The holidays are upon us and that means that our email inboxes, both personal and professional, are fuller than ever. While many see holiday email messaging as B2C centric, a smartly planned and executed B2B holiday email marketing strategy can engage clients, present your brand’s personality and might even help drive leads and sales. Leveraging a B2B holiday email marketing strategy isn’t about a quick sale but can set your business apart to potential leads who are planning their investments in the new year.
Create a Holly, Jolly Email Plan
In a time when readers have become increasingly bombarded by digital noise, how can you stand out in the crowd? Here are four items to consider:
1. Segment and Then Check Your List – Twice
Organize and segment your contact lists. This is especially important during the holidays. One group of new contacts may receive a special holiday welcome email with a noted incentive or discount, while another group, perhaps those in different job functions, may be motivated by a different message – perhaps changed hours of operation, changes to standard shipping schedules, etc. Make informed content decisions based on your current knowledge and data insights.
2. Personalize Your Message
Recent studies show that the average email open rate for the manufacturing industry is just under 15 percent, while the average open rate for technology-related organizations is 12.4 percent. How to improve? Tactics to try include individualizing your subject line, sending a message of gratitude or providing a holiday-themed video message from a thought-leader within your organization.
3. Offer Your Reader Value
Think about your reader first. By clicking your email, what is in it for them? Do not press “send” until you are confident in the answer to that question. Focus on content that always provides value (for instance, a whitepaper developed solely for a segmented group, or an educational video that helps solve a client challenge) to help keep your future emails from being discounted.
4. ‘Tis the Season to Be Creative
B2B content has a reputation for being dry and traditional. The season provides a wonderful opportunity for organizations to be creative in their B2B holiday email marketing. Dust off your brand standards guide to help stay true to your brand, but turn up the sparkle, humor and/or personalized messaging when appropriate. Utilize a similar look and feel across email, website and social media to keep your marketing channels in synch.
Delivering B2B Email Strategies that Drive Results
Our team of marketing experts can help you leverage and maximize your B2B holiday email marketing, driving results and generating leads. Learn more about our agency email services or contact us via our on-page form or by phone or email. We look forward to connecting with you.
Stifel Marcin – The B2B Marketing Agency
Unlike many advertising and marketing agencies, B2B isn’t just something that we do, it’s all we do. We’ll work to help your brand achieve its goals through the strategic combination of creativity, communication and technology. Our focused client intake processes give us the ability to thoroughly understand your business, products and objectives, working to identify the competitive advantages and opportunities that will grow awareness, leads and sales. We develop innovative marketing plans with strategic, data-driven processes, presenting complex ideas and compelling messages that position your business ahead of the competition. As your cooperative partner, our integrated B2B marketing agency is dedicated to your success. If you have questions about our email marketing services for increased ROI, contact us today.
