Five Don’ts of B2B Email Marketing

by MGB2B

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As a B2B marketer, maintaining a positive relationship is vital to your sales funnel. One of the best ways to do that is through B2B email marketing. It’s one of the most productive lead generation tools, but there are many ways to overstep your boundaries. When it comes to content, accessibility, and frequency, here are five things to keep in mind as you construct your next email campaign.

1. Sending Too Frequently

Many things are better in moderation, and marketing emails are no exception. We know what you’re thinking: we just told you that staying in touch with your customers is important. But flooding their inbox can have the opposite effect.  Your customers receive hundreds of emails like yours, and it’s your job to ensure your email doesn’t get lost in the clutter. By sending emails less frequently, your customers will be less likely to feel badgered and opt out of future communications.

2. Lack of or Excess Personalization

There’s lots of talk of personalization these days, and with good reason. Consumers want to feel attended to and known. In fact, 82 percent of marketers reported an increase in open rates through email personalization, while 75 percent believe that personalization yields higher click-through rates. But keep in mind, this is more than simply a “Dear So & So.” It’s about knowing what your customers want. Sending them emails with products that match their previous interactions with you is one way to do it. But if you send them emails for products that don’t match their interest, or worse, products they’ve already purchased, your emails will become more white noise in their inbox.

This has to be done with a deft hand, however. Too much personalization can be a turn off in a creepy, big brother sort of way. It’s all about balance, folks. Fine tune your efforts so personalization is gradual, purposeful, and accurate.

3. Mobile-Unfriendly Layout

Though people still use their desktops, more and more people stay on top of their email from their phones. It’s important to make sure your content is optimized for all devices. If your images don’t load or your text is wonky, you can expect a swift delete.

4. Poorly Written Content

Customers are savvy. An elementary voice, grammatical errors, or poorly written content suggest your company shouldn’t be taken seriously. Furthermore, body copy that’s too wordy will be a turn off because no one has the time to read a tome.

5. Bad Subject Line

The subject line is the first written content your customer sees, and will define whether they open or delete it. Short, to the point, with just enough hook to pique their curiosity is the way to go. Otherwise, your email content will never be seen.

Considering that today’s marketers need to do more with less, email marketing gives us a whole lot of bang for our buck. And while other marketing trends come and go, email marketing remains a workhorse. To use it to its fullest potential, make sure you keep yours in line with the tips above.

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