Email is often referred to as the "Wild West" of marketing: It's one of the most effective and efficient channels at our disposal, but it's also notoriously difficult to rein in. A well-executed email marketing campaign can be a powerful tool for building relationships and growing your business, but without a clear strategy on how to map out the critical steps in your customer's journey, it can quickly become a time-suck with little to show for your efforts.
So what are the most effective and efficient email marketing strategies you can employ for B2B businesses?
What Is B2B Email Marketing?
If you've ever received a promotional email in your inbox, you've experienced email marketing firsthand.
But what exactly is B2B email marketing, and how can you use it to your advantage?
B2B email marketing refers to the process of sending marketing messages to other businesses via email. It's typically used to send messages to large groups of people, but it can also be used to foster relationships with customers or clients.
By building a database of interested contacts and sending targeted messages, you can use email marketing to boost brand awareness, generate leads or drive sales. And best of all, it's relatively inexpensive and easy to get started. Taking the time to craft targeted and engaging content means you can build relationships with other businesses, drive leads and sales, and ultimately grow your bottom line.
Is Email Marketing a Good B2B Tactic?
In today's business landscape, email marketing is one of the most efficient and effective ways to reach a target audience. In fact, 91% of marketers noted that email was their most important marketing channel.
Here are a few reasons why email marketing is an excellent tactic for B2B businesses:
1. Email is still a winning option when it comes to ROI. For every dollar spent on email marketing, businesses see an average ROI of $30-$40 — a pretty solid return on investment.
2. Email is more effective and personal than other marketing channels like social media. In an era where consumers are bombarded with advertising messages, email allows you to cut through the noise and reach your target audience on a more intimate level.
3. Email is a great way to build relationships. Existing and potential customers will stay engaged long after the initial sale.
Creating Your Email Marketing Content
Email marketing can be a challenge. It's hard to know what content will resonate with your audience, and it can be tough to strike the right tone. Here are steps you can take to create email marketing content that will engage your customers and help you achieve your business goals:
1. Speak to your customers.
Find out what they're interested in, what kind of language they use and what type of content they respond to. Find creative ways to engage with your prospects and customers. Then, use that information to create email content that resonates with them on a personal level.
2. Cater your emails to personas.
Segment your email list into different groups based on factors like age, gender, location, and interests. Then, create separate email content for each group. This ensure that everyone on your list feels like they're receiving relevant information tailored just for them.
3. Leverage licensed content.
If you have the budget, content licensing can be a great way to add value for your customers. Whether it's exclusive access to particular products or discounts on popular items, licensed content can help you stand out from the competition.
How Do You Create a B2B Email Marketing Strategy?
Email marketing is big business, and businesses are always looking for ways to maximize their return on investment.
But how do you get started?
1. Create a Calendar for Email Distribution
If you're hoping to reach other businesses, you'll need to focus on creating a calendar for email distribution that makes sense for your prospects. That means thinking about when they're likely to check their email, what kind of messages they're likely to respond to and how often you can reasonably expect them to engage. By taking the time to develop a thoughtful email calendar, you'll boost your chances of reaching your target audience and achieve your desired results.
2. Understand the Sales Cycle
Understanding the sales cycle is critical. For example, how many touchpoints do prospects need before converting? How many times should you follow up when creating drip campaigns? Knowing what they want and need is essential, as this will inform the types of emails you’ll ultimately send.
3. Clean Up Your Marketing Database
If your marketing database is cluttered or disorganized, it's time to clean up. Just like you’d declutter your closet or file through old documents, you must regularly purge your contact lists. This means eliminating dead weight, such as inactive subscribers or incorrect data. Not only will this make your database more manageable, but it will also improve your deliverability rate and safeguard your company’s reputation.
4. Choose the Right Email Template
The best way to choose the right email format is to understand the different types of email templates and what they're good for.
There are three main types of email templates: transactional, relationship and lead-nurturing.
● Transactional emails are sent after a purchase or sign-up and usually contain information about the transaction.
