Generating leads is another way of saying generating revenue. And it is the end goal of both marketers and sales leaders to generate quality leads that convert into buyers and generate revenue. Out of the multiple approaches to lead generation, 80% of the time, marketers prefer quality leads over cold leads. And in B2B marketing, emails are still the most reliable source of lead generation and the third most trusted source of information extraction. According to a recent study, B2B Email Marketing is the primary marketing tool for 81% of B2B Marketing Firms.
However, for B2B Email Marketing to do wonders in the sales channel, a solid & strategic strategy must be adhered to consistently. In fact, emails can backfire and hamper a company’s reputation if gone wrong; we all have similar responses and despise spammy emails, don’t we? So here is a guide on B2B Email Marketing strategy dos and don’ts to accommodate marketers in generating business leads that account for noticeable revenue hikes via effective B2B Email Marketing campaigns.
B2B Email Marketing to attract fresh leads that are likely to convert
Emails can quickly drive customers away and look spammy. However, while walking on eggshells, knowing where to step is the most effective strategy. So let’s look at a more systematic approach to B2B Email Marketing that actually works.
1) Leverage the Power of Data
Email campaigning is a data-oriented activity; a lot of the campaign success depends on the data quality. Here intent data plays a vital role because it makes more sense to target the in-market audience interested in buying a relevant product or service. Apart from intent, account-based email shooting is yet another helpful approach. You choose the relevant accounts beforehand, prepare a list, customize content assets, and initiate the email campaigns.
2) Marketing Analysis and Segmentation
Merely starting an email campaign to the audience that you might think is interested is not the best way to go. Instead, try taking your time with the market, understand the audience, their needs, why they would be the proper selection as target audience, and then initiate the rest of the process. Once you identify the target audience through market analysis, prepare your data list and start segmentation. It is the process of segmenting the various types of the audience into sections and conducting multiple customized email campaigns.
3) Target Audience- Touching where it hurts
Market research and data sorting are initial prep steps. The actual marketing starts with ‘how you target the audience.’ The best approach is to begin by giving the audience a reason to listen. Buyers are usually looking for solutions to a problem, so while creating email content and subject lines, ensure to state a problem and then how your product is the best solution for them. Next, try adding value to the buyer, make the campaign content about them.
4) It’s Always About the Offer
It is always about the offer; however, in this context, the offer has multiple meanings. Of course, discounts and deals are very effective, but also, try adding value, giving solutions, understanding the problems, and being concerned about the buyer. Being available at the right time at the right place is vital in B2B email marketing, especially while attracting new clients.
5) The Keys- Content, Personalization, and Innovation
Since email communications occur through the content, it becomes the most crucial aspect of B2B Email Marketing. In most instances, email campaigns do not perform as expected due to generic email copies, poorly written content, and spammy language. Instead, leverage the intent data and segmentation to opt for a more personalized and specific approach while creating the email content. Additionally, restrain using templates and think out of the box. Use your innovation (for example, graphics and video content), market analysis, and tools to enhance the quality of your copies.
6) Go an Extra Mile to Make them Reply- CTAs.
As important as it is to ensure that the quality of the emails is stellar and relevant, the end goal is for the prospect to click through to the landing page. So, make sure that your CTA has the right content, is clear and straightforward. Additionally, the CTA button must be the right colors, shapes, sizes, and positioning. Experiment with the CTAs for different campaigns based on your email reputation.
7) Testing & Tracking
Testing and tracking the activity of your emails is an effective way of reckoning how your campaigns are doing. So go all-in with testing your subject lines and email copies and analyzing the results.
Moreover, it would be best if you also track the following metrics regularly; this will help in identifying what did and did not work in the email campaign-
- Delivery rate
- Open rate
- Click-through rate
- Bounce rate
- Spam Rate
Wrapping it up!
B2B Email Marketing is a highly tactical marketing approach involving various activities and teams. And no one factor will define the performance of the campaign. Although automation can simplify the work up to an extent for marketers, email service providers and CRMs will make the job simple, highly efficient, and result-bearing. Unfortunately, despite all the new opportunities, marketers choose ineffective cold emailing strategies. This is the end of Part-I of “A Strategic Method of Lead Generation-B2B E-Mail Marketing”
Stay tuned for part II, “The Ultimate B2B Email Marketing Strategy to Propel Sales,” where we reveal an approach to B2B Email Marketing and lead nurturing that actually works to help and generate better revenue.