Selling to an individual customer and selling to a company are two vastly different things that require a completely different approach, execution, and analysis. When it comes to email marketing, the difference amplifies as the number of interactions stretches way beyond the norms of other platforms and channels. When it comes to B2B and B2C email marketing, one can safely assume that both follow similar technical aspects in terms of email metrics. Still, creative portions like subject lines, copy, professional email templates, and automation workflows remain vastly different.
So, what do you need to know if you’re planning to send out email marketing campaigns to businesses over individual consumers? We’ll go over five important distinctions between B2B and B2C email marketing to assist you in producing effective email marketing campaigns.
Difference Between B2B and B2C
There are five significant distinctions between B2B and B2C campaigns that marketers should be aware of to maximize their email marketing ROI:
1. Acclimatize Emails Varying Purchase Patterns Across B2B And B2C
Let’s start with the fundamentals. To begin with, it’s critical to comprehend the variations in purchasing behavior between an individual consumer and a company buyer.
B2B clients make purchases to increase their return on investment. They will thoroughly examine the advantages of the product or service they are being given. A purchase will be made mostly based on reasoning rather than emotion. As a result, B2B emails must both educate and pre-sell the product or service that will fulfill the customer’s demands and alleviate their pain points. Rather than quickly selling a product, the goal is to establish a connection.
B2C emails, on the other hand, should be the catalyst for emotional purchases. When creating the content, keep in mind that emotions are the most important factor in sales. You should have a thorough grasp of a customer’s behavior, preferences, and the emotional triggers that will cause them to make a purchase.
2. Length Of Buying Cycle Impacts Email Campaign Strategy
Prospects usually take longer to convert into leads and then into customers in a B2B sales cycle than in a B2C sales cycle. This is because, in the B2B decision-making process, there are generally more people involved, including buyers who are solution-driven as well as buyers who are looking for a good deal. And you might have to gain clearance from each party in the process to make a transaction. Furthermore, in B2B, the price point is usually greater. As a consequence, B2B email marketing campaigns frequently include several processes that are meant to nurture clients over several weeks by drip-feeding information.
B2C email marketing initiatives, on the other hand, are aimed at a larger audience and cater to customers’ more impulsive nature. A B2C sales funnel, for example, may consist of a sequence like this one for a consumer:
1) opens an email,
2) clicks on a CTA
3) is sent to a landing page
4) makes a purchase
3. Best Time To Send Emails: B2B Vs. B2C
If your B2B target audience consists of normal 9-to-5 employees who are unlikely to check their work emails on weekends, sending emails throughout the week (e.g., Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday) is the most effective. If your B2B target group is mostly made up of entrepreneurs and “workaholics” who check their emails all day, every day, the weekend may be the greatest time to send your emails. Saturdays, followed by Tuesdays, are the days with the greatest open rates for B2C emails.
4. Tone Of Emails: B2B Is Value-Driven While B2C Is Emotions-Driven
B2C emails have a more informal, personal tone, with easy, approachable phrasing. Furthermore, B2C emails frequently generate a sense of urgency by appealing to the receivers’ emotions.
It’s critical to remember that your B2B clients are also individuals. To put it another way, strive to find a balance between creating an emotional connection and delivering all of the necessary information to convert. Emails sent between businesses may often be interesting, but they are meant for different people who would come together for the decision-making process. In comparison to B2C emails, B2B emails have a more professional, objective, results-oriented, and factual tone.
The benefits in general of the product or service are stressed upon in B2B emails, letting clients know exactly what they’ll get for their money. Furthermore, in B2B email marketing efforts, the use of specialized, industry-specific language is more acceptable than in B2C emails.
5. Content Generation For B2B And B2C Emails
Let’s speak about what should be within an email after recognizing the major distinctions between the logic of purchasing behavior of firms and customers.
B2B communications must either demonstrate how your company’s a product/service can save time and money or how it can help them mint more money. To respond to clients’ demands and motivations, you must provide genuine facts, reasoning, and benefits. Only facts, facts, and more facts can lead to the long-term connection you desire.
You’ll want to incorporate material that will both educate and convert recipients into consumers. This may be a free eBook, industry standards, how-to guides, or whatever else your company utilizes to attract more leads. Remember that good content sells better than any other type of promotion.
As previously said, emotion is the primary motivator of B2C purchases; consequently, B2C emails must be able to rapidly catch recipients’ attention. Shorter content and more dynamic visuals will soon be the norm for B2C emails. This is especially true for unique events that you wish to publicize to your consumers. If you’re giving a coupon, there’s no need to go into great detail on why you’re doing so.
Summing Up
Whether you’re selling B2B or B2C, you’re selling to individuals at the end of the day. A B2B firm will concentrate on lead generation and subscriber engagement. Their strategy will be lead nurturing and content distribution. B2C email marketers, on the other hand, will concentrate on brand building, with data-driven products, service suggestions, and customer journeys as key approaches. To sum up, I would say that you might need a lot of professional email templates for one particular campaign that is targeted to serve multiple people in the case of B2B. On the other hand, B2C email campaigns will require you to run a lot of campaigns to target every individual buyer.
Author: Kevin George is the head of marketing at Email Uplers, which specializes in crafting Professional Email Templates, PSD to Email Conversion, and Mailchimp Templates. Kevin loves gadgets, bikes & jazz, and he breathes email marketing. He enjoys sharing his insights and thoughts on email marketing best practices on an email marketing blogs.
