Why Opt Out is Not a B2B Marketing Strategy

There's a pretty interesting discussion going on over on HBR based on a post Ruth Stevens wrote about using opt out vs. opt in for B2B email marketing. As you can imagine, I'm not a fan. Strangely, the comments on the post are mixed.

Here are a few reasons I'm against it. Opt out is:

• Lazy.
• Presumptuous.
• Arrogant.
• Disrespectful of my time. 

Yes, making me go through an unsubscribe process because you chose to send me something I didn't request is using up my valuable time and not endearing you to me. Not one iota. And I'm not alone. Chris Brogan doesn't like it either. Neither does DJ Waldow at Blue Sky Factory.

For some reason, B2B companies think buying a list is the way to gain access to people who don't know you and haven't consented to hear from you. Like they'll all become instantly enamored when they do. Ahem.

When you decide you need more leads, you need to go earn them. Lead generation is not something you get to decide. Irritating people, training them to hit delete or designate your messaging as spam is not the right tack. Lead generation is extending an invitation to people to choose to interact with your company because you provide them with something valuable in exchange.

This is one reason why inbound marketing has so much potential as a lead generator. By spreading your content and ideas around freely, you can entice people to spend more time with your company and then make a conscious decision to offer up even bigger chunk of their attention by opting in for more. This is what I mean when I talk about contagious content in my book.

I read an article over on DemandGen Report, Even High Performing Marketers Struggle with Content, Alignment, that shared the results of a survey that found "less than one-quarter of BtoB marketers say they’re generating enough demand to satisfy their sales teams." This is not  a reason to use an opt out policy in a weak attempt to pump up demand by focusing on quantity over quality. Due to the reasons I stated above and, well, quite frankly because it will backfire.

This may be causing part of the problem. The survey also found that:

"Less than half (46%) have developed buyer personas to guide communications and sales readiness for their prospects."

If marketers don't know enough about their target markets to create content that interests and connects with them, buying lists and opting in people isn't going to work. Even if they do garner some initial attention, it won't amount to much because their communications efforts won't have the stamina to consistently captivate audience interest.

So, here's the thing. Cultivating leads takes time and effort. It takes generosity and caring and a mutual exchange of value. Only then can B2B marketers build relationships with leads that have a prayer in heck of becoming sales opportunities.

Comments

[Jeff Ogden]

Love this post, Ardath. Buying a list and blasting it in hopes a handful don't opt out is a loser strategy and results are terrible. In fact, I was trying to open an US office for a UK firm and they insisted on fast results - it was a disaster.

Create great content, share it freely and be patience is the only strategy that works. As you say "Cultivating leads takes time and effort. It takes generosity and caring with a mutual exchange of value."

Amen!

Jeff Ogden, President
Find New Customers "Lead Generation Made Simple"
http://www.findnewcustomers.net

[Susan Fantle]

Ardath,
I saw Ruth's post and I think you miss-interpreted what she is saying. She's not advocating that B2B marketers rent compiled "opt-in" lists to generate leads. She's saying that companies that have given you their business card at a trade show booth or downloaded content from your Web site or made an active contact with your company, have, in essence, shown that they have the problem that your product can solve. When these folks are emailed another free info offer, or Webinar invite, or other content, they have already qualified themselves as interested prospects. Emailing to them is not Spam. They have the opportunity to opt out if they like which follows the law. She is not talking about millions of mass emails to strangers. I support what she is advocating and in fact, it's what my clients do very successfully.
Susan

[DJ Waldow]

Susan -

I agree that Ruth's article was not advocating list purchase; however, she is a proponent of opt-out. If you read the now 37 comments, you'll see that most people do not agree with her - at all. Many are people like me who are in the industry working for Email Service Providers. Opt-out - while legal - is not the way to grow your business long-term.

Thanks for pointing this out, Ardath.

DJ Waldow
Director of Community, Blue Sky Factory
@djwaldow

[Debra Helwig]

Great post, Ardath - that bulleted list is DEAD ON.

The way I see it, there is a huge difference between "Wow, I am interested enough in this to ask for it" (opt in) and "Wow, I will suffer this in my inbox until I can bother to click the unsubscribe button" (opt out). If I choose to receive your content, I am automatically more open and curious and likely to interact than if it just shows up unrequested. For honest engagement with prospects from the get-go, opt in is the only way to fly.

[Ardath Albee]

Thanks to all of you for your comments.

Susan - I can see what you're saying, but the discussion is a good one. I think what's causing the difference of opinion is context.

Additionally, I wasn't writing my post to argue directly against Ruth's post but to point out another (in my opinion, frequently practiced) opt out method that isn't palatable. I'm arguing against the idea of opt out as a marketing practice.

I thought I clarified that up at the top. Thanks for calling me on it.

Ardath

[Annie Cooley]

Another thing to consider is that even when you purchase lists there are far more effective ways to follow with these people to qualify them as leads.

Though you don't have permission to email them, there are no restrictions to direct mail. Put together a direct mail campaign that drives people to a landing page that provides the option to share their email. Offer an incentive such as downloading a free trial of your service or valuable content you provide (whitepapers, industry reports).

By doing this you now have permission to email those you captured data from and you are already past step one of qualifying your leads (round one).

[Scott Donovan]

So true.
Email marketing is like shooting with a machine gun.
Email marketers just hope to hit somebody.

What B2B marketers need is to shoot with a sniper rifle. Just aim at interested parties (for example those who have visited the company website and have shown sufficient interest). http://bit.ly/b09hvl

[Email Advertising]

I get a good amount of B2B emails and the only ones I really take notice of are ones from companies of which I've had significant contact with in the past. I do think opt out is lazy but more than that, with how widespread spam has been it's unlikely anyone will read an email unless they're sure it's pertinent.