Email marketing software vendors have busy schedules nowadays, as attracting new B2B contacts through mass emailing remains one of the most effective outbound lead generation strategies.

According to HubSpot’s 2020 Statistic Report, 80% of e-commerce marketers use email marketing more than before; 20% of marketers prefer to automate their outbound email entirely, and 75% at least partially.

Email marketing is considered extremely effective for increasing brand awareness and has the highest ROI for small-scale companies. By improving email design and copy, most marketers notice a spike in email engagement, CTR and open rates.   

Responding to increased demand, the market offers:

• email marketing software;
• email marketing services;
• email marketing agencies.

Both high-quality email marketing software and email marketing services give a lot of leeway to users, enabling them to tailor their messages smartly and segment subscribers more effectively. The only difference is hosting it on your own device or accessing it via browsers and the Internet.

To use email marketing software or services, you need to have a firm grasp of content marketing in general. 

In contrast, email marketing agencies take full control of your outbound email campaigns, providing talent, software, and all the pertinent services that not all small businesses and startups can boast of.

To make email marketing effective, email copy and design need to cater to specific audiences determined through data analysis and described in ideal customer profiles (ICPs) and buyer personas. Then the next step is to create relevant content and be able to tweak and adjust email sequences to fit the needs of each audience segment. If a company becomes aware of its resources covering only in-house sales, a logical move is to outsource outbound email and select your new partner from the best email marketing agencies.  

Each year Clutch, an independent B2B ratings and reviews platform, pulls up a list of top industry leaders in different categories.

Belkins has been ranking high as a B2B lead generation company (the world’s top 3), a B2B digital service company (258th in the top 1000) and as an email marketing service (4.9 based on 66 authorized reviews).

With an email service focus of approximately 10%, Belkins is proud to attest that a comprehensive approach brings notable projects and results. When seeking to expand your lead generation efforts past email marketing, we don’t recommend buying business leads. We suggest that you increase the lead flow, connect with customers, and grow your B2B contacts with Belkins.

Types of email marketing firms

When ranking email marketing firms, Clutch specifies their service focus. In some agencies, email marketing occupies 10% — 40% of digital services, while other top email marketing companies have an 80% — 100% service focus on email marketing. This means that you should do some prior research before committing to a company’s services. 

Most digital agencies offer to prepare and manage email campaigns as part of their service package. A set of tasks and services a company provides shapes its type. Here are some email marketing firms.

• Full-service email marketing agencies manage outbound email processes on a turnkey basis, taking full control over email drip campaigns, content marketing, marketing strategy, email engagement, conversion optimization, etc.
• B2B lead generation agencies offer a wide range of lead qualification services from SEO of a company’s website and social media marketing to client acquisition and retention. Thus, in addition to email services, you get B2B service packages tailored to your exact needs on the B2B market.
• Email & marketing automation platforms, as is clear from the type name, set up pre-programmed emails triggered by certain user actions like entering a website or leaving a shopping cart. This type of platform perfectly suits B2C e-commerce.
• Platform-specific email marketing agencies work with a limited range of email marketing providers. It is a common practice for top email marketing companies to partner with one or two marketing automation tools or platforms and be thoroughly specialized in them. By choosing their services, you automatically agree to use only those tools and software.
• Email deliverability agencies refer to their skills in addressing spam, blacklisting, and email box ranking as their main specialization. Although all the best email marketing companies have email deliverability as part of their related services, smaller agencies base their market segmentation on it.
• Creative agencies rarely name email marketing as their top service, but they are definitely skilled in managing and creating email marketing campaigns with quirky designs and copy outside of your typical styles.  

8 tips for picking from the best email marketing companies

These tips will help navigate the intricacies of looking for the right agency and cover the basic factors usually considered in such cases.

1. Reputation. Top email marketing agencies, or their less renowned peers, all need spotless reputation in their industries to rank high in search engines and review listings. Drawing on reliable and trustworthy sources, look for an agency’s reviews and testimonials on the website, as well as check out review aggregators and social media platforms.
2. Portfolio. Leafing through a portfolio will give you an idea of whether an agency can cater to the tastes and customs in your industries or not. If you like what you see, you will most probably like what they will produce for your audience, too.
3. Strategies. Asking how an agency intends to approach your case is crucial to make the final decision. Even before a well-developed strategy is laid out, they already know how they may structure this campaign (customized offer, service package, additional services, etc.) If an agency can’t outline the general direction of their approach, their fit for your business is questionable.
4. Technology. Asking about the email tools is also important for your decision-making process. If an agency is lagging behind on progressive technology, it can be a ringing bell that they will not be able to run your campaigns effectively. Automation has become a prerequisite for effective performance in any area of online marketing. It is important to use compatible and easily synchronized tools. In some cases, you may want to upgrade your CRM to get insights into campaigns and connect with leads and clients more effectively.  
5. Talent. You are hiring an agency, but a team that’s in charge of your campaign will consist of individuals who have their own shortcomings and personal circumstances. Asking about the team members’ skills and work experience will help you make sure that selecting them is the right choice. By clarifying who will be responsible for your project if the team lead leaves or gets sick, you will buy yourself peace and a good night’s sleep.
6. Values. It may sound like overkill, but a radical difference in values can literally kill a project. Valuing quantity over quality, form over substance, or security over creativity can create conflicting situations or a lack of satisfaction with the results. The best email marketing companies are transparent in this regard —  they will likely answer any question and will be open to discussion.
7. Additional services. Keep your future development in mind. Bringing your outbound email needs to an agency, you may eventually require to expand your leads finding activities. Thus, you may want counsel on how to buy business leads. Belkins tips are available on the website, so visit it if you’d like to learn more.

Other aspects to consider when selecting from top email marketing agencies

Although other aspects to examine before making a choice are self-evident, it is still worth verbalizing them.

• Determine your business’ demands. That’s a starting point before exploring your options in outsourced email marketing services. If no groundwork has been done, a seasoned agency is needed to develop ICPs and buyer personas and work out the company’s marketing strategy. If a sales team’s capacities are limited, too, consider outsourcing lead nurturing and appointment setting.
• Familiarize yourself with their pricing and refund policy. Checking out a pricing page before striking a deal is just common sense since an agency’s email marketing efforts should be affordable for you. Life is life and force majeure happens, so make sure an agency has a refund policy and you will get your money back if their services are subpar.   

List of the top email marketing companies

We searched the Internet far and wide and collected 3 best email marketing agencies, according to Belkins in-house teams.

MailNinja is a full-service email marketing agency that works remotely and provides fully outsourced service for email marketing campaigns, from planning and designing to managing and maintaining operations.

Tendo Communications is a B2B content marketing agency. Based in San Francisco, their large team provides digital content creation, marketing strategy, and email marketing services.  

Ignite Visibility is a PPC digital agency headquartered in San Diego, CA. The agency offers a wide range of custom services, from paid ads and marketing to digital PR and strategy.

Choose from the best email marketing agencies for your business

When B2B companies are seeking to outsource their email marketing, they often want a complete service because they lack in-house resources for that and have other tasks and responsibilities on their hands. Once you visit a website, see the agency’s notable projects, reviews, and pricing, view profile and get answers to your questions, you already have a lot of data to make an informed decision. 

Even an overall rating may shed light on the company of your choice. However, if you are still in doubt, request a trial period. Give yourself time and space to sort out your concerns.

At Belkins, we are always there to consult and support you. Feel free to press a button on our website and set up a meeting with one of our experts to get high-quality services.