Many people have asked me about the benefits of outsourcing email marketing and when to consider it. This is a complex question, but the short answer is: when your ideas and solutions aren’t making any impressionable difference on your ROI; or when you just have that feeling that there is a better way to do the job.

Working with an experienced email marketing service provider can bring new ideas to the table, and can be a great asset for any company within any field. Most of the best inventions were made by individuals standing back from the issue and looking at the problem with a fresh pair of eyes. Still, the decision to outsource often feels like a great leap of faith into the unknown. Any company considering outsourcing email marketing should first incubate dynamic partnerships with the chosen email service provider to ensure that there is an open two-way relationship without friction.

Outsourcing email marketing allows you to utilise the skill set, industry knowledge and fresh thinking of a totally new asset - one that is willing to take the necessary risks to get the right results. It also frees up valuable time within your organisation so staff can complete other tasks with less stress and more time. Rely on the outsourced email service provider for the time and ability it takes to analyse results from previous email marketing campaigns, and develop a strategy for taking your company to that next level you’ve been striving to achieve.

The result: A fresh, new email marketing campaign with a clear marketing message which will work to generate higher responses and help you reach that next level of achievement.

Outsourcing Email Marketing: A Mini Case Study 

A fashion retailer recently took the leap of faith and was impressed with the massive increase in sales from the first email marketing campaigns. Prior to working with us, they only targeted and segmented their client list based on previous purchase behaviour. However, in order to achieve new sales targets, they were aware that a radical strategy change was required. The decision was made to test half of the list with the same monthly campaigns as before and test the other half with clothing products that they had never purchased before.

This strategy seems contrary to all best practices for email marketing - which it is. However, logically many people do buy clothes for significant others - their spouse, children, friends and family, etc. - so sending a different email promoting something new wasn’t breaking all logic. The second half of the test group received an email completely different from their current buying habits - those who had previously bought women’s clothes received a male clothing email, and those who bought men's clothing received the female clothing email.

The results: a 300% increase in sales compared to their previous months' campaigns.

Whether this risky campaign could have been executed in-house as successfully as outsourcing it is unknown. However, it clearly shows that utilising fresh perspectives to think outside the box can deliver significant ROI and, more importantly, huge sales for an organisation.

Another lesson to be learned from this exercise in outsourcing is: don’t be afraid of getting it wrong - email marketing by its nature allows us to test out an idea, and testing can only give us more insight into what our customers want and need.

Have you had experience with outsourcing email marketing? Share your successes - or challenges - in the ‘Comments’ section below. And if you would like to discuss how Lyris can help you with outsourcing, please contact us.

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About the Author

Donna McNicholas is Lyris' UK sales director. She is responsible for growing the UK market and promoting Lyris HQ, the first fully integrated marketing solution in the UK. Donna has over 5 years email marketing experience, specialising in B2B, agency and traditional industries.

Related Resources:

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• Download free online-marketing guides, tools and webinars in the Lyris Online-Marketing Resource Center.

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