Millennials now hold the B2B purse strings. Has your email marketing adapted?

Email marketing is still considered the preferred method of communication for most business decision makers. But times are changing.  There’s a new generation of decision makers at the top – millennials – social media natives who’ve grown up with engaging content and have a micro-attention span.  So, I thought I'd share how SME firms can revitalise email marketing and continue to get noticed...

Email Marketing Evolution  

As a growth marketing agency we’re continually looking for smarter ways to evolve the email campaigns we create & activate for clients. With Forbes recently reporting that more than 70% of millennials are now included in B2B buying decisions the time felt right for a piece of work designed to understand the needs of the new generation of B2B decision makers.  

The old guard no longer holds the purse strings, it’s now millennials who have risen to positions of seniority that B2B businesses need to reach and engage with. These decision makers grew up with the internet, mobile phones and video content so their needs and expectations are quite different to the generation that came before. So, I got the A&E team working on an audience mapping project - our aim was to understand digital native behaviour in a business context to help inform content creation for clients.

The 6-month project has resulted in 3 key take-aways. Feel free to use them to adapt and update your B2B email marketing approach;  

 1) Personalisation:  

Digital natives expect the experience to be individual to them. This means communications MUST be personalised and created with specific needs in mind. We’re not suggesting you simply add a first name tag to the email, that won’t cut the mustard.   

Through database segmentation and customer journey mapping you should aim to create content that’s truly individual. The time and energy invested in this will pay dividends, as millennial decision makers will identify more closely with your brand and email success rates will increase. 

 2) Video Content:  

Good video content is worth its weight in gold. It’ll add minutes to dwell time and is jam packed with good intent. Videos don’t all need to be professional grade though. Yes, invest in some top-notch cornerstone video content, but make the most of your iPhone and capture authentic documentary behind-the-scenes material to supplement this. 

Video will make your email content interactive, and better capture the attention of your millennial audience.   

3) Social Media:  

Millennials are multi-touch point consumers – which means they will take to multiple platforms to seek out digital proof and research your brand before engaging with you.   

Keep this in mind and integrate LinkedIn marketing content alongside email marketing to have the biggest impact.   

Populate your email with social buttons and sharing links, and you’re proactively giving your audience the opportunity to interact with your brand.  

Good luck and keep me posted on how you get on!