What's Wrong With Your Email Marketing And How To Fix It

In the financial services industry, email marketing is a staple. Almost every firm utilizes it as a primary communication channel, whether they are using a purchased list or subscribing to databases and importing contacts into an email service provider (ESP). However, the strategy — if you can even call it that — is often flawed. Firms are bombarding inboxes with product information and performance updates, leading to poor engagement and wasted resources. Let’s break down why this approach doesn’t work and how GK3 Capital’s email marketing strategy can help you create meaningful connections that lead to real results.

The Problem with Traditional Email Marketing in Financial Services

The typical email marketing strategy we see in the financial services sector revolves around sending overly long, often irrelevant emails to large lists of contacts. The common practice is to push out 2,000-word emails filled with product details or performance metrics, often with a fact sheet as the main call to action. This is problematic for a few reasons:

1. Irrelevance to the Audience: Many recipients never asked for this information and are not currently interested in these products.
2. Competition for Attention: With thousands of asset managers vying for the attention of the same pool of 250,000 advisors, irrelevant content often leads to email fatigue.
3. Poor Engagement Metrics: Firms send these emails, track opens and clicks, and pass the reports to the sales team. The assumption is that these metrics indicate interest, which results in sales teams making follow-up calls based on "perceived engagement."

The reality? This scattershot approach is highly ineffective. Sales teams are left following up on superficial metrics, prospects are disengaged, and the marketing team is left wondering why their campaigns aren’t performing.

A Better Way: Focus on Value and Engagement

At GK3 Capital, we start with a simple yet powerful question: What is the goal of your email strategy? Instead of sending emails just to send them, we focus on creating value for the recipient by addressing the real challenges they face. Our goal is to create an email campaign centered around education and thought leadership, not just product promotion.

Here’s how we approach it differently:

The GK3 Email Marketing Strategy

Here’s the key to our success: we score engagement based on multiple interactions over time, across multiple touchpoints. When a contact reaches a predetermined engagement threshold, we notify the sales team to engage. This approach ensures that salespeople are focusing their time and energy on prospects who have shown real interest through consistent, meaningful engagement.

Here’s what sets our strategy apart:

Why Strategy Matters

In the financial services industry, where every firm is competing for the same limited audience, sending emails just for the sake of it isn’t enough. Email marketing is a powerful tool, but it needs to be part of a broader strategy that engages your audience in a meaningful way.

According to a study by MarketingSherpa, 61% of U.S. consumers want to receive promotional emails on a weekly basis, and 38% want them even more frequently. This shows that people want to engage with brands via email — but only when those emails offer value. If you’re sending generic or irrelevant emails, you’re not only missing opportunities, but you’re also harming your reputation with your audience.

The firms that succeed with email marketing are the ones that take the time to craft intentional strategies. Every email should serve a purpose, whether that’s to educate, solve a problem, or offer something of value. If you’re just sending emails because that’s what you’ve always done, you’re not only wasting resources but potentially alienating your audience.

The Bottom Line: Don’t Settle for Generic Email Campaigns

At GK3 Capital, we’ve helped numerous financial services firms transition from generic, ineffective email campaigns to targeted, strategic campaigns that drive engagement and generate real results. Our goal is to help you create a campaign that adds value to your audience, not just clutter their inbox.

By focusing on educational content, measuring true engagement, and creating campaigns that guide contacts through the marketing funnel, we ensure that your sales team is engaging with the right prospects at the right time — leading to more meaningful conversations and better results.