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 busi­ness­es 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.

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E-Mail marketing for B2B customer retention

B2B products are usually high-priced, complex, and often need ex­plain­ing, which is a challenge for their marketing de­part­ments. Products like these have rel­a­tive­ly long pur­chas­ing processes, so it makes sense to accompany the customer through­out this step, which can be done with the help of editorial newslet­ters. With lots of detailed in­for­ma­tion and useful service tips your business can gain attention and maybe even win long-term customers in the process. Cus­tomized e-mails enable you to address certain target groups depending on where they are in the pur­chas­ing process. This means you can send in­di­vid­ual messages with tailored in­for­ma­tion. E-mail marketing is the ideal means for ‘lead nurturing’, which means that, little by little, this contact even­tu­al­ly leads to a purchase.

The dif­fer­ence between B2C and B2B e-mail marketing

B2B products are usually costly, complex, or both. Busi­ness­es don’t generally expect any spon­ta­neous purchases, and instead engage in a longer buying process. Pur­chas­ing in­cen­tives should depend on the char­ac­ter­is­tics of the recipient group. Rather than working with private customers, B2B marketing is all about dealing with pro­fes­sion­al business partners that don’t have much time to sift through newslet­ters. Both of these factors have an important influence on all further planning aspects such as the layout, how to address re­cip­i­ents, and the main focus points of the content. A B2B e-mail marketing campaign has its own dynamic.

Target groups and mailing lists

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.

Technical im­ple­men­ta­tion

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 es­pe­cial­ly pay 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 multipart 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.
  • Op­ti­miza­tion for business clients: since free e-mail programs are rarely used in B2B settings, you should optimize your newslet­ter for pro­fes­sion­al clients like Microsoft Outlook. Make sure you also optimize 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 op­ti­miza­tion: even though more and more people are using the internet on their cell phones, many busi­ness­es still fail to optimize 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.
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The legal aspects of B2B e-mail marketing

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 US, the CAN-SPAM (Con­trol­ling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornog­ra­phy and Marketing) Act means that direct marketing e-mail messages can be sent to anybody; however, these efforts must be ter­mi­nat­ed as soon as the recipient opts out. Failure to comply with the leg­is­la­tion may result in a $16,000 fine for every single e-mail you sent out.

The right timing

Knowing the right time to send out your newslet­ter is very important in e-mail marketing and is essential for opening rates and click rates. Instead of basing the dispatch time on outdated theories (e.g. never send anything on a Friday afternoon), companies should trust their instincts. This means that finding the best time of day to send out e-mails is sometimes no more than a game of trial and error. With the correct tools for sending e-mails, you can easily perform A/B testing (also known as ‘split testing’). You can read more about this topic in the article on newslet­ter software providers. With B2B marketing, the right time of dispatch is even more critical, as the time frame in which the customer has to answer is a lot smaller.

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 emphasize 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 point 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 color 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 emphasize customer value
  • Avoid clichés and symbols
  • Always keep the target group in mind

Right campaign planning: the dos & don'ts

A company needs a couple of things upfront in order to run a suc­cess­ful B2B e-mail marketing campaign. Besides defining the target group, seg­ment­ing in­di­vid­ual recipient groups, and having a long-term content plan, you should always keep the big picture in mind and try to implement multi-level campaign planning. It’s a balancing act between long-term planning and acting on current trends.

With B2B, it’s important to ensure con­ti­nu­ity by planning in advance and regularly uploading high-quality content. Knowing the ordering schedule of your customers and targeting them with specific offers is the way forward.

B2B E-mail marketing: dos & don’ts

Dos: Don´ts:
• Short, precise texts • Dry sales offers
• Focus on USP and customer value • Im­per­son­al ad­dress­ing
• Multi-level campaign planning • In­co­her­ent, un­com­pelling newslet­ters
• Legally and tech­ni­cal­ly correct im­ple­men­ta­tion
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