Lessons B2B and B2C Email Marketing Can Learn From Each Other

When it comes to email marketing, both B2C (business to consumer) and B2B (Business to Business) companies embrace email marketing as one of their favorite marketing tools.

Experts say that Email marketing continues to be more popular than ever and expected to reach $17.9 billion by 2027.  And according to Hubspot, email marketing was the number one marketing channel driving ROI for B2B customers.

Why? Because email marketing is relatively inexpensive and sometimes even available for free on certain platforms, up to a certain amount of contacts. However, as with all applications, paid subscriptions offer more robust features that can help you schedule, automate, and funnel messages to your preferred customers.

At Big Ideas Writing, we are partners with Constant Contact and enjoy the flexibility and opportunities the platform provides for both B2B and B2C businesses. We highly recommend it for both B2B and B2C businesses, even though both B2B and B2C have relatively distinctly different uses.

B2C Marketing: The Fast and the Furious

When it comes to email marketing, B2C companies are champs. And if we think about all the businesses we patronize regularly, we will undoubtedly have a good list of B2C companies that use email marketing:

• Restaurants
• Online stores
• Brick-and-mortar establishments
• Home improvement contractors (roofers, painters, landscapers, etc.)
• Personal care establishments (hair salons, massage, fitness centers, etc.)
• Personal services (auto body shops, dry cleaners, pet groomers, etc.)
• Entertainment entities and establishments (ticket brokers, venues, bands)
• Software subscriptions and maintenance
• Hospitality (hotels, airlines, vacation clubs, etc.)
• Nonprofits (news and donation solicitation)

We’re all consumers, and almost every store, restaurant, or website we patronize entices us to join their mailing list. They make it easy to say yes, often at the checkout or online on the home page. And for most of them, email is an effective channel for staying in touch with when we need their products and services most.

For example, restaurants like to keep you on their list so you select them the next time you go out to dinner. Or they track your birthday so they can get you through the door to celebrate at their establishment, offering a special offer or freebie to sweeten the deal. Even service businesses we need sporadically, like handymen, airlines, auto repair, etc. nurture the relationship between us and them via occasional email.

Believe it or not, a lot of us welcome such emails.  One study showed that  69% of consumers prefer emails from brands over SMS, direct mail, etc. Probably one of the reasons is because emails from B2Cs often bring unexpected, fun surprises to our inboxes, like….

• Coupons
• Alerts on Flash Sales
• Birthday or Anniversary Deals or Gifts
• Special Offers
• Fun News
• Reward Program Updates
• Seasonal Product Announcements

If we’re careful about who we let into our precious inbox, email marketing from our B2C favorites can help us save money, manage our budgets, provide opportunities to feel good about ourselves, and in general, enrich our lives!

B2B Email Marketing: The Calm and the Steady

Over the years, B2B email marketing has gained on B2Cs. In B2B email marketing, messages are usually sent to reach the decision maker or person sourcing the needed products or services for their company. It’s a passive way to educate them about the competitive advantages of a product or service.

B2B email marketing is therefore common in many businesses.

• Industrial & Manufacturing
• Professional Services
• Technology & Software (B2B SaaS)
• Logistics & Supply Chain
• Wholesale & Distribution
• Healthcare & Life Sciences
• Marketing & Creative Services
• Financial Services
• Education & Training

One study showed that 87% of B2B marketers use email to distribute content, topped only by social media and ranking  even higher than the organization’s website. Therefore, it seems B2Bs use email marketing nearly as much as B2Cs, but the tactics, frequency, and content types vary significantly. B2B email marketing emphasizes education, trust-building, and lead nurturing, while B2C focuses on promotions and customer engagement.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the differences between B2B and B2C marketing.

As you can see from above, there is a great value in both B2B email marketing and B2C email marketing. In general, B2Cs mail more frequently with more urgent calls to action, expiring deals, and punchy, conversational messaging. B2B email marketing typically arrives in an inbox less frequently, has a more formal tone, and concentrates on offering value for the email list since their sales cycle is typically much longer than it is in B2C email marketing. In many ways, they are like trains using the same tracks but headed for different destinations. In other words, they may be able to learn from each other.

Lessons in B2B Email Marketing from B2C Email Marketing

Evoke emotion.

B2C email marketing does an exquisite job at enticing us to want their products or services. In defense of all B2B’s, sometimes it’s easier to do this with a consumer product. An image of a fork sliding into their gooey chocolate dessert or seeing the look of appreciation in a child’s eyes as their parent leads them into the amusement park can be especially relatable. We see, relate, and very often, it is easy to make an emotional decision since the stakes are very low and may only affect us.

