B-to-B Insights : Build Your List
5 steps to building a large and responsive opt-in e-list of qualified B-to-B prospects
December 2008 By Robert W. Bly
Many B-to-B marketers want to cut marketing costs by shifting more of their marketing communications budgets from direct mail and newsletters to e-mail marketing and e-newsletters. But if you want to ramp up your online marketing program, you should start building a large opt-in e-list of customers and prospects now.
Why? Because without a significant online "housefile" (list of opt-in subscribers), you only can reach prospects in your niche by renting other marketers' opt-in e-lists, which is hardly cost-effective: Each time you want to send another message to your industry, you have to rent the list again—at a cost that easily can reach into hundreds of dollars per 1,000 names.
So the best online strategy for B-to-B marketers is to build their own opt-in e-lists of subscribers. Doing so eliminates the cost of renting opt-in lists while preventing the spam complaints and lower response rates typical of non-opt-in purchased or rented lists.
When you own an opt-in e-list covering a sizeable percentage of your target market, you can communicate with your prospects and customers as often as you desire, or think is appropriate, at minimal cost. Being able to send an e-mail to your target market with a few mouse clicks makes you less dependent on costly direct mail, print newsletters and other paper promotions.
By using a double opt-in process that requires new subscribers to verify their identities before being added to your e-list, you help minimize spam complaints and bouncebacks. Owning a large opt-in e-list of target prospects also decreases marketing costs and improves lead flow and revenues.
So how do you build a large and profitable opt-in e-list of qualified B-to-B prospects in your field? Here are five ideas:
1. Dedicate a portion of your online marketing budget exclusively to list building. Most B-to-B marketers drive traffic either to their Web site homepages or landing pages relating to specific offers (e.g., free webinar registration or free white paper download). And a lot of the traffic they drive to these pages is existing customers and prospects who are already on their e-lists.
You should spend a minimum of 20 percent of your online marketing budget on building your house opt-in e-list. That means getting qualified prospects in your industry who have not yet opted into your online subscriber list to do so.
There are many online marketing options that work well for e-list building programs. These include pay-per-click advertising, banner advertising, online ads in other marketers' e-newsletters, B-to-B co-registration deals, video marketing, viral marketing, editorial mentions in trade publications, online article marketing, affiliate marketing and social media—to name just a few.
Why? Because without a significant online "housefile" (list of opt-in subscribers), you only can reach prospects in your niche by renting other marketers' opt-in e-lists, which is hardly cost-effective: Each time you want to send another message to your industry, you have to rent the list again—at a cost that easily can reach into hundreds of dollars per 1,000 names.
So the best online strategy for B-to-B marketers is to build their own opt-in e-lists of subscribers. Doing so eliminates the cost of renting opt-in lists while preventing the spam complaints and lower response rates typical of non-opt-in purchased or rented lists.
When you own an opt-in e-list covering a sizeable percentage of your target market, you can communicate with your prospects and customers as often as you desire, or think is appropriate, at minimal cost. Being able to send an e-mail to your target market with a few mouse clicks makes you less dependent on costly direct mail, print newsletters and other paper promotions.
By using a double opt-in process that requires new subscribers to verify their identities before being added to your e-list, you help minimize spam complaints and bouncebacks. Owning a large opt-in e-list of target prospects also decreases marketing costs and improves lead flow and revenues.
So how do you build a large and profitable opt-in e-list of qualified B-to-B prospects in your field? Here are five ideas:
1. Dedicate a portion of your online marketing budget exclusively to list building. Most B-to-B marketers drive traffic either to their Web site homepages or landing pages relating to specific offers (e.g., free webinar registration or free white paper download). And a lot of the traffic they drive to these pages is existing customers and prospects who are already on their e-lists.
You should spend a minimum of 20 percent of your online marketing budget on building your house opt-in e-list. That means getting qualified prospects in your industry who have not yet opted into your online subscriber list to do so.
There are many online marketing options that work well for e-list building programs. These include pay-per-click advertising, banner advertising, online ads in other marketers' e-newsletters, B-to-B co-registration deals, video marketing, viral marketing, editorial mentions in trade publications, online article marketing, affiliate marketing and social media—to name just a few.
Business-to-Business Lead Generation Strategies
Business to Business Marketing Research
Excellent article! (Don't ask why it took me a month to find the time to read it.)
We have great strategy to collect names and email a company's target market. We created an electronic touch-screen survey unit that collects market research data on-site at client events. This makes it much easier for businesses to engage their customers within 24 hours of the event! Totally permission-based, of course.
I don't completely agree with offering a "Report" as incentive, however. As long as it's something the customer considers valuable...sometimes that's a white paper, sometimes it's a cool app. Either way, point taken.
Thanks again for the insight.