B2B Email Marketing Strategies to Move Leads Through the Funnel

Lead generation is one of the foundations of B2B marketing. The more leads an enterprise generates; the more people marketers can move through their sales funnels. One of the best ways to generate leads is through email marketing, which generates $42 for every dollar spent. Emails allow companies to identify and nurture potential business customers and move them closer to a sale. Here are some tips for creating a B2B email marketing strategy that generates leads.

Create an Email List

While marketing managers can purchase email lists, creating one from scratch is cheaper and more effective. That’s because business customers might not want to receive correspondence from companies they have never interacted with previously. Building an email list from website traffic is a far better option because customers choose to receive communications by opting into a list on a company’s website.

Segment Leads

After building an email list, it’s time to segment leads into categories, which makes it easier for marketers to target communications to different customer groups. For example, segmenting business leads by industry, company size, or revenue results in more personalized emails that recipients are likely to read. Marketers can send larger businesses one particular email chain and smaller businesses another chain. This customized approach translates to higher email engagement and more successful nurturing outcomes.

Send Emails to Decision Makers

Many people make the mistake of sending emails to the CEO of a business rather than the person responsible for purchasing products and services. Sending emails to the wrong recipient can slow B2B lead generation efforts and make it seem like a company has not put in the time to research the businesses they want to target.

Send the First Email

The first email to a business target is the most important one. It kick-starts the email chain and introduces a company, its products, and its services. Here are some tips for sending the first email:

• Create a strong subject line that grabs the reader’s attention and summarizes the email’s content. Action phrases such as “Read now” or “Learn more” can increase the chances of someone opening an email and reading the message inside of it.
• Use photos, images, and other graphics to break up blocks of text and improve engagement. Deciding which visual elements to use depends on the specific email marketing strategy and how a company wants to present itself to a new business.
• Provide a clear call to action (CTA) that allows the reader to learn more about a company’s offerings. The CTA can link to a landing page, video tutorial, valuable article, or another online property that provides the recipient with additional information.
• Include contact details inside the first email, allowing the reader to organize a sales call, product demo, or meeting. Giving a recipient a range of contact information — phone number, form fill, mailing address, social media links — can increase the likelihood of them reaching out.

Send Follow-Up Emails

Marketing experts recommend eight touchpoints when prospecting, meaning one email won’t cut it for companies wanting to convert leads into customers. After the initial email, companies should continue communicating additional information about their offerings to businesses. Depending on an organization’s product or service, including a discount or another incentive in the third or fourth email can help generate a response from leads still on the fence. Alternatively, they can nurture leads by introducing different product features and service offerings in subsequent messages.

While some leads might unsubscribe after receiving multiple emails, others will eventually take the bait and reach out to learn more about what a company offers.

Optimize Emails for Mobile

The number of people with smartphones in 2023 stands at 6.8 billion, giving marketing managers more chances to target business customers on their devices. Optimizing emails for smartphones requires tasks like shortening subject lines and using images that display correctly on smaller screens; however, completing these jobs can result in more successful lead-generation outcomes.

Analyze B2B Email Marketing Lead Generation

Reviewing open, read, and click-through rates with the latest analytical tools give marketers in-depth insights into their B2B email marketing strategy. Marketing managers can use this information to discover which emails perform best with prospective customers and fine-tune future B2B email marketing strategies.

Final Thoughts

Lead generation is the goal of many B2B companies. Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to generate leads and move these potential customers through pipelines. Marketers of all sizes can follow the tips above for a more effective B2B email marketing strategy.