Benchmark Email's Google Sheets Integration
Marketers and business owners love using Google Sheets because it's a simple way to organize and keep track of important information. Google Sheets comes packed with several features to help you run your business more efficiently. And since it's easy to share and update, it's the go-to resource to use across departments and teams.
Do you have a ton of email addresses to sort? Use Google Sheets. Or, do you need a simple way to manage your customer list? Google Sheets works for that, too.
What if you’re looking for a tool that merges with email marketing software? Yup, you guessed it. Google Sheets.
How? Well, it depends on the email marketing automation tool you're using. With the use of Google spreadsheets coupled with Benchmark Email's unique email tools, you can automatically add contacts from your Google Sheets spreadsheet to your Benchmark Email account. This sets you up for more organization and an effortlessly effective way to send email messages to your customers.
Let's dive into how Google Sheets integrates with Benchmark Email and why it's a terrific solution for more personalized email outreach. We'll also touch on the essential requirements for this integration, so you’ll know exactly how to get started using our Google Sheets integration.
Why Use Google Sheets?
If you aren't using Google Sheets, we can't discuss why you should be using it without first explaining what it is. Google Sheets is a Google spreadsheet tool similar to Microsoft Excel. Both Excel and Google Sheets make organizing important details, like your contacts' email addresses, super easy. However, what gives Google Sheets an edge is its sharing capabilities and easy-to-use features.
Google Sheets is Easy to Share
Each Google Sheets spreadsheet you create has share settings that can be adjusted based on certain capabilities you grant other users. The owner of each Google Sheets spreadsheet can allow other users to simply view the document or view and edit. Google Sheets also alerts you when you've shared your Google spreadsheet with someone outside your network, just as an added security measure. These share settings and capabilities allow for quick collaboration between colleagues or other applications so you can be as efficient as possible.
Google Sheets is Great at Organizing
You can use Google Sheets to keep track of anything, whether it's your customers' contact information or other key details, like survey results or customer feedback. You can use Google Sheets' various form fields to organize your information however you see fit. And, it's formatting capabilities can be adjusted to automatically add and populate data. This comes in handy if you're using your Google Spreadsheet for budgeting capabilities.
Google Sheets is Automatically Saved in Your Google Drive
Don't worry about cluttering up your homepage or digging in your files to find your saved documents. Each spreadsheet you create with Google Sheets is automatically saved in your Google Drive. This makes it incredibly easy to locate important files. And, Google documents automatically save every few minutes, so you don't have to worry about your most recent updates getting lost or untracked.
Why Choose the Benchmark Email Google Sheets Integration?
As a marketer, your goal is to reach as many people as possible with your products and services. You put a lot of time and effort into finding prospects. It would be a shame to lose those hard-earned email addresses because you didn't have an effective method for organizing and tracking them.
Also, manually sending individual emails to every prospect on your list isn't realistic. The alternative is sending the same email to everyone, and we all know that personalization is the key to conversions.
That’s why you need tools that simplify the process of reaching prospects or leads with your services. A process that allows you to automatically send personalized content to specific, segmented lists. Benchmark’s Google Sheets integration makes emailing the contacts you're tracking on Google Sheets a breeze, so you can facilitate scheduled and effective nurture with your contacts without spending tons of time setting it all up. Let's take a closer look at some of the benefits of using Benchmark Email's Google Sheets integration:
No Download Required
You need an email marketing software solution that works effectively without requiring you to download various other tools or marketing software. Benchmark Email's Google Sheets integration requires no download. Everything you need to use this integration is in your Benchmark Email account and your Google Sheets page.
No Setup Required
You would think that bringing two different programs together would require a lot of steps and setup, but nothing could be further from the truth. For the Benchmark Email and Google Sheets integration process, you are not required to carry out any detailed set up in your Gmail or Google account. As long as you have an active Benchmark Email account, you’ll be able to use our Google Sheet integration to easily access all your spreadsheets that contain contact information.
Why? Because we designed it that way. Manual setup between marketing software and your Google Sheets spreadsheet leaves room for human error. Plus, it takes time to ensure everything is done correctly. If you accidentally skip a step or get confused, your email marketing strategy’s effectiveness will ultimately suffer, costing you more issues and time to resolve those issues.
It's Free
It may be surprising that a powerful email marketing solution for businesses isn't expensive. Most email marketing services out there come with tons of bells and whistles, resulting in accumulated costs and fees. While we do have paid packages and plans available, our email marketing service also offers a free plan to users. Therefore, there are no fees to run our Google Sheets integration. All Benchmark Email accounts can freely use our email integration services.
