The good news for B2B marketers is that buyers still consider email one of the most valuable sources of product and services information during a purchase process.

But to make the most of this opportunity, marketers need to understand what makes buyers more likely to sign up for (and open emails from) vendors -- and what buyers say are the biggest weaknesses in the emails they currently receive.

The data below helps answer such questions. In partnership with MarketingSherpa, Bob Johnson fielded two surveys on the subject of B2B marketing email. One asked buyers about specific factors that motivate them to receive, open, or engage with vendor email. The second presented the same questions to B2B marketers, but asked them to specify what they believed motivated buyers who receive their emails.

The gaps between what buyers say and what marketers believe represent great areas for potential improvement. Here are four insights Johnson offers from the data on what motivates buyers to receive and open email:

Insight #1. Buyers rely on email more than marketers think

Marketers and technology buyers both identified search and email marketing as the two most valuable channels for receiving information about products and services. But marketers are underestimating how much weight buyers still place on information delivered through email -- especially compared to social networks.

- 32% of buyers said email was their favored method for receiving product/services information, compared to 20% of marketers who believed email was a buyer’s favored method.

- Only 12% of buyers said social networks were their favored method of receiving information, compared with 18% of marketers.

So, if you’re working to integrate social media into your lead-generation strategy, don’t assume that social media activity can replace email outreach. Johnson’s research has found that buyers tend to use social media most heavily at two stages of the buying process:
o General education
o Business-case development

In and around these stages, well-timed emails that deliver relevant content, and offers that prompt prospects to take an action, are crucial touches that help move them to sales-ready status.