The holiday season is just around the corner! We can already smell the crunchiness of fall, the leaves, and peppermint mochas all over the place. I don’t mind admitting this is my super favorite time of the year. And, not to forget, this is the best time for the B2B marketers too.
Marketers blast thousands of holiday-themed emails with silly subject lines on this season. But, my question is – Will it really work for your business? Are you able to grab the subscriber’s attention via such emails? Does your sales rate hit a peak?
Unfortunately, the answer is quite vague because the success of your holiday email marketing campaign depends on multiple factors.
That’s the reason I am here with the list of dos and don’ts that help you evade the traps of ineffective holiday emails and thereby ensure you get the desired results.
Table of Contents
Dos of B2B Holiday Email Marketing Campaigns
1. Do Send Useful & Engaging Content
Including information that your subscribers find useful has always been a highly effective email marketing strategy for B2B firms. However, using the same approach this holiday season could further uplift your brand value.
The useful content could even be about your holiday offers, such as reminding them about the last date or informing about the changes in your schedule throughout the holiday season.
You can also run some exciting contests and offer giveaways to engage users. But make sure to keep your messages short and succinct because attention span is usually lower during the holidays.
2. Do Get Creative
There is an up-tick of emails sent on this time of year, and moreover, all those messages come with a similar theme. So, if you wish to stand out from this normalcy, brainstorm to incorporate creativity into your email. Some ideas of creative emails include:
- Think of a funny subject line that makes the recipient laugh and also lure them into buying from you!
- Provide a creative offer with some time-sensitive discount to inject FOMO into a holiday theme.
Consider this example from Boloco, a popular Boston-based burrito restaurant. They used humor to make a lasting impression and also promoted their holiday special along with it.
Image Source: Boloco
3. Do Put Your Client’s First
B2B marketers try to please the consumers with cheeky social media posts, or some heartwarming videos — making it all about their brand. You may want to be the center of the market, but remember that the holiday season is not just about shopping.
Find some ways to integrate your customers and their loved ones into the holiday email marketing campaigns. Showcase your appreciation towards them by offering unique gifts or deals as part of your marketing efforts.
Placing your customers on top is always an appropriate etiquette, be it on holiday season or not.
4. Do Keep Things Professional
Holiday spirit might tempt you to adopt a more informal tone, like how most of the B2C companies do. However, being in the B2B industry, you are expected to remain consistent all year round. That is, continue with your professional tone, which you have followed earlier.
And this doesn’t mean your email should be boring. Have a look at this email given below.
Image Source: United By Blue
Unlike what you would expect from a retailer during the holiday season, this email doesn’t include too much bragging. United By Blue has cut to the chase by explaining neatly about its offers in simple terms on the pleasing background.
5. Do Include an Incentive
Gifting is one of the common traditions during the holiday season. Integrate it into your B2B email to further enhance your business relationships. Show that you appreciate their custom by offering them a personalized gift or incentive that can be used during any festivities. This small token of love improves your customer retention levels to a greater extent.
Consider Samsung’s “Unwrap the Feels” campaign. The company has gifted Gear VR’s to its customers and look at the wide range of emotions from those who received it.
Video Source: Samsung US – YouTube
Don’ts of B2B Holiday Email Marketing Campaigns
1. Don’t Wait Too Long
It’s never too early to draft your holiday branding and marketing strategies. So, how early one needs to plan? If your industry relies on holiday sales to reach yearly goals, start planning by September. Especially, if you are getting custom gifts designed for your clients or creating exclusive holiday packages, it will be easier to be organized beforehand.
Also, remember that most of the companies will be closed during this period to allow employees to have some well-deserved family time. Hence, sending your emails on Christmas Eve or New Year will result in unsuccessful campaign.
Make sure to send your messages at least a week prior to any specific holiday to receive maximum returns out of it.
2. Don’t Just Promote Your Product
In recent years, the holiday season has become hugely commercialized, and businesses do everything to boost sales. Although it works well for a B2C company, where consumers are looking out for the best offers and gifts, it often backfires if you follow the same in B2B.
Bombarding the audience or over-communicating will potentially annoy customers, and could result in mass unsubscribing. Of course, you can’t be quiet when competitors are performing well-using email strategies, but all I ask is – don’t overdo it.
For a B2B company, even a simple email thanking your clients or wishing them the best for the holidays is more effective.
3. Don’t Send Your Email to Everybody.
You will unknowingly target the wrong audience if you send the same message to your entire mailing list. This is a considerable risk for your B2B firm and could be counter-productive too.
So, invest some time to segment your list based on who would be beneficial receiving that particular holiday-themed email. While segmenting, you can consider various aspects like gender, age group, culture, or geographic region.
4. Don’t Keep the Broken Links
Trust me, nothing is more infuriating than clicking on any broken link. Give someone a broken link in your email, and they will never click on any other link of yours again. And, this happens more than you’d think.
via GIPHY
How awful, right?
Test all your links before merely copying it into your emails. Sometimes, checking every single link may take an insane amount of time. In such cases, use specific tools like Mailchimp or SendinBlue, who checks your link if you aren’t sure about it.
5. Don’t Over Do It
Just because it is the holiday, don’t keep on sending emails. Over-emailing can land you in the spam folder. Sometimes, it could also lead to deliverability issues resulting in your email campaigns getting blocked across ISPs.
It’s understandable that holiday burnout is real. But, you have worked hard to grow your mailing list. So, handle it with care and respect.
Don’t forget your best practices when emailing your audience, even if you think a subject line ‘Cool Tips for Butter Howliday’ was a good idea. Come up with a well-thought email schedule with a fixed frequency.
It’s Time to Wrap the Gift
Your emails need to cut through the noise, if you want it to stand out from the crowd during the holidays. This holiday season, don’t just send the same “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” messages with colorful images on it. Instead, experiment with new ideas and find out what works best for you, keeping the above dos and don’ts in mind.
