B2B Email Marketing

Email marketing is the most talked about subject in the B2B and B2C realm. The internet is a place where marketers can find umpteen numbers of write-ups outlining the email marketing where each account vividly advises what is right and what is wrong. By now you may be familiar with the ways Business to Business emails act as a revenue driver. Yes, your emails are being read by the individuals that you intend to reach. But, are they rightly influenced? Do they feel happy being informed about things that enable better decision making? Are they able to correlate everyday niggles that make it difficult to achieve desired results? Countless questions arise from time to time that that can only be addressed appropriately by understanding the triggers. Email marketing in B2B is not on the same plane with B2C because the email marketing rules that work efficiently in the B2C industry may fail to bring the results of the same magnitude in B2B businesses. If so, what is the ideal email marketing rule that takes the cake?

While shoulder tapping strangers to promote services or products, it is essential to pay keen attention to the audience’s response. At all times, marketers must remain conscious of the fact that being salesy can intimidate and shut down any possibilities of successful engagement. Striking the right chord with better value proposition is important.

Big budget decisions are not made overnight or by reading an email

It is typical for businesses to have long buying cycles because they weigh the pros and cons until a consensus is reached. Understanding this fact, marketers must plan their email campaigns in a friendly manner by reminding prospects at frequent intervals while resisting the urge to oversend messages. Modern marketers are investing in automation for aiding the process.

Have great content? Now is the time to use

In an independent analysis by Admitter, it was found that up to 90% of the cases in email marketing, call-to-action link text “More info” has precedence over other call-to-action texts such as “Buy now”, or “Try me” etc.,  It is a clear indication that telling-before-selling is an acceptable practice than coercing people to try on offers.

In most cases, your target audience will be eager to consume content that is knowledgeable and sometimes entertaining. They hope to derive values from the marketers at the time of subscription. Marketers are expected to serve the content that is originally sought after by their subscribers. Highly engaging content has reigned over business-as-usual write-ups. Illustrate value through engaging content that will educate consumers to turn opportunities into meaningful results. Get creative by ideating content that is not wholly focused on products but rather messages that will influence buyer’s approach towards particular challenges.

Targeting CEO is a myth

Targeting professionals based on function(managing directors) with B2B newsletter seems practical than targeting indistinct roles such as CEO. Managing Directors are leaders with decision-making responsibilities. However, CEO can be anybody that is initiators of work. A freelancer can be a CEO; the owner of the small diner can be a CEO.  It would be a misnomer to call CEO as an ultimate decision making authority. At least, not always!

A CEOs profile is unique with variations in behavior and preference over the type of information they consume. The only proven way to reach the right individuals is to track them based on function title. Alternatively, company size is a predictive element in reaching relevant decision makers.

The Decision-Making Unit of organization

On the contrary to popular belief, the authority to make a purchase decision is not bestowed on a single individual. It is rather undertaken by a panel of trustees that evaluate the worthiness of buying the services or product. The decision makers group is called as Decision Making Unit (DMU). Marketers make the mistake of exclusively targeting decision makers or the influencers alone. It is important to realize that all the members of the committee are pivotal in successfully concluding the purchase.

DMU member’s perspectives may vary from one another. Your marketing campaigns must convey the messages to people keeping in mind their priorities and approach towards the resource. Seasoned marketers always vouch for segmentation before flagging off email campaigns. In B2B email marketing, careful consideration is needed while moving ahead with segmented prospect data. As roles differ, so do the priorities. For instance, a financial decision maker may have concerns that vary from the needs of marketing head.

If you are an email marketer, creating content that addresses the critical pain points faced by the target audience will significantly boost the respective value through email engagements. It is important to enforce email marketing strategy by taking into account the challenges faced by every member of the DMU.

The future of B2B Email Marketing

Email is the pillar of any digital marketing whether it is B2C or B2B. However, B2B marketers mimicking the B2C email strategy often fail to elicit favorable outcome because both the ecosystems are a world apart in its fundamental form. B2B realm demands a professional email marketing approach that focuses on several niches whether it is people or the purpose. Without a channel specific knowledge, marketers are throwing the spaghetti and finding what sticks. On its own, such a method poses risks that are rather avoidable.

Email marketing has no parallel when it comes to customer lifecycle. This channel has both experience and the up to date functions that enable marketers to not just use them for attracting eyeballs, but also to provide values that are not evident on any other channels. Email marketing is irreplaceable in many aspects of our day to day life, because after the mobile trend caught on; more emails are opened on mobile gadgets than desktops devices. Businesses that are not optimizing their email campaigns for better user experience across mobile phone are missing the potential opportunity. Moving ahead, email marketing is expected to solidify its role in B2B business offering cost-effective ways of reaching the desired audience.