Written by Lilly Steel, Managing Director

Did you know that customers who purchase products through targeted email campaigns, on average, spend around 138% more?

With effective email marketing campaigns now yielding a return on investment four times greater than any other marketing channel, it’s no wonder why just about every organisation is utilising email marketing in some way or another and, show no signs of stopping.

With such large success rates across the majority of sectors, email marketing is not only a more cost-effective method of placing yourself in in front of your target audience, but it works wonders when used in conjunction with other areas of your marketing mix, for example, driving valuable traffic to your website.

But, with stiff competition out there, it’s important that you think your email strategy through to ensure what you create really cuts through the noise of other organisations in your industry.

As an organic focused marketing agency, we often opt for email marketing as a core part of any B2B’s marketing mix not only because of its benefits but, because it’s an organic method of marketing that doesn’t need additional spend pumped into it to be successful.

However, this being said there’s still some core elements you need to get right to ensure that the time and effort you put into creating your campaigns isn’t wasted.

Here’s three tips to ensure your B2B email marketing campaigns guarantee optimal open rates, click through rates and ultimately a return on investment.

1. Segment your audience

We’ve come across organisations before that make the mistake of sending out one email, with one message aimed at their entire list of contacts. And, while this may make sense to some, how can you assume that your organisations entire list of recipients has the same goal?

We recommend segmenting your contacts based on the reasons that matter most to them. By doing so, you’re able to build successful email campaigns with different messages that resonate most with your audiences. This method will not only encourage click through rates but will build long term loyalty and may increase the chance your email is sent around to others that share a similar passion or problem.

2. Personalisation

As with all email marketing campaigns, it’s important your organisation regularly reviews the success of the emails you’re sending out. This way, you double down on what works, and move past what doesn’t. We’ve found that the more personalised your emails are, the more likely your data is to response. Try personalising your campaigns through tailored subject lines as well as bespoke email copy. If your recipients feel that you’ve taken the time to address them and only them, they may be more inclined to open your email, and click through to important links your email includes.

Although a personal touch is important, we urge you to find out more about your audience before you start sending them overly personalised emails on multiple topics. In order for your email campaign to be successful you have to get to know when your audience likes to receive emails, when they don’t and when they’re most likely to interact with your campaign. If you get this wrong you could be hit with unsubscribes or even bounced emails.

The 2021 Benchmark Survey has identified the best days to send emails to ensure high engagement rates, and although this research is great, we ask you use it as a guideline alongside your audience research.

  • Best day with highest email open rates: Friday (18.9%)
  • Best days with highest click-through rates: Friday (2.7%)
  • Best days with highest click-to-open rates: Wednesday and Friday (14.4%)

3. Carefully crafted copy

Given its effectiveness, the use of email marketing does tend to be aimed predominantly at selling services. And while it makes sense to use such a successful marketing tool to promote what it is you do; you’ll find your recipients may become quickly unresponsive if all you do is sell, sell, sell.

Here at LS Media and Marketing, we strongly recommend varying your emails to create different types of content. Finding out more about your campaign data’s pain points and addressing those through the use of case studies, valuable articles and more can be a great way to provide them with vital information that doesn’t come across too hard-salesy!

The takeaway 

It’s important to remember that while email marketing remains one of the top activities in any marketing mix, it really does need to be thought out and executed with intent to ensure you reap the rewards. While the above pointers are only that, we’re certain that they’ll help take your marketing campaigns to the next level.

If you’re looking to harness the power of email marketing for your B2B organisation but need a little guidance, LS Media and Marketing can help. Whether it’s strategy, design or content, we’re here to ensure your campaign is a success. Contact us today to get started.