In the B2B game, email marketing is one of the tools that can quickly get you from a client’s raised eyebrow to a confident handshake. Due to the drawn-out sales cycles and high transaction values inherent in the B2B space, each individual email campaign may have more impact than a B2C email.
However, business people are receiving even more messages than end consumers. So, if you’re trying to get into clients’ inboxes and stay there, focus on best practices for personalized emails and occasionally refresh your approaches to finding and developing prospects.
Before we show you how to turn a B2B email campaign into a benefit-packed piece of art, we’ll bet this guide will help you overhaul your email marketing strategy. That’s because we’ve followed the first rule of the Marketer’s Codex, carved into the hidden caves of Mount Ads: Everything, from a product launch to a case study, should answer the reader’s unspoken question: “What’s in it for me?”
Engaging email content gets each potential customer interested and keeps them coming back for more. So, how do you use data-driven strategies to set measurable goals that let your B2B newsletter take off into the stratosphere?
What Is B2B Email Marketing and Why Does It Matter?
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let’s get some digital marketing basics down. B2B email marketing is all about promoting products or services to other businesses. Unlike B2C marketing, where you’re reaching out to individual consumers, here, your target audience is made of companies and professionals.
Even with that in mind, it can be tough to grasp what that means for your B2B email marketing strategy. Yes, you’re trying to build relationships with potential customers, similar to B2C. However, you’re not just creating email campaigns to get the sale; you’re fostering connections that could lead to long-term partnerships.
As a result, you can’t translate the tactics you may see in B2C email marketing 1:1 and expect results. Consider how you, as a businessperson, are using email. Most likely, it’s still one of the direct lines of communication to reach you. Maybe you’re already using multiple email addresses to filter out the noise.
Your inbox is a sacred space, and every B2B campaign should respect it. If done right, your email copy can lead to discussing products and industry trends with partners. If done wrong, you’ll get blocked, simply because nobody in B2B is reading email for pleasure … most of the time.
So, before we scare you out of hitting send, let’s address and solve a problem that catches your recipients’ attention.
How Is B2B Email Different From B2C Email?
We just mentioned how the entire background situations of B2B and B2C email marketing are different, but what does that mean for your email campaigns? Quite a lot, actually:
- Content Style: B2B email content is usually more detailed and technical. You might include industry-specific jargon, stats and data-driven insights. B2C emails, on the other hand, are simpler and focus on a product’s benefits and emotional appeal.
- Email Length: B2B emails are often longer because they provide in-depth information. You’ll see detailed descriptions and case studies to satisfy the niche questions of a B2B customer. B2C emails are typically shorter and to the point, focusing on quick conversations and engagement.
- Audience: In B2B email marketing, your audience is small and highly targeted. Personalization is even more critical. Each email should feel like it’s meant specifically for the recipient. B2C targets larger audiences, often using a broader buyer persona and messaging to appeal to many.
- Frequency: The regularity of B2B emails can vary, depending on the industry and audience. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all rule, but it’s generally less frequent than B2C emails, which might come out weekly or sometimes daily.
Subscribe to
The Content Marketer
Get weekly insights, advice and opinions about all things digital marketing.
Thank you for subscribing to The Content Marketer!
What Are the Benefits of B2B Email Marketing?
Before we dive even deeper, we should discuss why you’d even want to invest in tailored B2B marketing. This is the what’s-in-it-for-me part (see what we did there?).
- Build Authority and Trust: Sending informational emails or newsletters helps establish your brand as a thought leader. By providing valuable insights and updates, you build trust with your audience. This can lead to stronger relationships and a better reputation in your industry.
- Cost-Effective Communication: You can get as nostalgic about radio ads as you want, but there’s no denying email marketing’s better return on investment. Unlike a traditional advertiser, today’s B2B marketer can send targeted messages to large audiences without breaking the bank.
- Personalized Content: Think of segmenting your email list as the secret trick that allows you to offer a concierge service to thousands of B2B buyers. We enjoy it when people remember how we take our coffee, and email isn’t any different. If yours offers personalized content, your email might go right alongside that cup of joe. Hello, engagement!
- Trackable Results: Even the most creative print ad doesn’t come with flip-by or skimming stats. With email marketing, you can easily track who opens your emails, clicks on links and takes the desired action. This data helps you improve future campaigns.
- Lead Nurturing: By leveraging marketing automation, you can educate prospects about your products or services and move them closer to making a purchase, thus improving your revenue stream while on autopilot.
