B2B Email Benchmarks: Key Metrics to Measure Success

Email marketing remains one of the most effective channels for B2B companies, driving engagement, lead generation, and conversions. However, to optimize your campaigns, you need to measure performance against industry benchmarks.

Key B2B Email Marketing Benchmarks

1. Average Open Rates

The open rate measures how many recipients open your email. B2B open rates can vary by industry, audience, and email quality.

• Average B2B open rate: 21.5% (Source: Campaign Monitor, 2024)
• Top-performing industries: Technology (23%), Professional Services (22%), Finance (21%)
• Lowest-performing industries: Manufacturing (18%), Retail (17%)

Tips to improve open rates:

• Write compelling subject lines (keep them under 50 characters)
• Personalize emails with the recipient’s name or company
• A/B test send times (B2B emails perform best on Tuesdays and Wednesdays)

2. Click-Through Rates (CTR)

CTR measures how many recipients click on links within your email. A high CTR indicates strong engagement.

• Average B2B CTR: 2.6% (Source: Mailchimp, 2024)
• High-performing industries: SaaS (3.5%), Consulting (3.1%)
• Low-performing industries: Logistics (1.8%), Healthcare (2.0%)

Tips to boost CTR:

• Use clear, action-driven CTAs (e.g., “Download Now,” “Book a Demo”)
• Segment your audience for more relevant content
• Optimize email design for mobile (over 50% of B2B emails are opened on mobile)

3. Bounce Rates

Bounce rate measures the percentage of emails that couldn’t be delivered.

• Average B2B bounce rate: 1.1% (Healthy range: Below 2%)
• Hard bounces (invalid emails): Should be below 0.5%
• Soft bounces (temporary issues): Can be higher but should be monitored

How to reduce bounce rates:

• Regularly clean your email list
• Use double opt-in to verify subscribers
• Avoid spammy language that triggers filters

4. Conversion Rates

Conversion rate tracks how many recipients complete a desired action (e.g., filling out a form, making a purchase).

• Average B2B email conversion rate: 3-5% (Varies by campaign type)
• Lead nurturing emails: 4-6%
• Promotional emails: 2-4%

Ways to increase conversions:

• Align email content with the buyer’s journey
• Include social proof (testimonials, case studies)
• Use urgency (e.g., “Limited-time offer”)

5. Unsubscribe Rates

This metric shows how many recipients opt out of your emails.

• Average B2B unsubscribe rate: 0.2% (Below 0.5% is good)
• High unsubscribe rates may indicate: Irrelevant content, too frequent sends, or poor targeting

How to reduce unsubscribes:

• Send valuable, targeted content
• Allow subscribers to choose email preferences
• Avoid excessive email frequency (2-4 emails per month is optimal for many B2B brands)

How to Improve Your B2B Email Performance

To outperform these benchmarks:
✅ Segment your audience for hyper-relevant messaging
✅ Optimize subject lines & preheaders to boost opens
✅ Test different CTAs to improve click rates
✅ Clean your email list to maintain deliverability

By tracking these B2B email benchmarks and continuously optimizing, you can maximize engagement, generate more leads, and drive revenue through email marketing.