B2B email marketing can be the cornerstone of your advertising strategy. In fact, according to the Direct Marketing Association, an effective campaign can show a 40-to-1 return on investment. Those figures are hard to argue with.
The key word is “effective.” You need to follow best practices to get your message to the decision makers and to help your target market, not annoy them.
There are four critical components that every successful Business-to-Business Email Campaign needs. This month, Part 1 covers good data and good design. In November the focus is on timing and great content.
Good Data
You need to know who is opening your emails and who is clicking on your links. This information tells you which strategies are working, what content resonates and if your offers are meeting the needs of your prospects. Then you can do more of what is successful and tweak what isn’t.
Get to know your automation software or outsource the work to professionals. Using advanced technology, these apps can tell you everything you need to know, including:
- Who is opening your offers
- What links did they click on
- The length of time they spend on your website after clicking a link in the email
- What they downloaded from your site
Use this data together with segmentation and A/B testing. This gives you the data you need to effectively meet the needs of group you are targeting. Experiment with different subject lines, images and what type of information you include.
With this information in hand, you can dig deeper into the psychology of your email list. Develop your B2B campaigns designed around behavioral triggers and specific events.
Good Design
Your recipients are likely to be zipping through their email early in the morning when they are still waking up with a cup of coffee or late in the afternoon when they are anxious to leave for home. So it is essential that you make your email easy to read.
If you send a big block of copy, it will end up in the trash. Use typestyles that are easy on the eyes.
Just like with websites, readers like images. Include photos and graphics illustrate your message and break up the block of type. Consider including polls, charts and videos.
These two components will help you set up your email campaign. With good data, you can pinpoint the right market. Once your audience receives your emails, good design will increase the rate of opens and clicks.
Keep an eye out for Part 2 next month where we share more hints and tips with you, you can get this delivered to mail box free using the Google feedburner below: