a great marketing company. Keep reading to learn all about 5 qualities to look for when choosing an email marketing company.

1. Top-Notch Customer Service

In a lot of ways, a company is only as good as its customer service. You could be given all the email marketing tips in the world but if you can’t get the experts on the phone for help, then your success will be affected.

Rather, you deserve a company that can be there for you every step of the way. They should have a fast turnaround time when answering emails, phone calls, and scheduling in-person meetings if necessary.

Once you have a shorter list of promising candidates, you can reach out to them with more questions. Be sure to take note of the response time as well as the tone of the messages. It should be professional yet warm and welcoming.

2. Proven Expertise

Another quality you should spend some time confirming is whether or not their team has the skills and expertise necessary to help your small business grow. One way you can do this is by asking more detailed questions about their methods and strategies. If they can’t give you direct and detailed answers back, then that could be a warning flag.

Another sign of expertise is experience. If the company just started, then they might not have enough know-how to make an impact. However, even a new company can work wonders if they’ve assembled a team composed of people with lots of individual experience.

You might even have the option of getting a free trial where they can start proving their skills to you in real-time. At the very least, there should be some kind of demo that they can offer you. That way, you can have more peace of mind about signing up for their services.

3. An Impressive Reputation

Simply put, if a company is worth your time and money, then they should have proven themselves to their customer base by now. This can come in a couple of forms. For instance, ratings and reviews online are often a great indicator of overall reputation.

With that in mind, you’ll want to spend an evening looking at what current and past customers have said about their services. It’s best to read more than a couple of reviews per company so that you can get as accurate an impression as possible.

Once you feel more confident in a possible company choice and are ready to take the next step, you should ask for several referrals. Reading reviews is one thing, but talking with real individuals can give you even more detailed information. Don’t forget to write down some questions you can ask them, including questions about timeliness, reliability, knowledgeability, and much more.

Be sure to emphasize to a potential company that you want referrals no older than a few months. Since a company can change a lot in a year or less, you’ll want to avoid getting information that could be outdated.

4. Reasonable Prices

While email marketing is important, it shouldn’t cost you an arm and a leg. This is why you can’t skip the step of comparing and contrasting prices.

The best email marketing companies will have different prices to suit the needs of particular customers. For instance, some customers only want the main service without anything else. Other businesses might want to go the extra mile and get all the bells and whistles.

It should be up to the customer to decide what price is worth the investment in their growth. Oftentimes a business is limited by their budgets. Once you grow larger, then you’ll have the option of affording more services in addition to the main ones.

If a company isn’t forthright about its prices, then that’s a red flag. They shouldn’t have any problem providing you with at least a ballpark quote. Once they know more about your business and your needs, then they should give you something even more accurate.

5. Strategies That Fit Your Business

Put in the simplest terms, there are no one-size-fits-all email marketing strategies. If you’ve hired a company that is giving you the same tips and tricks and never tailor-making their strategies to your needs, there’s a problem.

After all, why would an email marketing campaign for a bookstore look the exact same as one for an escape room business? That’s not to say that there isn’t software and other nifty tips and tricks that can be shared across campaigns. However, there should also be a generous amount of customization.

Not only this, but the company should alter and fine-tune your strategies based on analytics. That way, those strategies can become even more successful over time. The worst thing that could happen is that your growth suddenly tapers off because the same exact things are being done again and again.

Ready To Hire An Email Marketing Company?

Now that you’ve learned all about five qualities to look for when choosing an email marketing company, you can feel much more confident once you start working with one. With an email marketing specialist on your team, you’ll be able to achieve so much more and overcome any business growth plateaus.

With basic and pro prices to fit your budget, Vertical Response is here to offer you the best marketing services around. Our clients have loved working with us and now we’d love to work with you as well.

For tailor-made strategies, feel free to contact us.

© 2022, Chris Duncan. All rights reserved.