The ultimate be­gin­ner­'s guide to suc­cess­ful B2B email marketing

News­let­ters and e-mail campaigns are often un­der­es­tim­ated as marketing tools. This tra­di­tion­al online channel can be used for more than simply ad­dress­ing private consumers; e-mail marketing is also a great outlet for speaking to business customers. Whether their purpose is marketing support or to try and win new customers over, B2B news­let­ters are a valuable means of com­mu­nic­a­tion for busi­nesses. We have collected the most important facts on B2B e-mail marketing as well as tips for suc­cess­ful in­ter­ac­tion with customers.

B2B mailing lists tend to be less extensive than those com­pris­ing of private customers. The challenge is to perfectly develop this small, yet very relevant market, which means taking special care of the contact list. In B2B situ­ations, each in­di­vidu­al contact is po­ten­tially very valuable. You have to look into bounces (visitors leaving the site soon after arriving) more precisely and get in touch with new contacts in order to stay on their radars. The right B2B news­let­ter software lets users classify bounces auto­mat­ic­ally as well as de­re­gister clusters. This is how you can ensure ideal recipient man­age­ment.

The technical side of B2B e-mail marketing is your friend as well as your foe. Marketing managers use elaborate tools available to make the most of auto­ma­tion, tracking, and precise seg­ment­a­tion with larger recipient groups. In a business en­vir­on­ment you can quickly end up in the spam folder where even an elaborate mailing tactic may sometimes fall flat. You should pay special attention to the following points:

• Spam testing: In B2C settings many re­cip­i­ents use free e-mail providers such as Hotmail and Yahoo whose spam filter systems aren’t as effective as those used by busi­nesses. When it comes to B2B, e-mails from unknown senders need to be checked carefully. Whitel­ist­ing isn’t usually possible. Before you send a B2B news­let­ter, it’s a good idea to first test for de­liv­er­ab­il­ity. Most pro­fes­sion­al delivery systems have a built-in spam test, this way you can rectify problems before you send any news­let­ters.

• At­tach­ments: you often have to expect extra security mech­an­isms when dealing with customers with very high security standards (e.g. banks). Many systems see e-mail at­tach­ments as security risks and block their access or sort them out in advance. A possible solution would be to load the at­tach­ment onto the server and then integrate the download link. Even HTML news­let­ters are clas­si­fied as security risks by many busi­nesses. Here it’s advised to use multi-part e-mails or text-only e-mails, or you could even ask the recipient whether they prefer HTML or text e-mails when they sign up to the news­let­ter.

• Op­tim­isa­tion for business clients: since free e-mail pro­grammes are rarely used in B2B settings, you should optimise your news­let­ter for pro­fes­sion­al clients like Microsoft Outlook. Make sure you also optimise your product for smart­phone clients, like iOS, Android, and Black­berry. This will ensure that the content is displayed as best as possible on each device.

• Mobile op­tim­isa­tion: even though more and more people are using the internet on their cell phones, many busi­nesses still fail to optimise for mobile display. All landing pages (not just B2B news­let­ters) and the content of related links should be checked for mobile-friend­li­ness and re­spons­ive display.

In Europe and Canada a double opt-in process (where a sub­scriber confirms that they want to receive the news­let­ter) is necessary, since e-mails can only be sent to re­cip­i­ents who have given prior consent. In the UK, there’s an anti-spam law enforced by the In­form­a­tion Com­mis­sion­er. If this law is breached, the offenders can find them­selves faced with a fine of up to £5,000. You can send e-mails to corporate sub­scribers, but not to in­di­vidu­als unless they have given their consent through the double opt-in process.

Relevant content

Many B2B e-mails end up being walls of text as marketers attempt to cram as much in­form­a­tion as possible in order to sell their products and emphasise their USPs. When ad­dress­ing business customers, you should abide by the general guidelines for suc­cess­ful B2C news­let­ters. Short and precise wording and crisp texts that always focus on the company’s unique selling points and customer value are what counts here. The layout doesn’t play a very important role, but it should non­ethe­less be taken into account. Your corporate identity should be reflected through a dis­tinct­ive colour scheme and logo. Images and videos should only be used when they are actually relevant and support the content. Make sure to avoid symbols and il­lus­tra­tions (e.g. a picture of a handshake when men­tion­ing contract signing). Three tips for B2B news­let­ters:

• Short and precise USP and emphasise customer value
• Avoid clichés and symbols
• Always keep the target group in mind