10 B2B email marketing tips that will increase your sales in 2022
Creating new methods for generating leads and keeping existing clients satisfied is at the top of any B2B sales manager’s priority list.
But, there’s not always a need for something new when some proven techniques are relevant and highly successful in producing outcomes — and email marketing is one of these methods.
B2B email marketing is still one of the most direct and successful ways to engage with leads and existing clients. It’s also a very cost-effective way to stay in touch and connect with people who spend a lot of their time online and check their inboxes regularly.
When it comes to email marketing, the main difference between targeting a B2C and B2B audience is the material you send out and the right moment to send it, concerning both time of the day and the stage of the customer cycle.
If you’re offering low-cost items, you’re probably aiming for a large-amount sell and a fast response to your campaign. This requires an entirely different approach than someone hoping to secure a two-year servicing agreement for a high-value product.
Why should you create a B2B email marketing strategy?
As reported by Earnest Agency, 72% of B2B buyers are ready to share useful content through email.
This implies that your emails aren’t static and won’t wind up in a spam bin. If your target demographic receives them, there’s a significant possibility they will share part of your content with others in their business circle.
Or to put it another way — your emails will be read, appreciated, and forwarded, as a significant amount of people will hear what you have to say.
When we talk about the financial aspect, the benefits are tremendous. For every dollar spent on email marketing campaigns, the average ROI is $36 . It’s a massive return, especially when compared to other traditional marketing channels.
In comparison, influencer marketing earns no more than $6.5 for every dollar invested, a rate over seven times lower than how much we can obtain with a solid email marketing campaign.
This isn’t a call for eliminating all other forms of marketing and promotion, but it suggests that email marketing should not be overlooked and that establishing your email list should be one of your goals. It’s efficient and easy to put into action.
Read through these ten email marketing tips that can help you boost your sales and engagement.
1 — Reorganise your data
Every winning B2B email marketing campaign is built on accurate, timely data .
Clearing your email database allows you to maintain a high-quality list while removing members who are no longer interested in getting your emails.
According to SiriusDecisions research , 25% of B2B databases are faulty, and 60% of businesses have poor data health. Make some time to revise your lists to ensure that the data you’re working on is as concise as possible.
You could also utilise intent data to develop a proactive email marketing strategy that outlines why someone visits your site.
2 — Addressing a CEO is not always a good idea
Given that your mission is to drive B2B sales and leads, you should be aware that not all decision-makers in your target group have the same responsibilities in their organisations.
Even though your first thought might be to create a message for CEOs of the companies you have selected for your promotion, think twice.
Assume you wish to market transaction processing solutions. Institutions require these things, but so do large corporations, small businesses, village shops, etc.
There are several types of people in charge of obtaining such things for their organisations. They all come from diverse academic backgrounds. You will be addressing CEOs, business owners, and often their staff, so you should construct a message that speaks to everyone, not just the company’s CEO.
Make your email content flow by avoiding using business jargon that is too specific to a specific position.
3 — Content is crucial
You must provide your viewers with something worthwhile to read. Choose evergreen topics that you can reuse.
If you want to include more than just product details in your emails, consider providing some valuable and helpful content for your readers. The strongest writing is the one that gives answers, shares tips and tricks, and offers guidance that your users can follow in their own lives or organisations.
For example, the team at , which provides customized online games for businesses, regularly sends emails on how to create a fun workplace culture that their readers value.
It’s critical to strive not only for new consumers but also for keeping existing ones engaged, given that it’s five times more expensive to acquire a new customer than to keep the one you already have.
Furthermore, prioritise quality over quantity. Sending a message doesn’t require writing a book. The length of your email shouldn’t be a concern when you aim for high quality. If your pitch is powerful, you can design very brief email newsletters and still achieve a high ROI.
In this context, a good email means that you should express your idea in a few words, that your writing and visuals are adequately prepared and handled, and that your style is carefully tailored to the specific audience you want to persuade to buy from you.
Also, the material should be as easy to read as possible. Almost no one enjoys reading long essays or large blocks of text, especially B2B employees who get a large number of emails every day.
This is why you must ensure that your content is clear and understandable. Make use of headers, bulleted lists, suitable fonts, and emphasise the essential information. Create short lines and paragraphs, and leave enough white space.
4 — Your email should be both informative and profit-oriented
This distinguishes B2B marketing from B2C. When developing a B2B email strategy, make sure it’s informative and has a clear profit goal in mind.
Your clients want to know how to increase revenue, and they want to know how to do it. Show them how to use your product/service in order to boost profit through strategies like developing a new product line, retail display ideas, price modification, etc.
Most email marketers strive to convert a subscriber into a customer with a behavioural trigger, and that’s what most B2C emails contain. However, a B2B email should be oriented around facts, truthful information, and instant benefits.
