Email marketing is undoubtedly one of the most important marketing channels for any company—and that’s especially true in the B2B space.
According to a recent study by SuperOffice, only 41 percent of B2B companies use email marketing to generate leads. And only 26% percent of B2B email marketers cite email marketing as the channel that makes the most significant impact on revenue. In reality, email marketing could be an untapped source of success for B2B companies. The Data and Marketing Association found that email marketing delivers a return of over $40 for every $1 spent.
However, organizations that get B2B email marketing wrong will find it difficult to achieve this level of success and ROI. With an estimated 125 billion business emails being sent every day, it can be challenging to capture and keep the attention of busy professionals, so it’s essential to make sure that the emails you send stand out from all the others in their inboxes.
What is B2B Email Marketing?
B2B email marketing is one of the best ways to reach out to potential customers for business to business sales. The goal of B2B email marketing is to generate leads and sales. To do this, you must first identify your target market, then create a compelling offer that solves a problem they face. Next, craft a message that explains how your company’s solution benefits them. Finally, send out targeted messages using autoresponders.
Is Email Marketing Necessary for B2B?
According to a recent study by Statista, the global e-mail marketing market was valued at 7.5 billion U.S. dollars and the source projected that the figure would increase to 17.9 billion by 2027. That being said, it’s clear B2B brands can’t afford to miss out on the opportunities presented by email marketing. To help you craft the kind of emails that break through the B2B marketing email clutter, here’s our curated list of 50 winning examples to help inspire your campaigns.
50 Powerful B2B Email Marketing Examples That Work
1. Buffer’s Welcome Email
In Buffer’s first email to users after they sign up to the platform, they do an awesome job of setting the tone for the kind of personable relationship they hope to build with their new users. As well as suggesting their browser extension as an easy way to use the tool, they make it crystal clear that users can reach out to them anytime, about anything — even if it’s just to say “hello”.
2. Asana’s Services Email
In this B2B email marketing campaign, Asana encourages people to get control of their to-do lists by inviting their clients to start a new task on their project management platform. This brief example also shows that a B2B email can be part of either a welcome or re-activation email.
3. Atlassian’s New Features Email
This well-designed new services announcement B2B email from Atlassian introduces all the new things that the company is rolling out. The white background allows for the blue call-to-action buttons to stand out, and simple, short descriptions tell their clients what each new feature offers and how it will benefit them.
4. Campaign Monitor’s Getting Started Email
This example from CampaignMonitor was sent to clients as a reminder to use their email template builder. Although there are many examples like this, the key to success using these types of B2B emails lies within monitoring your clients’ behaviors and offering them solutions preemptively.
5. eROI’s Company Values Email
eROI’s “Dare To Be Kind” B2B email marketing strategy focuses less on sales and more on branding, while building greater trust with their clients. It reminds their clients about what they stand for and inspires them to join their movement to drive “emails that are kinder, more diligent, and filled with greater inspiration.”
6. Obviouslee’s Free Client Services
Want to grab potential or current client’s attention? Offer them free services as Obviouslee Marketing did with this eye-caching B2B email. Not only does Obviouslee’s B2B email marketing strategy give small businesses a chance to use the PR agency’s services at no cost, they keep it playful by riffing on Fresh Prince of Bel Air’s theme song.
7. Meltwater’s End of the Year Email
The end of the year is an ideal time to make a lasting impression on your clients’ inboxes, and keep them hooked well into the new year. This B2B email marketing strategy from Meltwater is a perfect example of how an end-of-the-year email should be done. The B2B email intro offers a look back at some of the company’s accomplishments during the year, and a few linked B2B content marketing pieces serve as valuable tools that clients can use for their end-of-year reporting.
8. Moo’s GIF Email
GIFs may be popular in the B2C sector, but B2B organizations can use these animations in their communications as well, and Moo is one company that has successfully done so. In this B2B email, they use a GIF to add some extra excitement and intrigue to one of their products.
9. Docusign How e-signatures are safer than wet signatures
Convincing another company that your business offers the safest online option with safeguards in place at every turn is no easy feat. That’s why Docusign’s B2B email marketing strategy about online security is a great example of B2B marketing. They’re reassuring clients while encouraging them to trust them with future business all under the guise of an informative article.
10. Mint’s Update Email
B2B emails can be used to remind clients about an important service, piece of information, or statistic they could receive from you. In this example, Mint is using B2B email marketing to remind their clients to check their credit score, using minimal content and graphics that align with the email subject.