● Relationship emails are sent to build or maintain a relationship with the recipient.
● Lead-nurturing emails are sent to people who have shown an interest in your product or service but haven't made a purchase yet.
Every template has a different purpose, so it's important to choose the right one for your goals. Using the wrong template can lead to low open rates, high unsubscribe rates and even spam complaints.
5. Schedule Time to Test New Ideas
Creating a B2B email marketing strategy can seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be. This strategy will help you create valuable content that is not overly promotional.
1. Schedule time to test new ideas. Trying out new email strategies is essential to finding what works best for your business. Set aside time each week to experiment with different types of emails, such as:
● Curated newsletters
● Personalized emails
● Educational emails
● Emails promoting white papers, news articles and webinars
● Different subject lines
● Frequency of emails
● Days of the week and time of day
Hint: A test as simple as an A/B test improves conversion rates by almost 50%.
2. Test your emails before sending them out to your entire list. Send test emails to a small group of subscribers first to see how they respond. This will help you fine-tune your email strategy before launching it to your entire list.
3. Don't forget to measure the results of your email campaigns. Keep track of critical metrics, such as open rate, click-through rate and unsubscribe rate. This data will help you understand what works well and needs improvement.
6. Segment Your Lists
Email list segmentation is an important step to ensure that prospects and customers are receiving information relevant to them. When leads are generated, they should be filtered into groups based on job seniority, industry and persona. Leads can then be added to the right nurture campaigns and the appropriate email newsletter lists. According to Intuit Mailchimp, marketers will improve their metrics across the board when using this tactic. As a result of segmenting lists, marketers saw the following results (when compared to nonsegmented emails):
● 100.95% more clicks
● 14.31% higher open rate
● 9.37% reduction in unsubscribe rates
However, segmenting lists often means an increase in content development needs for organizations. To allot for this increase in content, consider outsourcing content, repurposing your content or licensing content from reputable publishers.
7. Track Your Results and Adjust Accordingly
Once you have your strategy in place, it's time to start tracking your results. Pay attention to open and click-through rates, and make adjustments as needed. After all, the only way to improve your B2B email marketing campaign is by constantly evaluating and tweaking it. Don't be afraid to experiment until you find what works best for your business.
8. Make Sure Your List Is Compliant (and That Users Are Opted In).
Before you can even think about crafting the perfect email, you must ensure you have a list of compliant subscribers: users who have explicitly permitted you to contact them via email. Once you've checked that off your list, it's time to start thinking about your email marketing strategy. What kind of messages do you want to send? What are your goals? And perhaps most importantly, how can you ensure your emails stand out in a crowded inbox?
9. Create Quality Content
When it comes to email marketing, it's essential to focus on quality, not quantity. In other words, don't send out a string of emails that no one will to read. Instead, focus on sending a few high-quality emails to benefit your recipients. Quality content marketing is more likely to get a positive response from your recipients — aka, the "yes" factor. Consider outsourcing your content development and diversifying your content. There are a number of formats of content that you can outsource depending on your specific business needs:
● Articles and editorial content
● Graphics
● Photos and news photography
● Videos
10. Add a Call to Action.
Don’t skip the call to action (CTA). In fact, your CTA is even more important in an email than it is on other marketing collateral — it's your one chance to get recipients to take action. So make sure your CTA is clear, concise and direct.
B2B Email Marketing Best Practices
Email marketing is not a one-size-fits-all solution. To be successful, you need to understand the different types of email marketing and how to use them effectively. Here are some essential tips:
1. Tie your goals to each email.
What do you want to achieve with this email? Is it brand awareness, lead generation or customer retention? Make sure your goals and KPIs are clear before you start writing.
2. Create content based on your target persona.
Marketers received 760% more revenue from email campaigns that used segmentation based on target personas. What interests them? Why have they chosen to subscribe to your emails? How can you add value to their lives?
