Why Your Email Marketing Fails, and How to Fix It

B2B Tech Marketing has gotten a lot harder. Due to the economic situation lead quality and volume has been declining, and business leaders are asking marketing teams to be more capital efficient. Here is what what we B2B Practitioners learned from working at and with companies such as 谷歌 , SOSAFE , Uberall , and many more.

Kudos to Berta Menéndez for bringing it all together in one blog post.

B2B marketers often prioritize building extensive email nurture structures. It's no wonder, with thousands of dollars invested in acquiring leads, maximizing their value becomes paramount. However, despite its potential, email marketing is frequently overlooked as a communication channel, especially when unsolicited emails flood recipients' inboxes.

You download a whitepaper, and suddenly, you're bombarded with multiple nurture emails...

Picture this scenario: you download a whitepaper, and suddenly, you're bombarded with multiple nurture emails—blog posts, case studies, webinar invites, and finally, a demo request. This approach assumes a linear buyer’s journey and relies on a single action from the prospect, neglecting crucial buyer intent signals and traits.

Does this mean companies should abandon email as a nurturing tool? Absolutely not. Email remains a critical component of the marketing mix, offering an owned channel to build strong relationships with prospects when done right. The key is adapting strategies to deliver personalized communications that resonate.

Anastasia Albert ???? explains:

At Proliance, I transformed email marketing into one of our most valuable lead generation channels within just a few months, all due to effective strategy and execution.

Segment Your Audience Carefully

To deliver valuable and relevant messages, it's essential to understand your recipient deeply. Unlike other channels requiring large audience sizes, email allows for precise segmentation. Avoid creating audiences solely based on content downloads or event attendance. Instead, build segments around shared objectives, motivations, and perceptions of your product.

Criteria for Creating Audience Segments

1. Standard Traits: Consider job title, seniority, industry, company size, and region. For example, an ad tech company might segment its audience into technical roles like app developers versus marketing roles, further divided by seniority.
2. Intent Data Signals: Leverage first-party signals from your website (page visits, key page interactions) and second-party sources like TrustRadius or G2. Third-party providers like TechTarget Priority Engine, ZoomInfo, or Clearbit reveal topics your target companies are researching.
3. Industry-Specific Criteria: Qualify prospects based on their perception of your product, issues with competitors, or their tech stack's influence on purchasing decisions. Tailor your messaging accordingly.
4. Rejected Leads: Cluster rejected leads based on rejection reasons, guiding your nurture sequence. Keep them warm if they lack a budget or keep them informed about product developments if they chose a competitor.

By combining these criteria, you can create manageable audience segments, each requiring highly relevant and targeted messaging.

Send Valuable and Personalized Emails at Scale

Once you define your audience segments, carefully select the content of each email. Open rates tend to drop significantly after the first email, making it crucial to write engaging and relevant content.

Tips for Effective Emails

• Know Your Audience: Leverage insights about your key personas to address their needs. For instance, HR software companies targeting talent acquisition managers might offer guides on writing compelling job descriptions, while senior leaders may prefer exclusive interviews with top HR professionals.
• Personalize: Use data about your prospects or their companies to make emails more relevant. A cybersecurity company could share industry-specific stats on breaches and threats.
• Keep It Short: Communicate your value proposition concisely, using bullet points when possible.
• Design Matters: Ensure an appealing layout reflecting your brand identity for a pleasant reading experience.
• Create Email-Specific Content: Avoid relying solely on repurposed content. Create material designed specifically for email, like transforming a whitepaper into an infographic.

Master the Frequency

Berta Menéndez recommends:

Strike the right balance between engaging prospects and avoiding overwhelm. Send four to five emails per month. Tools like HubSpot allow frequency caps, ensuring control while allowing for crucial updates.

Track the Right KPIs

Open rates can be misleading due to technical limitations. Focus on Click-Through Rates (CTR) and conversion rates. CTR measures link clicks, while conversion rates indicate how well content aligns with customer needs.

Monitor unsubscribe rates—above 0.5% signals potential issues with content relevance or frequency. Adjust accordingly to provide value without overwhelming recipients.

Benchmark Your Performance

Industry benchmarks offer valuable context. Mailchimp reports average open rates of 28.12% in the software industry and a click-through rate of 2.39%. Your internal benchmarks provide tailored insights, allowing comparisons by email type, geography, or persona groups. Consistently comparing campaign results aids strategy refinement.

Conclusion

Email marketing is a crucial tool for B2B marketers, enabling engagement and nurturing relationships with prospects. By segmenting audiences, personalizing content, mastering frequency, tracking KPIs, and benchmarking performance, you can overcome common pitfalls and maximize ROI.

Remember, email marketing isn't just about sending messages; it's about building connections. Implement these strategies, and watch your email marketing efforts transform into a powerful driver of business growth.

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