Last updated on April 21st, 2023 at 06:27 am
With more than 3.7 billion active email users in the world, email is booming. It is likely to reach 4.3 billion users by 2023.
For B2B marketers, email marketing is still one of the most powerful tools to generate more leads and sales.
Around 87% of B2B marketing companies say that email is one of their top free organic distribution channels. Besides, 81% of B2B marketers report their most used form of content marketing is email newsletters.
Let’s discuss the key elements of a successful B2B email marketing strategy for 2021 and beyond.
1- Segment Your Email List
Segmenting your email list means grouping your B2B leads based on certain criteria, such as demographic information or purchase history. It ensures that you send more relevant emails to the recipients.
You can consider the following criteria segment your list:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
- Title / position
- Branch
- Size and type of organization
- Interest in your brand
CRM tools and marketing email platforms such as Hubspot or Mailchimp help you to collect information about your contacts and segment the email list.
2- Optimize Your Subject Lines
The subject line of the email can make or break your email marketing success. It is the first impression your subscribers see and use to decide whether or not to open your email.
A few ways to craft catchy subject lines are:
- Keep it short. Use no more than 3-5 words.
- Create a sense of urgency or scarcity.
- Use emojis to make it more appealing.
There are subject line testers as well that help find the perfect mobile-friendly subject line length or measure the emotional effect of words on readers. A few tools are Mizy, Test Subject, or Touchstone.
3- Personalize Your Message
Personalized selling matters in B2B. Targeted emails are essential for generating leads, converting them into customers, and keeping their loyalty.
As per a survey by Salesforce, around 65% of businesses consider switching vendors if a brand does not personalize communications to them.
A few ways to personalize your message for B2B leads are:
- Address the reader by name: The easiest form of personalization is to address the reader by name. A recipient’s first name increases the open rates by 2.6%.
- Use your real email signature: Use the real contact information in the email signature to allow your readers to contact you. It is a great way to build a relationship with them. Tools like the WiseStamp email signature generator help you create your email signature with ease. WiseStamp works flawlessly on all email platforms, including G Suite, Office, and Apple Mail, without any coding. It allows brands to centrally manage all their employees’ email signatures.
- Use a real reply-to email address: Use a real reply address to improve credibility and appear more personal. When you use donotreply@example.com, it takes away the authenticity from the messaging.
4- Include a Clear Call-to-Action
CTA is a core element of any marketing effort, especially within the B2B space. It is your vehicle, driving your subscriber to take the next step that you have laid out for them.
The three key components that should be included when writing a CTA are:
- Word: Avoid generic words that add no value, such as download, buy now, and learn more. Focus on the low-risk words, such as view product or find a deal.
- Design: Once you get the words right, put them into a visually stunning design. Use bold and legible fonts.
- Placement: The last step is to place the CTA in your email message. The CTA needs to be clear and prominent. A good rule is to place your CTA above the fold, the visible, preview portion of a message.
5- Embed Video in Your Email
Video in email marketing is going to boom in 2021. Adding video to your emails help them stand out in inboxes.
The benefit of sending video emails is that it hooks the viewers and speeds engagement with them. Incorporating video acts as a differentiator that gets your messages noticed.
As per Campaign Monitor, video emails increase open rates by 19%, click rates by 65%, and reduce your unsubscribe rates by 26%.
A few video email marketing best practices are:
- Embed or share videos that are hosted on your own platform.
- Add the video after your text.
- Turn off the autoplay option.
- Make the video short and to the point.
- Keep the file size small.
6- Keep Your Email List Clean
Email list scrubbing or cleaning involves removing inactive and inaccurate data from your email database.
4.5% of emails decay after 28 days. At this rate, your email list starts getting crowded with outdated data that increases bounce rates and ruins your reputation.
Here are the best strategies for email hygiene.
- Use of double opt-in database: Double opt-in email lists include the subscribers who have confirmed their registration. It permits you to send out emails.
- Eliminate bounced email addresses: There are soft bounce and hard bounce emails. Soft bounces happen due to temporary failures that can be rectified. However, hard bounces happen when the target email address is wrong. Therefore, keep deleting hard bounced email addresses.
- Make it easy to unsubscribe: Recipients may report your emails if they are not able to unsubscribe, which counts as a big strike against your sender reputation. Thus, it is important to make it easy to unsubscribe.
7- Automate the Process
Email marketing automation is the best workaround for sending effective emails.
As per Campaign Monitor, automated emails generate 320% more revenue than non-automated emails.
The right automation platform and the application of AI help you streamline your processes, segment your audience, and put your analytical data to use for more actionable insights.
Final Thoughts
In 2021, there will be stronger B2B email performance from more personalized and engaging email campaigns.
B2B marketing involves delivering logic to business personals. Thus, a well-thought-out email marketing strategy helps your business to collaborate with other business entities and gives your B2B business a real boost in the market.