It Imports Data with Ease
Aside from using Google Sheets to organize customer data, like emails, names, company information, etc., marketers and business owners also use Google Sheets to track customer input from surveys issued through Google Forms.
These surveys are essential because they help you better understand your customers' pain points and areas of concern. The data you pull can be used to inform your marketing strategies, product development, customer service, and nurture emails.
With our Google Sheets integration, you can segment your contacts based on their responses. You're able to gather the data in your Google Sheet and then use our email marketing software to send personalized email outreach based on that data.
You will not need to go through the rigorous process of collecting the data manually and then importing it to segment and analyze performance. Instead, Benchmark's email marketing software automatically adds what you need, making exploring the data from your Google Sheet super simple.
Requirements For Using Benchmark’s Email Marketing Software and Google Sheets Integration
There are no complicated requirements for using these services. Below are the essential things you need:
Sign Up for a Free Benchmark Email Account
This is a given, but you must have a Benchmark email account to use our email marketing solution. However, as previously mentioned, the process of signing up for an email account comes at no cost under our free plan. The entire process of creating and setting up the account takes less than 15 minutes.
To start, you’ll need to provide your first name, last name, phone number, and email address. You will also be required to provide your organization name, list size, and login information. Next, you'll need to create a password for accessing your account.
To get the most success out of our tools, you will be asked to specify what you wish to accomplish with Benchmark:
- Connecting your eCommerce tools to Benchmark Email.
- Sending email newsletters or drip campaigns.
- Automating your email marketing service process.
- Capturing more leads and growing your sales.
Create a Google Account
Before you can use a Google spreadsheet in your email marketing, you need a Google email address (if you don't already have one). Since all files will be housed inside your Google Drive, the Drive will not become active until you have an email address.
The process of creating a Google account is simple. Go to Google.com, click on "Create an Account," and follow the prompts. Voila.
Tips for Importing Your Data from Google Sheets to Benchmark Email
Now that you have created your Google and Benchmark Email accounts, you can import your contacts' data from your Google Drive. Here’s the process to follow:
Log Into Your Benchmark Email Account
On your dashboard menu, select the "Contacts" option. Then click on the option to "Create New List" located at the top right corner of the page.
Next, select the "Regular List" option and "Next." Click on the "Import From Your Other Tools" option and choose "Next" again. A new page will open where you can then scroll down and select the "Google Drive Integration" option and "Connect."
Configure the Google Drive
Once you choose the "Google Drive" option, the connection with your Google account will begin. You'll need to select the email address created for your business and click “Allow."
Next, from the Google Drive spreadsheet dropdown, choose the spreadsheet of choice. If there are numerous tabs, select the tab of choice from the "Worksheet" dropdown. Next, move to the "Select Benchmark Contact list" dropdown. You have the option to create and name a personalized list or select an existing list. Hit "Save and Next."
This then automatically adds your contact to Benchmark. It imports their email addresses and other contact details that you're tracking in your Google spreadsheet.
Important Things to Know:
- The email field should be labeled as "email." Otherwise, Benchmark's system won't be able to detect the email addresses section on your Google Sheets spreadsheet.
- Unless a Google spreadsheet is created and owned by you, you won't have the permission to import it. If you need to import a Google spreadsheet that isn't owned by you, create a copy of the file to save to your drive.
- For better results, remove all empty rows and columns in your Google spreadsheet before importing to Benchmark Email. Failure to do this can lead to an unsuccessful import.
- If you are importing external files to your Google Drive, the files should be saved first in XLS or XLSX formats. All Google Sheets files are often in these formats.
- If there are multiple sheets in the Google spreadsheet, the system will automatically add and import the first sheet only. It is better to create a different Google spreadsheet rather than combine multiple sheets in one Google sheet.
- At the end of the Google Sheets integration process, some of your contacts may have been filtered out. This might occur because those email addresses were duplicates.
- The Google Sheets integration process is done only once, but you can continually import more contacts using the same method outlined above. As long as you have the files in a Google spreadsheet, you can import them with ease.
Conclusion
Using Benchmark Email's Google Sheets integration is easier than ever. If you're currently tracing customer data in Google Sheets and looking for ways to leverage that data in your email marketing strategy, the Benchmark Email integration is just what you need.
