Email Most Used Channel For B2B February 18, 2021, | Posted by Guest

A recent study by Sagefrog Marketing Group showed that email marketing is the most-used marketing tactic for B2B brands. The report, titled “The 2021 B2B Marketing Mix Report,” found that while B2B brands use email more than any other channel, they don’t give it the same amount of spend. Of course, at Site Impact we know that part of this is due to the fact that email efforts are a low-cost proposition. But it’s interesting to see how brands are balancing their budgets around marketing, especially as those budgets are getting tighter due to the uncertainties of the ongoing global crisis.

Most firms settling for Good Enough on email

The study essentially found that while B2B brands use email marketing much more than other channels, the spend isn’t consistent with the level of importance they seem to place on it. Some of this is due to the fact that these brands, deprived of some of the more traditional methods of generating leads and nurturing prospects, are turning more to channels like social media and SEO. But the report also suggests that most B2B brands simply think that their email marketing programs are “good enough,” and therefore don’t entirely merit increased spend. This is both an indication of the consistent results that email gets, and also a red flag that the increasing value of investing in email is not being communicated properly to B2B clients. 

Email is more scalable than other methods

One thing that is likely missing from the conversation that email marketing professionals are having with B2B clients is the fact that email is much more scalable than efforts in SEO or social media tend to be. That is to say: properly conducted email campaigns actually increase in ROI the more you expand on them. If you have more budget to devote to email, throwing more money at it will actually give you better results more consistently than other channels will. Increased spend in social--whether organic or paid advertising--doesn’t come with a guarantee of increased conversions. And while of course email marketing isn’t foolproof, there is definitely a case to be made to B2B brands that putting more money into your email efforts will result in a higher number of conversions, even purely from the standpoint of sending to more people. Quality will always win out over quantity, but email manages to offer both in a way that actually enhances other efforts rather than competing with them.

Email marketing is trusted by B2B clients already, but it’s clear from the recent study by Sagefrog that firms and marketers aren’t communicating the increasing value to scale in a way that makes it make sense for B2B clients. It’s important to make sure that B2B decision makers know that email’s results actually get better with higher investment--provided that the efforts are already strong. Contact Site Impact to hear how we can help you build up your email marketing efforts in a way that brings bigger and bigger rewards.