3. Create a realistic timeline.
One of the most significant mistakes marketers make is trying to accomplish too much too soon. When crafting your email marketing strategy, it’s essential to set realistic goals and tail your messages to specific time frames. This will help ensure a smooth buyer's journey and keep your customers engaged.
4. Showcase thought leadership.
In today's competitive marketplace, showcasing your company's thought leadership is essential. Your email messages should contain helpful information that helps educate your customers and position you as an expert in your field.
5. Share valuable information.
Make sure it's fascinating! No one wants to read a dry recap of last quarter's earnings call. Focus on sharing articles and trends that will be of interest to your recipients. Adding a little wit or humor, if appropriate, can also help your content stand out.
6. Include one CTA per email.
Too many options can be overwhelming, so stick to one primary call to action per message. And make it easy to spot — use buttons or highlighted text to draw attention to your CTA.
7. Personalize your emails.
Emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened, so take the time to address your recipients by name. And if you have segmented your list, even better. Tailoring your message to specific interests will help ensure that your emails are relevant and engaging.
8. Incorporate responsive design.
With more and more people reading their emails on their smartphones, it's essential that your message is clear and easy to read on all devices.
9. Focus on the entire experience.
It's easy to get lost in mundane details like CTRs and subject lines, so pay attention to the customer experience across all the emails you send.
10. Create lead nurture campaigns.
The goal is to provide value at every stage of the buyer's journey. No one wants to feel like they're being sold to 24/7. But everyone likes free stuff. So send your leads valuable content that's relevant to where they are in their journey.
11. Capitalize on all emails being sent.
Open rates for transactional emails, such as those containing purchase information, are four to eight times higher than other email marketing campaigns. Marketers don’t always handle these emails, so work with your development team to ensure these emails are engaging and on brand. Ensure that your transactional emails are working hard for you with calls to action, upsells and cross-sells.
Examples of B2B Email Marketing Campaigns
Email marketing is a great way to reach out to customers and build relationships, but it can be a tricky business. To succeed, you need to find the right mix of humor, helpfulness and personality.
Here are some examples of effective B2B email marketing campaigns:
1. AdvisorStream
The AdvisorStream newsletter is an excellent example of a curated newsletter that keeps customers updated on new products or services.
2. Amazon Web Services
The Amazon Web Services "Welcome" email is sent to new subscribers and contains a brief overview of what the company offers and helpful tips on getting started.
3. Hubspot
The Hubspot "Daily Digest" email contains a curated selection of articles, blog posts and other resources that subscribers might find helpful. This email is a great way to keep recipients engaged with content while providing them with valuable information they can use in their own business.
These are just a few examples of the many types of B2B email campaigns. By taking time to study what has worked for other businesses, you can create an email campaign that will help you achieve your own goals.
Final Thoughts
Email marketing is critical to any successful B2B content marketing strategy, providing a great way to build relationships, create value and generate leads. And when it comes to email marketing, you don’t want to skimp on quality.
That’s why NYTLicensing can be a valuable resource.
Licensed content can be a great way to add levity and timeliness to your B2B email marketing campaign. It can also help you break through the clutter and score a win with your subscribers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I start with B2B email marketing?
It’s important to first understand your customer personas so you can map relevant messaging and assets to them. Because email marketing campaigns should drive value for your consumers, consider what content would deliver valuable insights. Next, consider the cadence of updates you’d like to send out. Your team should then create a content strategy to support this channel.
How often should you send B2B emails?
The volume of emails depends on your client’s preferences and what they opt in for. You don’t want to flood a prospect’s inbox, especially if they did not opt in for it. If you aren’t sending anyemails initially, you wouldn’t want to drastically increase that rate to daily. Forty-six percent of subscribers who have noted business emails as spam did this because a company sent too many emails.
Additionally, it’s better to focus on value instead of quantity. Consider including industry updates, news and thought leadership, and sending updates on a weekly or biweekly basis to start.
How do I grow my B2B email list?
Consider including CTAs across your website. Campaigns with industry publications can also help you build your email list while you build brand awareness.