- Enhanced Customer Relationships: Regular communication through emails maintains and strengthens your relationships with existing customers. This can boost your brand recognition and help you save expenses on future ads, while also taking a load off your support and customer service teams.
What Are the Core Elements of a B2B Marketing Strategy?
We’re pretty sure you wouldn’t say no to any of the above, but how do we go about creating a successful B2B marketing strategy to ensure effectiveness?
Clearly Defined Audience
You need to know who you’re targeting, usually in greater detail than in B2C. This involves detailed market research and creating buyer personas. Even targeting the wrong roles within the right business can be detrimental to success, so you need to tailor your messaging and campaigns to the right stakeholders’ needs.
High-Value Content
There’s a time to sell, and there’s a time to build trust. Relevant content lets you do that, such as blog posts, white papers, case studies and webinars. Your content might provide value by curating industry trends, sharing research or solving known industry problems. Each comes with different levels of engagement.
Strong Online Presence
Your website must be optimized for search engines. Keep in mind that even niche industries have meaningful keyword research opportunities. If you can’t find enough search volume, pick more high-level search terms to share deeper insights. Also, make sure your site is user-friendly and provides a good experience across all devices.
Effective Email Marketing
B2B email marketing relies on a robust tech backbone. You’re looking for trustworthy cloud storage that supports your efforts to comply with regulations like the CAN-SPAM Act or the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Meanwhile, strong automations can take work off your plate. It’s crucial to have a well-maintained list of prospects and personalized, value-driven emails. Regularly update your email list and segment it to send targeted emails that speak directly to the needs of your recipients.
Social Media Engagement
As generative AI and search algorithm updates cause insecurities across industries, you can throw platforms like LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram or Facebook into your marketing channel mix. Share your content and engage with your audience. Social media helps in building relationships and increasing visibility.
Data-Driven Decisions
This is the fun part. Track your campaigns and analyze the data. Use tools to measure your key performance indicators (KPIs) and adjust your strategies based on what’s working, not on ego. Data helps you make informed decisions and prevents faulty assumptions.
Competitor Analysis
Identify your competitors and understand their strategies. Looking left and right helps you find your unique selling points and areas where you can outperform others. Detailed competitor profiling lets you discover any questions they may have left unanswered.
Best Practices for B2B Email Marketing
Start by choosing an email marketing platform that meets your needs. Campaign Monitor is a popular choice with robust features. Other strong options include Pardot, Marketo and HubSpot.
We mentioned it earlier, but we’ll do it again: Segmentation wins. It’s the difference between the waiter who says “Hi there!” and the one who greets you by name and shows you to your usual table — with your drink of choice on ice, of course. Learn how to effectively use segmentation and leverage it to adjust your offerings for different customer personas.
Also, alluring as rising stats may be, try to build a quality list, just like you’re offering quality services and products. Avoid buying lists and use welcome emails to introduce new subscribers to your company. You want to make sure everyone on your list truly wants to be there. Once you’ve collected the first emails, you should re-engage dormant subscribers and, yes, throw non-responsive ones off the list. If it’s not a good match, there’s no need to store their data at your expense.
Before it gets to the actual writing, pay attention to other marketing emails you enjoy. How do they draft their subject lines? Why do you consider them valuable? Are they concise? Do they differ from the style the company uses on their website?
Once you’ve come to your first rough definition of valuable content based on personal experience, you can rely on A/B testing to validate different versions of your campaigns. To elevate it even higher you can use tools for UX research and conduct a study with your existing customers to tailor your emails to their needs.
Most platforms offer some sort of email automation to nurture leads, so it’s a good idea to compare your options and find the one that works best for your enterprise. When they’re set up, nurturing emails can help move prospects through the sales funnel almost automatically.
For your other campaigns, you’ll still want to monitor your open rates and other key metrics. This helps you understand what resonates with your audience and adjust your strategy accordingly. It’s also advisable to test your emails before sending them. That way, you can ensure they land in the inbox and there’s no email deliverability issue or you’re landing in the dreaded spam folder.
Commit to Effective Email Marketing for B2B
A B2B brand of any specialty should consider the value of email marketing, whether to spread the brand’s message or to pursue leads more directly. Now that you’ve got the inside scoop, you’ve got two options: You can go ahead and craft your first email marketing campaign, or you can learn more about email through — wait for it — email.
We know the value of a good B2B email: When you sign up for the Brafton email mailing list, you receive all the latest insights from around the content marketing space. Now you’re out of excuses. Go ahead and send those emails!
