Preguntas frecuentes
How should I organize my email lists as an importer?
The most practical approach is to use tags or custom fields to label contacts by buyer type, product interest, and region rather than maintaining a dozen separate lists. This lets you slice and dice your audience however you need without managing duplicate contacts. For example, tag contacts as "wholesale distributor," "specialty retailer," or "direct buyer" and then add product category tags like "electronics" or "home goods." Most modern platforms allow filtering by multiple tags, so you can get very targeted without any extra list overhead.
What kinds of emails should importers send regularly?
New arrival announcements are the highest-value email type for most importers since buyers are actively looking for fresh inventory. After that, seasonal lookbooks or catalog emails perform well for buyers who prefer browsing over product-specific pitches. Re-engagement campaigns for buyers who have not ordered in 60 or 90 days are worth setting up as a one-time automation. Monthly or quarterly market updates that share trends, lead times, or supplier news can also build trust with serious trade buyers who want to stay informed.
How do I handle buyers in different countries with different languages?
The simplest approach is to tag contacts by language preference and maintain translated versions of your key email templates. Most major platforms support conditional content blocks where you can show different text based on a contact attribute, which can save you from needing to build duplicate campaigns. If you are managing a large multilingual audience, platforms like Brevo and ActiveCampaign have especially clean support for multi-language campaign management. Even simple solutions like separate language-specific lists work fine for most small to mid-size import businesses.
What is a good open rate benchmark for import business emails?
B2B email generally lands between 20 and 35 percent open rates when the list is engaged and well-segmented. New arrival announcements to active buyers tend to sit at the higher end of that range since they carry direct commercial relevance. If you are seeing rates below 15 percent, the most common causes are list hygiene issues, generic subject lines, or sending to a disengaged audience that has not bought in a long time. Cleaning your list and re-segmenting by purchase recency will typically move the needle faster than any subject line test.
How should I use email to build relationships with long-term trade buyers?
Long-term trade buyers respond well to emails that treat them as partners rather than just order recipients. Sharing early access to new product lines, giving sneak peeks at upcoming shipments, or offering exclusive pricing windows creates a sense of insider status that keeps relationships strong. A quarterly check-in email that is genuinely informative rather than purely promotional also goes a long way. The goal is to become a resource your buyers actually want to hear from, not just another supplier filling their inbox with catalogs.
Should importers use email automation or mostly send manual campaigns?
A combination of both works best. Manual campaigns are ideal for announcing specific shipments, seasonal promotions, or time-sensitive deals because you control the timing and content. Automation handles the repetitive but high-value stuff: welcoming new contacts, following up with buyers who showed interest but did not order, re-engaging lapsed buyers, and sending post-order follow-ups. Setting up even a few simple automations early on will save you hours every week and ensure no buyer falls through the cracks.