B2B email marketing is more of a challenge.  Sales aren’t quick. We aren’t asking our customer to “buy now”, and we can’t offer a free sample of a million-dollar product. Sometimes, we are simply trying to get someone to call us to take a meeting and start the sales process. Stakes are high because email recipients may be wary to respond if they don’t have a pressing need.

Evoking emotion is one of your most powerful weapon when it comes to selling. Here’s the question to ask to find the emotional turnbuckle: How will what you are selling affect your prospective client’s life? If you are targeting the CEO, will they work faster so they can get home for dinner on time? Will they become a hero in THEIR client’s eyes? What’s in it for them?  Then, find visuals that target this emotion and add a headline that does the same. Put the benefit, rather than the feature of what you’re selling, front and center!

B2C email marketing does this well, showing a person living life to the fullest because of the latest cruise vacation, or someone tearing up the dance floor in a slinky dress because they just lost significant weight with a particular product. In B2B email marketing, B2Bs should think about how they can evoke emotion from their products or services.

Offer Value.

B2C email marketing averages about four to eight emails per month for their mailing list while B2B email marketing typically arrives no more than once a week. If your B2B email marketing falls into this category, ask if the once a week is a strategic decision or if you feel there is simply nothing more to say. We know you can’t offer continuous discounts like B2C email marketing does, but you certainly have something of value to offer. All you have to do is dig deep and get creative!

If this resonates with you, consider how you can present your organization within the email to your customer in a way that adds value to their day or solves their problems. Make the opening of the email worth it for them, each and every time!

• Tip/thought from the CEO
• Cost calculator
• Create an interactive tracking experience for working with your company
• Interactive quiz or poll on trends
• Trivia contest over time, with tracking of respondents and leaderboard
• Video clips from corporate video or words from upper management
• Tool to help customer with a seasonal challenge
• Offer an insightful report from your company’s experiences
• Share a case study from a happy customer

Don’t Be a Stranger.

It’s true that B2C email marketing can err on the side of emailing too frequently, but B2B email marketing can err on the side of not emailing enough. Find the sweet spot. Is it weekly? Monthly? Quarterly? There is no one-size-fits-all solution, but the important thing is to be consistent. If you hold yourself to a schedule, at the right frequency, your audience will not only expect your communication,  but will welcome it.

Lessons for B2C Email Marketing from B2B Email Marketing

Watch Your Frequency.

B2C email marketers email frequently. But nurturing a relationship does not necessarily mean sending more emails.  32% of B2C Email marketing recipients give their reason for unsubscribing to be “too many emails.” Watch your engagement statistics carefully to be sure that your emails are differentiated enough to keep your audience engaged.

Target Well.

B2B email marketing pros have very exclusive lists. They typically target decision-makers with a certain job title or at a particular level. Their audience is therefore more homogenous than in B2C email marketing, who might be trying to hit a wider, more diverse audience.

Statistics tell us that  28.1% of B2C Email marketing recipients unsubscribe because the “content is not relative.” The more a B2C can target their audience, the more relevant it will be, and the more they can impact the recipient with their offer.

How can we ensure our B2C Email marketing is targeting effectively?

• Build detailed buyer personas to understand age, gender, income, hobbies, pain points of your ideal customers
• Send different messages to your lists, segmented by what is appropriate for your business (i.e., purchase history, browsing behavior, location, engagement level, etc.)
• Contribute to shopping success by reminding customers about abandoned cards or making recommendations based on past purchases
• Use reviews and testimonials to give social proof of your product’s benefits

Find Alternatives to Discounts.

Because B2B email marketing can’t offer money-off deals like B2Cs can, they have to get creative in offering value in their emails. B2C email marketing can do the same by alternating their content between coupons/offers and other values. It will keep your audience guessing as to what’s inside and pique their curiosity to keep them opening your emails!

What are some ways B2C email marketing can offer non-monetary value?

• Guides and Tutorials on unique ways to interact or employ products or services
• Guides and Tutorials on how to maintain your products or services
• Interactive Quizzes or Polls about your product or service
• Contests or Giveaways about your product or service
• Sharing customer reviews
• Sharing IRL photographs of products
• Share case studies of services

So B2B and B2C email marketing can learn from each other. But before you can start loading in your mailing list, creating content, sending, and tracking conversions, you must have a strategy. If you are looking for guidance on how to use email marketing to your advantage for either your B2B or B2C business, contact us to discuss your needs at karen@bigideaswriting.com or 630-605-0169.