5 — Offer something
Your customers and target audience are the main pointers of how efficient your marketing is. Strive to strengthen that connection by providing a free consultation or trial. You could even arrange an online workshop on educational themes relevant to their sector.
For instance, you can discuss the significance of having a contact form on their company’s website. Behind the scenes, the contact form enables an email message to be generated and delivered to your mailbox. It allows you to receive information from guests without disclosing your email address to spammers.
This kind of data driven marketing approach would undoubtedly be valuable for them in terms of better understanding their clients. At the same time, it can help you boost your engagement rates and deepen your relationship with your clientele.
6 — Automate email sending so you don’t miss opportunities
As a B2B sales supervisor at a growing company, you probably already send mass emails to dozens of prospects on a daily basis, with the goal of increasing conversions.
While most email services offer options for scheduling and sending emails to an extensive mailing list, email automation is the definitive solution you should consider.
Marketing automation may appear complicated at first, but Campaign Monitor research reports that automated emails generate 320% more revenue than non-automated emails.
But, optimising the sales process using email automation requires executives to master the product and its features. Once that’s achieved, they can use the software to design and manage numerous customised email marketing campaigns with minimum human error.
Email automation is a potent marketing tool that allows you to send the right message to the right audience at the right time, leveraging automated workflows. It’s highly effective for prospect nurturing and, ultimately, driving sales from both potential and existing customers.
7 — Avoid attaching forms directly in your emails
Forms are used by many B2B businesses such as retail, accommodation and so on to gather customer information.
However, the biggest issue is that they are usually not mobile-friendly, which can seem unprofessional to your clients. Common problems are that the compulsory attribute is overlooked (boxes with required details are marked, but the form can still be submitted if not filled in) and that the input text and text-area fields are not changeable.
The other thing is that a form in an email is not that secure. Some of your clients’ security systems can see it as a threat and raise an alert, which can discourage the receiver from filling it. This is why it’s not recommended to embed forms in your B2B email campaigns.
8 — Use only one CTA per email and make sure it’s relevant
Limit yourself to one call-to-action (CTA) for each email.
Some emails contain two, three, or even up to ten separate CTAs, which can have your receivers wondering “What to click on first?” and eventually selecting — nothing!
If you only have one CTA in each email, the receiver will be able to concentrate on your email content and take that one action you wanted him to take.
Even though the primary goal of your newsletters might be to educate clients, this is an excellent means of introducing them to relevant offers in order to boost sales or increase site traffic.
When drafting an email, keep in mind the 80–20 rule: 80% instructive, 20% promotional.
The main body should contain helpful educational content. At the same time, the sidebar should present your viewers with an appealing offer related to the body text. Also, your deal must be relevant on two levels — both the reader’s interests and the subject of your article.
9 — Plan with “permission marketing” in mind
The key to successful email marketing is a concept known as “permission marketing.” Permission marketing refers to customers who agreed to receive marketing offers and notifications from a company.
Your email newsletter should trigger positive customer reactions rather than annoy them. So, before adding your clients and prospects to your email marketing list, you should ask them if they want to hear from your company. Make a direct email signup form available on your website.
Additionally, whenever you speak with a customer or prospect, inform them of the benefits they will receive from your email newsletter and request approval to add them to your list.
Permission marketing has a lot of benefits, some of them being:
- Lower operation costs.
- Better engagement.
- Better conversion rates.
- Strong long-term client relationships.
However, there are several drawbacks to permission marketing. Because these emails are typically automated, you must be cautious about sending too many. A company that emails its clients about every new offer, promotion, or product launch risks overburdening their inboxes and decreasing customer interest.
The same goes for sending too few emails. It is critical to strike a balance between content volume and pace.
10 — Look after your clients during the whole cycle
Nurturing involves maintaining and growing your relationship with clients at each stage of the sales cycle so they don’t quit on you in the process.
According to Gartner’s study , 77% of B2B customers feel their most recent buying experience was complicated with a much too long sales cycle. Fast response times and prompt email communication are, of course, essential in this situation.
A clear-cut and personalised email can assist in keeping your clients fully engaged throughout the process. As a result, your target audience will be regularly reminded of your company, increasing the likelihood that the sales cycle will be completed sooner.
Conclusion
Email marketing can be one of the most powerful mediums for driving B2B sales. While synchronising your email marketing strategy with your revenue targets should be one of your top priorities, it’s also necessary to continuously monitor the quality of your email campaigns.
Remember that your email marketing campaigns will only be successful if you pay attention to the details that make up the big picture.
Author bio
Andrej Fedek is the creator and the one-person owner of the InterCoolStudio. As an experienced marketer, he is driven by turning leads into customers.
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Originally published at https://www.cognism.com.