11. Litmus’s Event Announcement Email
Taking into account that Litmus is an email design company, the email announcement for their 2016 The Email Design Conference certainly did not disappoint. In an effort to increase engagement around the event, Litmus kept the third city in its line-up a secret. Once it had reached 500 shares (via tweets using #TEDC16, email forwards, and discussion comments), the company revealed the surprise city on that announcement email. Recipients could track shares on the email itself and the third city was announced when the 500 mark was reached. This is an awesome example of impeccable B2B email marketing strategy and design and innovation paired with effective social engagement.
12. Sign Up Genius’ New Designs Email
For businesses that have to host a lot of events — think real estate companies, law firms, nonprofits, daycares, etc.—getting volunteers to sign up to help out can be taxing. Signup Genius realizes a little added incentive, like the roll out of new designs, could encourage businesses to keep using their service.
13. MailChimp’s Product Upgrade Email
In this product upgrade announcement B2B email, although there’s a short paragraph included, MailChimp let a graphic featuring its Pro features on mobile do most of the talking. This example shows just how powerful a well-designed graphic can be in a B2B email marketing campaign.
14. Mutual of Omaha’s Holiday Greetings Email
Major holidays and observances present a great and timely opportunity for B2B companies to connect with their audiences. When doing this, however, be sure to refrain from adding any kind of marketing or sales speak — your focus for this B2B email marketing strategy should be on relationship building. This example from Mutual of Omaha perfectly showcases how these B2B emails should be done.
15. Salesforce’s Blog Highlights Email
Unlike Lumi’s blog email, which includes images for each blog post, this one from Salesforce focuses on one main image at the top and puts a big focus on its blog titles in the rest of the email. It’s another awesome example of how your business could format a B2B email marketing strategy to feature a few of your most recent or popular blogs.
16. Shopify’s Mixed Topics Email
From calling for businesses to share their story to highlighting a number of their solutions, there’s a lot going on in this B2B email from Shopify. However, although the email might seem a little busy at first glance, Shopify does an excellent job tying everything together to one core theme — helping businesses find more ways to sell their products using the Shopify platform.
17. Dulles Designs Bespoke Stationery
Translating the art of stationary to the world of B2B emails is a tricky business, but Dulles Designs does it beautifully with this email campaign that showcases how an image can be made into personalized stationery. The email clearly lays out the steps necessary and keeps the email brief and to the point.
18. Writer’s Co-Op Promo
If you’re going to appeal to freelance writers, you’d better show off your email chops with a smart, concise, beautifully worded email. That’s why this B2B email is so clever. Not only do they notify clients of the return of season two, they give them a promo code for 50 percent off additional resources. 
19. Uber’s Announcement Email
In this B2B email marketing strategy, Uber keeps things simple in their announcement around new products and services they have in the pipeline. With smooth content flow and images that display their upcoming features, this B2B email helps users easily understand what upgrades are to follow and how they can use them.
20. SuperOffice’s Content Marketing Piece Email
Have a whitepaper that you believe will offer value to your clients? Recently developed a case study that highlights various aspects of your product or service? This email from SuperOffice is a great example for how you can use B2B email marketing to drive that content and win over audiences with some helpful information.
21. Flywheel’s Year in Review Email
Similar to Meltwater end of the year email, this B2B email from Flywheel tells of what the company had achieved over the past 12 months. Not everyone can publish an annual report, but you can always summarize your biggest wins and moments through B2B email marketing.
22. EyeQuant’s Reintroduction Email
It’s not uncommon for a B2B company to offer potential clients the ability to test or try out their product or service before committing to a purchase. However, after a test run, a potential client (particularly busy professionals) may lose touch with it. In this instance, it’s important to stay top-of-mind, and an effective B2B email marketing strategy can help you do just that. This B2B email from EyeQuant presents an ideal example of one.
23. HubSpot’s Upcoming Webinar Email
One of the best ways to get people to join your webinar is by connecting with them directly, and providing them with details on the value that they would get from attending the webinar. An effective B2B email marketing strategy can give you the opportunity to do that. In this B2B email example, HubSpot offers a sneak peak into what their audience can expect from their webinar and how useful it would be to them.
24. Kissmetrics’ Demo Offer Email
For B2B buyers, one of the biggest attractions is a demo. If your business can offer demos, it’s very likely that your potential customers are interested in having one. In this B2B email marketing example, Kissmetrics is asking a potential client if they’d be interested in a demo of their solution. They also make the sign-up easy, and set the expectations for the demo right in the content itself.
