Business to Business (B2B) bulk email sending requires a different approach than you might take for your Business to Consumer (B2C) efforts. While some of the same principles apply in both segments, generally speaking, your B2B campaigns will likely require a more advanced approach to the sales process, as there is usually the assumption that your B2B leads constitute an audience that is already familiar with the subject you are covering. Some tips for conducting effective B2B email marketing are outlined below.
Engage Your Audience
While your B2B audience may be more knowledgeable about the subject than your average consumer is, that doesn’t mean that the tone of your email has to be dry and pedantic. In fact, to stand out from the crowd it may be beneficial to add a human touch to your emails by telling stories that help get your point across rather than simply reciting features and benefits. You may want to consider conducting a survey by email to see what issues and products resonate most strongly with your leads.
Clearly State Your Value Proposition
Touching on the human side of your company and its personnel may help pique the interest of the business contacts on your list, but their main focus is likely to be on how your product or products can help them do their job better. Make sure that you succinctly outline your value proposition, or exactly what it is your product can do to help your business prospects.
Don’t Overwhelm Your Prospects with Data
Business prospects are just as likely as harried consumers, if not more so, to be pressed for time. Rather than writing extended emails with numerous links and attachments, divide your content into emails that focus on a smaller number of products or services. This avoids the problem of losing out on conversions by burying items that a prospect might have an interest in so deep in the email that they never get a chance to see them.
Fine-tune Your List
A one-size-fits-all approach may not be optimal when it comes to your B2B marketing efforts. Consider using your email marketing software to segment your list and send out different email templates based upon the preferences of each portion of your list. This allows you to more effectively target the various business sectors you are marketing to.
Use Social Proof
Business contacts, like consumers, are more likely to try something that others are using. As a result, providing testimonials from other businesses which have used your product or supplying social proof via citations by industry authorities and the like can be effective ways to help increase conversion rates and drive sales.