B2B businesses can learn a lot of lessons from how B2C businesses conduct themselves. And can in turn see greater success and greater profits.
Email marketing, in spite of modern technological advances in communication, still continues to be the best, most trusted and most reliable marketing channel for reaching customers.
According to econsultancy.com, in the year between summer 2018 and summer 2019, email performance across the UK and EU has improved.
This email performance was measured across a number of KPIs, but the most important of these – as always – is ROI. And 51% of campaigns in this period showed an increase.
So how can we apply these findings to businesses both B2B and B2C? And what can B2B businesses learn from their B2C counterparts?
The Different approaches between B2B and B2C
Currently, the B2B priority for an email marketing campaign is to communicate with subscribers. The B2C priority is typically to increase revenue.
The problem here is that communication doesn’t necessarily always translate to greater revenue. In fact, in many cases, communication alone rarely does.
However, the vast majority of mid-sized businesses and startups use Gmail, whether B2B or B2C. Both types of business also use lots of automation in their emailing tactics and campaign, so this approach clearly works.
So Where are B2B businesses going wrong?
The Importance of Quality CRM Data
38% of marketers believe that inaccurate or inadequate contact data is a big block from getting the best from their automated email campaigns. So it’s essential that CRM data is as accurate and comprehensive as it can possibly be.
Here we can draw a big difference between the B2B and B2C approaches. B2C businesses typically ensure they have a comprehensive and correct bank of data, because their approach is customer-focused.
On the other hand, this isn’t something B2B businesses focus on. But they should. Many of these businesses have missing data fields, duplicate data and simply incorrect information. They should fix this at all costs.
The Importance of Privacy
With new GDPR rules, email marketing campaigns now need to tread more carefully. And as privacy rules change across the world, there’ll be similar expectations in many countries.
B2C businesses, of course, needed to change their approaches immediately, as their communication is inherently more personal. But B2B businesses haven’t been quite so careful, even though they too are dealing with real people.
B2C businesses are starting to see big benefits since the introduction of these guidelines, such as less complaints. B2B companies need to start listening to these guidelines too, and they too might reap rewards.
The Importance of Demonstrating Value
Because B2C campaigns typically have shorter lead times and less complex programme scales, their success (or lack of!) is easier to measure.
But that doesn’t mean B2B companies shouldn’t be measuring. If a B2B business can’t tangibly measure the success of a campaign, they’re wasting precious time, money and effort by working blind. It’s essential to analyse.
So although B2B and B2C businesses typically conduct their email marketing campaigns through the same channels, B2B businesses can learn a lot of lessons from how B2C businesses conduct theirs. And can in turn see greater success and greater profits.