When you dip into your inbox, are you ever surprised to see your name feature in some of the subject lines? You’ll find all sorts of ‘[Your name], don’t miss out!’ and ‘30% off, [Your name]’ about the place. Email personalisation for B2B is a great way to grab someone’s attention.
It might have been shocking to be greeted by name in an email ten years ago, but nowadays, it would be strange to not be greeted by a cheery ‘Hi [Your name].’Personalisation is all around us on the internet. And yet, people are becoming warier and warier when giving their personal information to brands. As such, email personalisation for B2B can come off as… well… a little creepy if its too overt.
We’re into all things spooky and creepy when it comes to Halloween (and we’re carved the pumpkins to prove it!) But when it comes to email personalisation for B2B, we want more treats than tricks, and our recipients to be as scare-free as possible. So, we’re going to help you walk that thin line between attention-grabbing and boundary-pushing.
Why is Email Personalisation for B2B a Good Idea?
So many B2B businesses are using email personalisation. It’s practically an industry standard at this point. But why do we personalise? What benefits does it provide?
At its core, email personalisation for B2B businesses is a way to engage the recipient. Billions of emails land in inboxes every day and it’s hard to get your customers to click. By using personalisation, you catch their attention and encourage a click. It makes the recipient feel special and seen – and, really, don’t we all want that? Being addressed by your first name makes you feel as though a real person is reaching out to you, instead of a faceless corporation.
The facts don’t lie either. 74% of marketers say targeted personalization increases customer engagement rates. Plus, emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened.
Email personalisation isn’t just about using people’s first names, either. Just by acknowledging and using a company’s name, you can better endear your readers to your suggestions. Instead of saying ‘‘Hey, I think your agency would benefit from this service,’ you’d instead say, ‘Hey, I think Boss Digital would benefit from this service.’ Including the company name in personalization increased clickthrough rates from about 7.5% to about 15%.
By including these details, you really show your recipient that you’re (supposedly) paying attention to them and making an effect to connect with them.
How Much Personalisation Is TOO Much Personalisation?
Whilst a little personalisation can feel nice, too much almost feels like an overstepped boundary. Nothing will put a client off your product or service quicker than feeling like their privacy has been compromised. It comes down to how well you know your audience and your relationship with them.
Is your audience a group of tech-savvy business owners? They’ll likely be on board with personalisation and will understand not to be freaked out. Is your audience full of the outdoors-y, unplugged type? They’d more likely be put off by personalisation.
You might be thinking: ‘Hang on. These people willingly gave up these details to us. We didn’t force them. Why would personalisation scare them off?’ To that we say, people don’t always realise what they’re giving away. The tech-savvy bunch will, but the unplugged crowd likely won’t.
A good general rule is to structure your email personalisation around a user’s actions on your site. You can personalise things like the pages a user visited, a topic they engaged with, and, of course, their name and company. Typically, a more technophobic user will be less spooked by an email referring to a page they visited than their personal information being used.
Email personalisation for B2B is a great and effective tool. Even so, there’s a fine line between creeping someone out and making them feel special. By using your common sense and responding to your audience’s needs, you can avoid coming across as a bit of a stalker.
Maybe that’s a fine line that you’re not confident you can walk on your own. That’s okay! We’re experts at all things email marketing for law firms. Contact us today for a free consultation or check out our Ultimate Guide to email marketing!