25. LogMeIn I.T. Apocalypse Email
This email from LogMeIn sets a dramatic tone to really grab the attention of readers and inspires true creativity when it comes to B2B emails. Hard-hitting facts drive important points, while classic movie promo-style content and a video adds some entertaining elements.
26. Grammarly Insights Email
People love competition and Grammarly knows this. That’s why the people behind the brand created an Insights email designed to tell users how they rank against the site’s 20 million other users across the world. The personalized B2B email marketing strategy gives users data they couldn’t get anywhere else, while inspiring them to use the service even more.
27. Squarespace Support Email
This B2B email marketing strategy from Squarespace is simply meant to show how committed the company is to helping customers make the most out of their platform, with offers for them to join a training webinar, links to various guides, and details on how to reach their support team. B2B emails like this are a great way to build more trusting relationships with clients.
28. Google’s How-To Google Ads Email
At the beginning stage of a customer’s experience with your product or service, there’s a chance that they might struggle to understand how to effectively use it. By sending a brief email with some pointers about how to get started, like this one from Google Ads, you can help new customers get on the ladder, while presenting yourself as a helpful source if they ever need help.
29. Netlify’s Out-of-Beta Features Announcement Email
This B2B email from Netlify is letting customers know that three new tools that were in beta are officially being released. Brief content tells customers what they can do with these new tools and the possibilities that they unlock. If there’s something you’ve been testing in stealth mode or with a select group of people, announcing its final release shows customers that your product has undergone rigorous trials to ensure its quality.
30. Trint’s Upgrade Email
For freelance writers, transcribing can be a costly part of the business. That’s where Trint comes in. The service transcribes audio for people based on payment plans. To upsell, rather than merely promote a new plan, they congratulate writers on how many transcriptions they’ve completed to encourage them to opt for a higher plan. In B2B emails, a little flattery can go a long way.
31. Tailor Brands’ Survey Request Email
Surveys allow businesses to get to know the demands and opinions of their clients better than anything else. But people don’t usually like putting aside time to answer a list of questions. So, how can you inspire your clients to take a few minutes to do your survey? This B2B email from Tailor Brands offers a great example of what elements creates a survey request email that converts. It lets clients know roughly how much time the survey will take, plus it offers an incentive for responders.
32. TurboTax Covid-19 Tips
Sometimes busy professionals might not be aware of every feature a product offers. That’s why sending an email offering information on a specific, important topic and how it relates to the business, can be invaluable. This B2B email from TurboTax takes a subject on everyone’s mind—the pandemic—and gives clients crucial information they can actually use in regards to their finances.
33. Sprout Social’s Trial Extension Incentive Email
In this B2B email marketing example, it’s clear that Sprout Social’s aim is to try and get people to extend their trials. However, they start the email off by introducing a new report that includes valuable industry data and insights. And if recipients want to be able to download this report, they’d simply need to extend their trial. This lure of free, highly useful content gives users an incentive to continue using Sprout Social.
34. Trello’s Milestone Celebration Email
In this email from Trello, the company announced a significant milestone. But they’re also giving users a little something as well by introducing a few new updates to their product. This is a great example of a B2B email that serves both the customer (new features) and the company (celebrating a milestone that increases credibility).
35. Heroku’s Product Education Email
Companies can use B2B email to educate clients about how to use their products, while also highlighting their product’s features and benefits. In this example, Heroku does an excellent job explaining what makes their product different, and it ends with a CTA directly clients to view their dashboards, so they can experience the features mentioned in the email for themselves.
36. Buffer’s Triggered Event Email
A week after signing up for a Buffer account, the company sends businesses an automated email if their data reveals that a social media post hadn’t been shared on their account. This B2B email does a great job of reminding clients of Buffer’s useful content and that their platform is ready and waiting.
37. Freelancer’s Union Business Card Email
Freelancer’s Union provides freelancers with all kinds of informative tips. And this one has the eye-catching subject line, “Yes, you really do still need a business card.” That alone would be enough to boost open rates, but then the email is smartly designed in bright primary colors for easy navigation to other topics like “getting ready for a tax extension” and “five freelancing truths.”
38. BounceX’s New Collaboration Announcement Email
If you’re partnering with someone on a project, be sure to share the good news in an email! In this example, BounceX is introducing a new piece of valuable content they created with Klientboost, and the graphic they use does an excellent job of highlighting their collaboration.
39. Slack’s Spread the Word Email
Slack is all about teamwork and communication, and they want to make sure that the teams using their platform are getting the most out of it. So, in this B2B email, Slack is encouraging users to invite other members of their team to their company Slack workspace. And the “start being more productive together” content to end the one short paragraph in this email transitions well into the large green “Invite People” CTA button beneath it.
40. Sprout Social’s New Product Feature Email
This B2B email from Sprout Social was sent to clients to notify them of a newly added feature to their platform. In this email, brief how-to content is paired well with explainer graphics and is arranged in a way that seamlessly walks users through using the new feature.
41. Twitter’s Provoke Curiosity Email
Starting a B2B email off with “People are talking about you on Twitter” will grab anyone’s attention. In the rest of the email, Twitter also does well to stick with this theme by explaining how businesses can use Twitter’s dashboard to track what people are saying about them and engage with tweets from their community.
42. Xero’s Walkthrough Email
This B2B email from Xero is another awesome example of how a welcome email should be done. It includes a brief list of steps that the company recommends new users to do, links to training material and details on how to reach them for support — everything new customers want to know about when getting started.
43. Dropbox’s Tax Season Email
Woe to the small business owner who doesn’t have their taxes in order. Dropbox understands tax season stress and uses it to remind clients that its storage tools aren’t only meant to share large images. They can be a godsend for documents too. And this smart B2B email gets that message across in a short and sweet way.
44. Salesforce’s Content Package Email
Helpful content, like e-books and blogs, can help you drive a number of key business objectives. And sending B2B emails that offer access to a collection of your content, like this one from Salesforce, can help you strengthen your reputation as a valuable source and potentially even help to get new clients on-board.
45. Unbounce’s Thank You Email
In this B2B email marketing example, Unbounce is thanking readers for downloading a piece of their content. The company does well in using this opportunity to connect readers to other content on their resources page, further enhancing their reputation as a valuable resource.
46. Zoom’s Online Events Email
How about using an B2B email campaign to reignite interest in your product? Nearly every business these days operates using Zoom, but in this email the company introduces B2B users to its many other uses, including improv classes, drink pairing tutorials, and even a kids’ Halloween treat-making course in order to build loyalty when clients might be feeling fatigued.
47. Hannah at Clara CFO Group PPP Email
What makes a great B2B email? Information a client can get nowhere else. That’s what makes this email from Hannah at Clara CFO Group, an account for small businesses, so essential. The subject reads: “Big news for PPP loans under 50K!,” immediately letting the reader know that they need to open this. Then it’s filled with important information they can actually use, as well as how to purchase one-on-one accounting help. Genius!
48. General Assembly’s Curated Content Email
Offering your clients high-value content from different sources in one email saves them a lot of time from having to search for information or materials themselves. And if your content isn’t always promotional, you’re also showing that you care about them holistically, instead of only caring about their money. This B2B email from Generally Assembly, which includes a curated collection of photos from various sources, is a perfect example of how to offer value to clients in your B2B emails.
49. Clear’s Timely Free Stuff Email
Offering potential clients a free version of your service of trial of your product has a lot of benefits: not only does it give them insights into your offerings, but it nurtures trust with your prospects. This email from Clear, which offers a free guest pass, is a great example for how an offer or deal added to an email can encourage prospects to become clients. Plus, we love how this B2B email makes things timely by playing up the daylight savings factor!
50. Evernote’s Follow-Up Email
After signing up for Evernote, users receive an email from the company encouraging them to download the Evernote app on their devices. This email is a great example for how businesses can use B2B email marketing to continue the conversation after new customers come on to the scene.
51. Adobe’s Personalized Emails
Another example of a company that does effective B2B email marketing is Adobe. Adobe’s B2B email marketing campaigns are very targeted and personalized. They have segments of their email list for different products and services and use lead scoring to determine the level of engagement of each contact. Then they use that information to send targeted emails with specific calls-to-action. They also use A/B testing to optimize the subject lines, headlines, and other elements of their emails. Adobe also uses email automation to trigger specific emails based on a contact’s activity on their website, such as downloading a whitepaper or registering for a webinar. This type of automation helps to keep the conversation going with leads and keep them engaged in the sales process.
This long list of awesome B2B email marketing examples centers around one main theme: how to effectively communicate with prospective and existing clients by providing them with high quality content. Curate your emails carefully, get creative, and don’t push sales copy too much. And be sure to bookmark this list if you ever need some inspiration.
Should you need more help, our team at Zen Media has the expertise to take your B2B email marketing to the next level. Contact us to learn more about how we can become your digital marketing partner!
