Marketing resources are limited and it can be challenging to decide which platform is right for reaching your audience. Email marketing is a cost-effective way to reach a large number of people in a place most people access daily – their inbox. Whether you’re targeting consumers or other businesses, email has become one of the most effective and trackable ways to reach your audience.
The Difference Between B2B and B2C Email Marketing
A Business-to-Business (B2B) sales cycle is longer in nature and structure than those in consumer-facing industries. A long-term nurture email campaign containing multiple workflows can last anywhere from weeks to months, dishing out content that impresses various stakeholders from financially-driven decision makers to solution-focused buyers.
Here are some examples of B2B email newsletter content:
- Resource Content – tips, linking to blogs, linking to how to videos
- Company Updates – making your subscribers feel like a part of your journey
- Past Project Highlights – showing off your company’s work, allowing subscribers to envision how your brand might fit to their needs.
Both of these general content strategies aim to develop a closer relationship with the subscriber, building trust, and letting them get to know your brand while they’re trying to make the decision to hire you. Don’t forget, if they’ve already added their email address to your mailing list, they’re interested in you in some way.
Different from B2B email campaigns, Business-to-Consumer (B2C) campaigns tap into the impulsive decisions of the reader. They usually speak to a broader audience and have a typical sales cycle that’s more like 5 seconds to 24 hours. In fact, the sales funnel can be as simple as this:
Open email → Click on a link → Visit landing page → Purchase
Here are some examples of B2C email newsletter content:
- Product Features – highlighting a product your company offers and its perks
- Product Launches – letting your subscribers be the first to know when a new product is available
- Press and Publicity – sharing good press and publicity about your products in action
- Product Discounts – rewarding subscribers with discounts to incentivize purchases
Each of these examples can be run as simple or complex campaigns, but regardless they all provide a way for a subscriber to view your offerings and an opportunity to purchase them.
Email Marketing ROI
After reading these ideas, we’re sure you’re now thinking 1 of 2 things:
- Is it really worth it to do email marketing?
- Does my company really have the time to do email marketing?
We’ll just leave this right here…
“A June 2016 survey of US marketers conducted by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and Demand Metric found that email had a median ROI of 122% – more than four times higher than other marketing formats, including social media, direct mail and paid search.” (Source: eMarketer, 2016)
Not to mention…
“It is reported that for every dollar spent on email marketing, an average of $44 dollar return on investment is realized.” (Source: Campaign Monitor, 2016)
“While blogs and social media are winning larger and larger portions of B2B marketing budgets, email marketing remains an important and cost-effective solution to drive lead generation efforts and build long-lasting relationships with clients. An expertly crafted marketing email can initiate the sales conversation with valuable leads and help you stay connected to your most profitable clients.” (Source: HubSpot’s 7 Steps to Jump-Start Your Email Marketing Strategy)
If your company doesn’t currently have time for email marketing, knowing these statistics, it might be time to re-evaluate your other marketing efforts and find the time to start!