Email, despite its shortfalls, is the B2B marketer's drug of choice.
And its shortfalls loom large: inbox rates max out at only 70%; open rates, at only 20%; click-through rates, at only 2.5%.
B2B marketers worsen things by making the same five boo-boos repeatedly.
Recycled Subject Lines. Open rates rely on Subject Lines. Formulas bore readers. Why begin every Subject Line "5 Top Tips for..." or "Last Chance to..."?
TMI. Click-through rates reflect readability, at least in part. Why overwrite? Time is short. Your emails should be, too.
Generic Emails. Your customers don't all share the same interests or pains. Why send them all the same thing? Segmenting customers isn't rocket science: it just takes time. Sure, it's tempting to create and send one email, and be done with it; but that's self-serving.
Impersonal Emails. If your email isn't personalized, it isn't 1:1. If it isn't 1:1, it's sorta spammy.
Unreponsive Emails. Half your emails are read on phones. If your templates aren't "responsive" and your copy bite-sized, you're toast. (This is my Number 1 B2B email bugaboo. My reaction's always the same: What's wrong with these people?)
