Permission-based email marketing ROI is the highest of any digital marketing method, generating $38 for every $1 spent on average. But when we say this, we're not talking about someone sitting at a computer crafting and sending emails to the list one by one.
Email sequences are one of the vital email marketing and sales tactics that make this unbelievable ROI possible. And this requires understanding why aligned sales and marketing automation is so important and how to use HubSpot Sequences to get these kinds of results.
An email sequence is a series of sequential emails you send using email marketing automation such as HubSpot. The emails go out based on pre-determined criteria, such as:
Of course, a tool is only as effective as how you use it. But here are some of the ways HubSpot makes using email sequences effectively easier.
Build HubSpot sequences in advance and set up these criteria based on data you've collected about your buyer personas and previous email sequence performance.
Use HubSpot's library of data-backed templates to speed up the email creation process while also creating sequences with a high probability of success.
You can then automatically send them to a targeted audience within your email list. For email sequences, this targeted group is generally individuals at the bottom of the funnel and ready for hand-off to sales.
When the time is right, the ideal email sequence campaign launches, achieving perfect timing— the right message, time, and person.
Then, collect, analyze, and use first-party data to optimize timing, message, headlines, template usage, CTAs, landing pages, team follow-up, and other testable elements of an effective email campaign.
This is where email marketing ROI comes from.
But HubSpot Sequences support you in another way too!
They allow you to create tasks related to each email sequence and deliver alerts to the responsible team members so that automation and team members (in both sales and marketing) work together to optimize timing and maximize results.
Ultimately, automation maximizes the return on your investment by making everything you do more impactful.
Marketing and Sales Sequences/Workflows sound similar, especially if you're not currently using HubSpot, so before we go further, we want to distinguish between the two with this HubSpot Email Sequence vs HubSpot Workflow Chart.
TRAIT |
SEQUENCES |
WORKFLOW |
Who Uses It? |
Sales |
Marketing |
What's It Do? |
Helps sales close a deal on a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) |
Nurtures leads early-to-mid-buyer's journey to turn MQLs into SQLs. |
Personalization |
Very personalized. At this stage, Sales knows a lot about the contact, actions they've taken, and what they need to sign on the dotted line. |
Content is segmented based on buyer personas and sometimes individual behavioral triggers. But it is still speaking to a broader audience. |
Contacts |
Contacts are manually enrolled in a sequence when they become a SQL. This hand-off can be automated through the use of lead-scoring technology. |
Contacts enter a workflow automatically after a behavior like filling out a lead generation form. While signed up for the email list, they get regular content, such as a newsletter. |
How the Sequence |
Sales systematically answer a contact's final pre-sale questions and objections. You'll help them confirm they're making the right decision. |
You may run marketing campaigns where you send out sequential emails to target segments to move leads to the next stage, but we're still distinguishing this from an email sequence. |
Number of people getting a specific email |
Typically small at any given time |
Many people (maybe 1000s) are signed up for your email list. |
Automation |
Once the sequence starts, it completes automatically and doesn't stop or shift course unless the status changes. Once the sequence is complete, the lead may be automatically unsubscribed. But they may remain subscribed to the marketing email list. |
Emails start upon sign-up. Email lists are segmented. Leads receive emails automatically. Unsubscription is typically a manual choice by either the recipient or the marketing team. |
How It Ends |
The contact is unenrolled once they respond to an email in the sequence or book a meeting in the sender's calendar via the HubSpot Meetings tool. Depending on the status, a Sales Representative may take over for 1-on-1 communication with the recipient. |
When the workflow ends, the contact remains subscribed to the email list. If the lead progresses to the next stage of the buyer's journey (becoming a SQL), the workflow may end, and the appropriate email sequence or sales outreach may begin. |
Sales Involvement? |
Yes. At this point, the sales leader and an assigned salesperson are notified so they can complete more individualized research and establish a 1-1 relationship. |
Contacts are earlier in the buyer's journey, so it's not time- or cost-effective for a salesperson to get involved. |
Who Creates Content |
Often a mix of sales content created by the Sales Team and Sales Enablement Content created by the Marketing Team. |
Marketing Team |
So, ultimately, HubSpot Marketing Workflows lead seamlessly into Sales Sequences through email marketing automation. It's a team effort!
Using these together, you're promoting Sales-Marketing Alignment that can achieve that high marketing ROI.
You'll need specific tools to set up effective email sequences.
To create and edit HubSpot Sequences precisely, you'll need:
Here are some automated, behaviorally triggered email sequences you can steal now to increase your email marketing ROI.
Picture this: Based on your lead scoring (which also works best with marketing automation), a marketing lead has just hit a milestone in the buyer's journey. They're ready for marketing to sales hand-off.
Use marketing automation to launch an email sequence that effectively hands the lead off to sales with an email sequence like this.
Check out this view of a sample sequence, with tasks and emails spread out over time:
77% of carts get abandoned. In most cases, this is not because they decided not to buy. More often than not, something distracted them. Research shows you can recover approximately 63% of cart abandonment lost revenue by guiding them back to the process.
For B2B marketing, you may also find it advantageous to add a 4th email (before the discount email) that offers social proof, a short case study, or other similar trust-building content.
Depending on your email marketing strategy, you may also add a salesperson's name to make these more personal and set up tasks for that person to attempt to connect on LinkedIn.
None of these emails should be pushy. You'll get better results by focusing on helpfulness in follow-up. What does this prospect need from you right now? What barrier did they encounter? Put yourself in their shoes (using email analytics)
Pro Tip: Be sure to collect their email early in the check-out process or earlier in the buyer's journey to make this possible.
Retaining accounts is valuable to B2B companies as it can equal repeat business, referrals, and other online promoter activity. 65% of the typical company's revenues come from people who have bought before.
Your email sequences are only as powerful as your ability to track, measure, and optimize. So, be sure you have tools to track:
The best part? You can track all of this on your HubSpot dashboard.
If these are HubSpot tools you'd love to start using but aren't sure where to start, PLUS you think your HubSpot portal needs a once-over, turn to our team of experts. We can assess your portal and give you complimentary optimization ideas to get started on the right foot. Click below to learn more: