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The new year is a time of renewal, reflection and resolution, but let’s not forget it’s also a time of opportunity—especially for B2B marketers who want to generate more leads and grow their business. But how can you capture the attention of your prospects and customers in the crowded inbox? How can you stand out from the generic "Happy New Year" messages and offer something valuable and relevant?
The answer is to craft engaging B2B new year emails that tap into the concept of a fresh start. A fresh start is a powerful psychological trigger that motivates people to take action, change their behavior or try something new. It's based on the idea that the new year is a clean slate, a chance to start over and achieve your goals.
A fresh start is more than just a catchy phrase. It's a psychological phenomenon that motivates people to pursue their goals and aspirations, especially at the beginning of a new time period, such as a new year, a new quarter or a new month. According to research by Wharton professor Katherine Milkman and her colleagues, people are more likely to engage in goal-oriented behaviors when they perceive a temporal landmark that signals a new beginning, aptly termed the "fresh start effect".
The fresh start effect is driven by the role of the brain in creating temporal landmarks, which are moments that stand out from the ordinary and mark the start of a new mental accounting period. Temporal landmarks help people to separate their past failures from their present goals, and to focus on their future selves rather than their current selves.
The fresh start effect can be a powerful tool for B2B companies that want to attract and convert more leads. By tapping into the mindset of your prospects, you can show them how your products or services can help them achieve their goals and overcome their challenges in the new year. You can also demonstrate how you can provide value and support to them throughout their journey.
But how can you use this concept in your B2B email campaigns? Consider the 4 ideas below as your roadmap for success in your New Year campaign.
1. Highlight the benefits of your product or service for the new year.
One way to use the fresh start effect is to show how your product or service can help your prospects or customers achieve their new year's resolutions, goals or challenges. For example, if you sell a software that helps businesses optimize their workflows, you can emphasize how it can help them save time, money and resources in the new year. Or if you sell a training program that helps professionals develop new skills, you can highlight how it can help them advance their career, increase their income or gain recognition in the new year.
2. Offer a special deal or incentive for the new year.
It goes without saying that everyone loves a deal—especially in B2B where budgets can be tight. Given that budgets are often replenished in the new year (enjoying their own “fresh start”, the new year is a perfect time to offer a special deal or incentive. Here’s where you’ll want to create a sense of urgency and exclusivity. For example, you can offer a discount, a free trial, a bonus, a gift or a limited-time offer that expires at the end of January. Entice your prospects or customers to act fast and take advantage of your offer before it's too late!
3. Share valuable content or resources for the new year.
The start of the year is also a good time to nurture that fresh start effect by providing valuable content or resources that can help your prospects or customers succeed in the new year. For example, you can share a blog post, a white paper, a case study, a webinar, a podcast or an ebook that offers useful tips, insights, best practices or success stories related to your industry, niche or topic. Sharing valuable content at the start of the year serves to position your company as a valuable resource right when it matters, helping you to position yourself as an authority, build trust and credibility and educate your audience on how they can solve their problems or achieve their goals as time goes on.
4. Ask for feedback or referrals for the new year.
A fourth way to use the fresh start effect is to ask for feedback or referrals from your prospects or customers in the new year. For example, you can send a survey, a testimonial request, a review request or a referral request that invites them to share their opinion, experience or recommendation about your product or service. This way, you can collect valuable data, improve your offering, increase your social proof and generate more word-of-mouth marketing in the new year.
Now that you have some campaign ideas to mull over, how do you best craft an engaging email that people will actually open? Let's dig in:
To craft effective B2B new year emails, you need to consider three main elements: the subject line, the content and the call to action.
The subject line is the first thing that your prospects will see when they receive your email. It needs to capture their attention and entice them to open it. To do this, you should use clear, concise and relevant language that speaks to their pain points, goals or interests. You should also avoid generic or spammy words that might trigger their filters or make them ignore your email.
Want some examples? Here are 20 creative ideas for attention-grabbing subject lines (feel free to copy & paste!):
• Unwrap Success: Your B2B Blueprint for 2024
• New Year, New Heights: Elevate Your B2B Game 🚀
• Cheers to Prosperity: Your B2B Resolutions Await 🥂
• 2024 Vision: Crafting B2B Brilliance Together
• Resolutions that Roar: Powering Your B2B Success
• Unlock the New Year: Your B2B Keys to Triumph 🔑
• Revitalize Your Strategy: B2B Triumphs Await
• Spark Success: Ignite Your B2B Journey in 2024
• Navigating 2024: Your B2B Roadmap to Triumph
• New Year, New Strategies: B2B Brilliance Unleashed!
• Cheers to Growth: B2B Triumphs Await in 2024 🌟
• B2B Resolutions: Charting a Course for Brilliance
• B2B Mastery Unveiled: Your Blueprint for 2024
• Resolutions in Bloom: Cultivate B2B Triumphs
• Crack the Success Code: Your B2B Resolutions
• Prosperity Beckons: Your B2B Journey Begins Now
• Revolutionize Your B2B Game Plan for 2024 🚀
• B2B Brilliance: A Fresh Start for a Fresh Year!
• Navigate Success: B2B Strategies for the New Year
• Fuel Your Growth: B2B Resolutions Unleashed
Keep in mind, these are just starting points. Depending on your message, you may want to adapt or modify these to suit the tone, style, and content of your email campaign.
Now, onto the main body of your email. The content of your email should aim to provide value and relevance to your prospects, as well as build trust and rapport with them. To do this, you should use a professional but friendly tone that reflects your brand voice and personality. You should also use storytelling techniques to make your message more engaging and memorable.
Here are some tried and true tips for creating winning email content for the new year.
1. Personalized Greeting: Make it About Them
Starting your email with a personalized greeting sets the tone for a meaningful connection. Address your prospect by name and, if possible, mention something specific about their company. This demonstrates that your outreach is tailored and not a generic mass message.
2. Clearly Explain Your Purpose: Offer Value from the Outset
Clearly articulate why you're reaching out. In the context of the new year, express your eagerness to support them in achieving their goals. Whether it's through a new product, service, or collaboration, emphasize the value you can bring to their business in the upcoming year. For more on this, check out our post on how to create a stand-out value proposition.
3. Highlight Relevant Benefits and Features: Align with Their Goals
Showcase the specific benefits and features of your products or services that directly align with your prospect's goals or challenges. This demonstrates a deep understanding of their needs and positions your offering as a valuable solution for the challenges they might face in the new year.
4. Utilize Social Proof: Build Trust and Credibility
Integrate social proof into your email content to build trust. Incorporate testimonials, case studies, or relevant statistics that highlight successful collaborations with businesses similar to theirs. This not only validates your claims but also establishes your credibility in providing valuable solutions.
5. Compelling Call to Action (CTA): Guide Them with Purpose
Conclude your email with a clear and compelling call to action. Directly state what you want them to do next, whether it's scheduling a call, downloading a resource, or exploring a demo. Equally important, emphasize why taking this action will benefit them, creating a sense of urgency or excitement.
Remember, the key is to maintain a customer-centric approach, demonstrating that your focus is on their success and how your offerings can genuinely contribute to their achievements in the coming year.
The new year is a great opportunity for B2B marketers to connect with their prospects and customers and generate more leads and sales. By using the fresh start effect in your email campaigns, you can tap into the psychological motivation of your audience and persuade them to take action, change their behavior or try something new. Whether you highlight the benefits of your product or service, offer a special deal or incentive, share valuable content or resources or ask for feedback or referrals, you can craft engaging B2B new year emails that will help you grow your business in the new year.
Now you have a top-notch email campaign all set to go. But will the right people see it? A well-built campaign deserves a relevant audience and IndustrySelect delivers just that
An IndustrySelect subscription gives you up-to-the moment access to data on 460,000 industrial companies and one million executives. Our 80-person research team investigates each company thoroughly and updates the data in real time, so you’re always working with the most up-to-date information.
You can customize and search profiles according to geographic location, products manufactured, number of employees, square footage, annual sales and much more. Click here to see a sample profile. Drilling down to these specifics can help you reach a relevant audience for your big new year email. This can help boost your open and click through rates – and ultimately, sales. Want to learn more? Set up your free demo account, loaded with 500 real company profiles so you can test all the features of this powerful software!
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