When to Send B2B Marketing Emails

Timing matters. But it depends who you ask...

• People are receptive to marketing emails during the first part of their workday. MailerMailer reports most emails were opened between 7:00am and 10:00am.
• Email marketers who schedule their email campaigns to be delivered between 1:00am and 5:00am can expect higher volumes of email opens and clicks, MailerMailer found.
• Best day to send email according to MailerMailer is Sunday.

Live by your own data. There are even more anecdotal pieces of advice around send-time optimization. Avoid Fridays. Only send B2B emails on Tuesday through Thursday. Send emails after lunch. It’s difficult to know what works and what doesn’t, as these stats come from a variety of industries, audiences, and content types.

You have a secret weapon in the fight to break through the cluttered inboxes of your prospects: the data in your email history. Take the time to identify trends from results of your past email campaigns around open rates, time of day, and days of the week. Your email provider can typically report when your specific audience opens and responds to emails, and this should be your guidance for the future.

Click-through does not a customer make. Be sure to measure which days/times perform beyond click-through-rates. As John Sternal, of Sternal Consulting, says, “There’s a difference between a customer clicking through your email and one that actually ends up making a purchase.” Track the best times/days that deliver the folks who make up your customer base. It’s a sure-fire way to find your next best customers.

Know thy client. Your customers have specific events that define their attention span, like major trade shows, seasonal events, budget and fiscal year calendars, and more. Given what you know about your clients and prospects, ask yourself when is the best time to reach them and garner the response rates you’re looking for.

Remember the buyer’s journey. As a B2B marketer, your ultimate goal with email marketing is to move buyers from one stage of the buying cycle to the next. Paying attention to where your buyers are in their journey affects the timing and frequency of emails, and is your best chance at increasing response rates and engagement. For example, as your buyer gets closer to a purchase decision, your email frequency is most likely higher than campaigns to top-of-the-funnel prospects.

B2B seasonal data. At NetProspex (www.netprospex.com), we measured the results of over 4M emails sent in 2011. Our audience was B2B marketers, sales professionals, and business owners. Here are some of the takeaways:

• The first week in July, or any Friday in July, recorded low open and response rates.
• Overall, the best days for our specific industry were Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, during the middle of each month.
• The three to four days before Christmas were dismal in terms of open rates.

Remember, your best source of data lies in your own email history. Measure, test, and optimize accordingly for the best results! Happy emailing!