A few days ago I was invited to a medium-sized B2B company. Checking the website, we found that there is a newsletter section set up. But the addresses there are not used optimally. Most of the time in the B2B area you find the usual fields to subscribe to the newsletter: salutation, name, first name, email and then the subscription process is triggered. The database is filled with this information, but it is not enough for marketing.
How to activate “dead” addresses
If you already have a newsletter with subscribers, then it’s time to dig out this database as a treasure and use it for marketing. Develop a form where people can still fill in the following fields: Position and Area of Interest. Ask all subscribers to fill in this form so that you can better classify the addresses. In addition, write in the field of interest: What topics are you interested in, what topics should we report on in our newsletter? The more you learn about your visitor’s interests, the more valuable your treasure becomes.
If you are planning an event with managing directors, for example, then you already have all the managing directors in your database and can write to them. If you are doing a trade fair presentation, then you can invite all buyers to your stand, for example. In the course of this activation, your address database will also update, because people change jobs etc. and change their e-mail addresses in the process.
How to ideally proceed with address creation
In future, proceed as follows: After the usual registration (salutation, surname, first name, e-mail), the applicant receives an e-mail asking him to indicate his area of interest (see above) and then also his position in the company. In this way, you reduce the entry hurdle and still receive your information afterwards.
Ideally, you should not only send a newsletter, but also – depending on the area of interest – refer to special articles in the press, e.g. to published WhitePapers or interesting articles (e.g. in ELEKTRONIKPRAXIS). Send this information outside the newsletter, because it is virtually the bonus that the recipient receives.
By measuring click rates in your newsletter and intelligent controlling, you gradually develop a feeling for the interested parties and can even adapt your own website content to this need. It couldn’t be easier to develop your own content along the lines of your target group. Incorporate this idea into every newsletter too! At the end, the reader can say what information they would like to read in the next newsletter. This will give you a pool of many topics that have been suggested by your target group!
Automate e-mail marketing through EDP
A very important part of success in email marketing in B2B is the use of the right software. This should take care of all the individual steps for you and automate as much as possible. From my 15 years of experience, I know that many companies do it very carefully at the beginning and slack off over time if the process is not automated by software.
When choosing the right software, it is not only the facts that matter, but the intelligence behind it. Often, an inexpensive solution that offers all the necessary functions is enough. This solution can be cleverer than investing in a giant software that can do everything but takes a long time to use.
Last updated on 7. February 2023
