Retargeting Strategies in B2B Outbound Campaigns
Running outbound campaigns at scale means that even if you rake in leads, most people who receive your email probably won’t engage. We don’t believe in letting those prospects fall by the wayside — and for good reason. When we email ideal fit prospects again after at least 3 months, campaign performance often surpasses our benchmarks, with retargeted prospects converting at the same rate as net new prospects over time. That’s a big payoff for a little persistence.
This strategy can be a game-changer in your B2B marketing efforts, and here’s why.
What Is Retargeting?
First, a little context. Retargeting, in a B2B outbound email campaign, is a strategy you can use to re-engage prospects that have received emails from you, but for whatever reason didn’t respond the first go-around (unless we’re retargeting cold leads — more on that below). We usually wait at least 3 months after our last email to retarget prospects.
But be warned — you can’t expect results if your idea of retargeting is copying your last email and sending it again. Remember — they didn’t engage the first time, so why should they now? That’s where your data can help you determine where you’ve had success in previous campaigns so you can build off of that.
Best Practices for Retargeting in B2B Email Campaigns
You should carefully consider who’s worth keeping in the funnel based on previous successes and what’s changed since your last email — like a new case study or a new offer you can include in messaging. Look for patterns in your data — for example, if you noticed that a lot of prospects with “Strategy” in their title replied to previous campaigns, it’s probably worth retargeting that same pool of prospects who didn’t respond and adjusting your messaging to speak more directly to their pain points and how you can help them.
It helps that our app can automatically filter prospects that meet our criteria for retargeting — but even without that advantage, it’s worth hanging onto your prospect lists and returning to the well now and again.
Here are some specific retargeting strategies we’ve used for our clients to help re-engage prospects:
Strategy Example Email Introductions New Product or Offering ‘Would love to talk to you about a free SEO audit and see where we can jump in – so you can start seeing (search) results.’ Market/Industry Trends ‘We’ve been working with our brand partners to help [do x campaign] and thought {{company_name}} would be a great fit for the campaign.’ New Credibility We just wrapped up a campaign with Beauty Brand X, got me thinking we could similarly help {{company_name}}.’ [another beauty brand] Timing ‘I emailed you a while back about helping you [do x/ achieve x]. We weren’t able to connect but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to follow up.’ Cold Lead Reengagement ‘We connected before but never ended up jumping on a call together. (Talk about a professional ghosting. 😉 Following up to see if we still might be able to work together. I think we could really help {{company_name}} [achieve x].’ Change in POC ‘I’m John with RevBoss — My colleague Jane reached out a few months ago and we didn’t get a chance to connect — maybe now is a better time? As a refresher, we’re a B2B outbound agency for businesses like {{company_name}}.’ Conferences ‘Hey I reached out to you previously, but I just wanted to see if you were attending X event and maybe we could sync up?’
Conclusion
In B2B outbound email marketing, the importance of retargeting in outbound email campaigns cannot be overstated. While acquiring new customers is essential, retargeting presents a unique opportunity to re-engage with your ideal prospects. As with all outbound marketing, by deeply understanding your ICP and crafting personalized, relevant, and engaging content, you can effectively turn cold prospects into engaged leads and, eventually, loyal customers.
If you try any of the above strategies, let us know how it goes — and if you need a hand with your outbound efforts, we’re always here to help. 🙂
How RevBoss Can Help
RevBoss is an outbound prospecting and lead generation platform and service built specifically to help clients navigate the complex B2B buyer journey. Our solutions are designed for high-growth B2B organizations, like SaaS companies, startups, and agencies. At every turn, we help you execute outbound strategies that not only generate quick leads, but build trust and long-lasting customer relationships.
Ready to learn more? Schedule a call with us to find out how we can help you grow your business.