When it comes to the glittering, frame-worthy B2B marketing assets your organization is most proud of, chances are, they’re not emails.
However, as your boss and countless B2B marketing blogs have likely pounded into your head, email reigns as content marketing king. So, you continue to produce and distribute uninspiring, unremarkable emails, all in hopes of – but often failing to – generate leads and beef-up revenue.
But, as with anything that’s seemingly unconquerable and mysterious (think King Kong, or the Beast from Beauty & the Beast), people fear what they don’t understand. Truth is, email marketing is one of the best tools in a B2B marketer’s arsenal – you just haven’t correctly utilized it.
According to The RadiCati Group, worldwide email accounts are expected to increase from 3.9 to 4.9 billion in the next three year, or by six percent, and business accounts should see a spike of five percent. That’s billions of untapped leads just waiting to be wowed and pulled-in by a powerful email campaign.
But with over 100 billion emails sent and received each day, capturing your recipient’s attention – and leading them down the conversion journey – can be difficult. So where exactly is your email marketing strategy going awry, and how can you close the content gap?
Time for a little “tough love,” email marketing edition.
1. MAKE YOUR SUBJECT LINES NOT SUCK
It doesn’t matter how great your offer is: without an enticing, benefit-centric subject line, your email is headed straight to the trash.
Why should a recipient care what’s in your email? A great subject line isn’t just creative and catchy—it compels your audience into action. Pinpoint the offer’s benefit and articulate that in an alluring, concise way.
2. GET TO THE POINT, ALREADY
There’s nothing more gut-churning than receiving a 1000+ word email from a coworker. So why would your recipients feel any different when receiving a bloated email about your service?
Address the recipient’s problem – and how your product or service provides the solution – right off the bat, and save the creative soliloquies and complicated allegories for your personal blog.
3. YOUR B2B MARKETING STRATEGY IS LIKE A CHICKEN WITH ITS HEAD CUT OFF
As a B2B marketer, your head is brewing with ideas. But unless you find a way to gage the effectiveness of those ideas and funnel them to benefit your bottom line, they’re useless.
Take note of what went well, or not so well, in past email campaigns with analytics. Was there a subject line with a high opening rate, or a CTA that fell flat?
Most importantly, ask yourself if you’re sending the email to the right person. Unless you’ve honed in on your buyer’s persona and are certain the recipient can potentially benefit from your product or service, you’re wasting time.
4. YOUR CTA IS NON-EXISTENT, OR JUST PLAIN UNENTICING
Your product is fantastic, and your subject line and email content are stellar. But without the proper transition, a great offer can go flat in seconds.
Incorporate multiple calls-to-action into your email. Whether it’s hyper-linked text or a flashy button, your recipient needs to be clearly drawn to the next step.
5. CUT THE PEACOCKING
We all have that acquaintance who never fails to alert us to how fabulous – and self-absorbed – they are. This couldn’t apply more in the world of email marketing!
Cut out the jargon and feature-boasting and speak to your recipient as you would a friend, including using a personalized salutation. Although your market is B2B, you’re still speaking to a human. What do they need help with, and how can you help them?
6. IT’S THE 21ST CENTURY – START MARKETING IN IT
Whether it’s optimizing your email for mobile, keeping up on the latest content and design trends, or incorporating new GIFs and infographics, your email strategy should always be one important thing: evolving.
What constitutes as a B2B email marketing best practice today may not be tomorrow, so be prepared to keep your campaign continuously changing – and improving.
To learn more about these best practices, check out our previous blog posts.
