New 2024 Data: B2B Marketing Incentives That Persuade Business Decision-Makers To Share Their Contact Information

Part 2 In Our B2B Marketing Series

Since the post-pandemic reopening, NuVoodoo clients have been increasingly requesting B2B marketing intelligence as a complement to our broader ongoing study of marketing channels and ad messaging effectiveness. Recent research efforts have involved modeling employment and income data to allow us to analyze the behavior and attitudes of likely business decision-makers (LBDM’s) as a segment within our much larger universe of consumer-centric studies. 

Our previous article focused on a surprising set of findings about this key LDBM segment from our most recently completed January 2024 study, which involved more than 3,100 nationwide interviews about media habits and digital ecosystems.

We discovered that members of the LBDM group were far more open to location tracking on their mobile devices and activity tracking across websites and mobile apps when compared to our broader sample of consumers. That matters to digital marketers a great deal because capturing a mobile device ID or browser cookie triggers retargeting opportunities. That’s when advertising is served with some frequency after a consumer or B2B  interacts with a brand’s website or mobile app.

Ever since Apple introduced more sophisticated tools that make it easier for users to take control of their digital privacy, this kind of follow-up advertising tactic on a mass scale has become more challenging. Retargeting allows brands to serve ads with greater frequency to engaged prospects and to move them through the relationship funnel from awareness to action more effectively.

Which incentives are likely to persuade business decision-makers to share their email address? ​

LBDM’s think and act differently about privacy matters when it comes to sharing other bits of personal data. The table below displays how various incentives affect the likelihood of individuals sharing their email contact information. Capturing an email address is digital marketing’s holy grail because it opens the door to direct follow-up and other ad strategies.

Question: For something you were interested in, how likely would you be to share your email address for each of these (1-6 Scale from Least to Most Likely: 5+6’s Captured):

Note: Several other possible email-sharing motivations are not shown above because they are more consumer-oriented, such as loyalty programs, discounts or coupons, free trials, or the opportunity to purchase something before it goes on sale to the general public. We’ll cover that data in future content since it’s more relevant to a discussion about B2C marketing. 

Business decision-makers are nearly twice as likely to share their email addresses when compared to our total sample. The exchange of email for access to information is a well-known driver of B2B relationships at the top of the relationship funnel, especially when it can aid in professional growth and learning. Content like ebooks, research reports, newsletters, webinars, and white papers provide tangible benefits that contribute to expertise. At NuVoodoo, we call this relationship-building technique Free Samples of Smartness. We use this strategy in our own marketing efforts to build trust and confidence among prospective clients. This is a way for any advertiser to build a reputation as a knowledgeable thought leader and a competent potential business partner. 

Capturing email addresses goes beyond simply giving businesses a direct line to potential decision-makers. It opens up a world of possibilities in digital marketing, especially on ad platforms that support the creation of custom or tailored audiences. These platforms allow marketers to upload lists of email addresses and use them to target specific groups with ads. Email addresses serve as a reliable identifier, much like location and activity tracking. This facilitates matching to accounts across these platforms. 

In the final installment of our B2B marketing series, we’ll explore these email matching/remarketing strategies in greater detail. Our ongoing measurement of consumer insights is NuVoodoo’s unique value-add to all of our client relationships. Before you pull the trigger on your next project, let us help you build your own Free Samples of Smartness campaign. We are happy to provide your team with a free, no-obligation, data-driven marketing and research consultation with our team of experts. Contact us at tellmemore@nuvoodoo.com. We look forward to starting a relationship journey with you.