If you’re running B2B email campaigns and using Mailchimp Journeys, this is for you. You want real results—meetings booked, deals moved, relationships started—not just a fat open rate. Here’s how to actually track what matters, see what’s working, and make Mailchimp do more for your business.
Why tracking email performance in B2B is different
Before you start chasing every metric, let’s get clear: B2B email isn’t B2C. You’re not selling socks or flash sales. You’re building trust with real people, often over longer sales cycles, and the buying committees are bigger. So don’t get hypnotized by open rates or pretty graphs.
What you care about: - Are the right people opening and clicking? - Are emails moving the conversation forward? - Are you learning what’s working and what’s not, so you can tweak and improve?
This guide will show you how to use Mailchimp Journeys to answer those questions—without drowning in data you don’t need.
Step 1: Get your tracking fundamentals right
Mailchimp gives you a bunch of tracking by default, but you’ve got to set it up with your goals in mind.
Turn on (and check) basic tracking
- Enable click tracking: Make sure every email in your journey has click tracking ON. This is usually default, but double-check.
- Google Analytics? If you’re using GA, turn on UTM tracking in Mailchimp. This tags your links so you can see what happens after the click.
- Custom fields: For B2B, consider adding custom fields to segment by company size, role, or industry. This way, you’ll know if the right people are engaging.
Pro tip: Don’t obsess over open rates. Apple’s privacy changes have made them less reliable. Focus on clicks and, even better, what people do after they click.
Step 2: Map out your Mailchimp Journey with measurement in mind
Journeys aren’t just “send email, wait, send email.” They should reflect your sales process.
Build your journey around real-world milestones
- Start with your sales funnel: What does progress look like? Demo booked? Whitepaper downloaded? Call requested?
- Assign trackable actions: For every key step, there should be a link, button, or landing page that’s measurable.
- Use branching: In Journeys, you can branch based on clicks or tag changes. Use this to route people differently based on their engagement.
What to ignore: Don’t waste time on endless A/B tests of subject lines. For B2B, the content and offer matter 10x more than “Re: Quick question.”
Step 3: Set up conversion tracking (if you want to know what matters)
Clicks are nice, but conversions are better. In B2B, a “conversion” might be a booked demo, a reply, or a downloaded asset.
How to track real conversions
- Use destination URLs: Make sure key CTAs go to unique, trackable pages (thank you pages, asset downloads, Calendly links).
- Integrate with your CRM: If you can, connect Mailchimp to your CRM. This way, you’ll see if email clicks turn into sales actions.
- Manual tracking: Sometimes, you’ll need to stitch things together. Export click data and compare it to your sales pipeline or CRM notes.
Heads up: Mailchimp’s built-in e-commerce tracking is built for online stores, not B2B. Don’t rely on “revenue” numbers unless you’re actually selling online.
Step 4: Analyze the right metrics—skip the rest
Mailchimp throws a lot of numbers at you. Here’s what actually matters for B2B:
Metrics worth watching
- Click rate: Not just opens—are people engaging with your content?
- Qualified clicks: Are the right people (decision-makers, influencers) engaging? Segment your data.
- Reply rate: If you’re using “reply to this email” as a CTA, track actual replies.
- Downstream actions: Do email recipients actually take the next step—book a call, request info, download, etc.?
Metrics to ignore (mostly)
- Open rate: As mentioned, iOS privacy changes have made this fuzzy.
- Unsubscribe/bounce rate: Watch for spikes, but don’t obsess over small numbers.
- “Best time to send” advice: B2B recipients check email throughout the day. Timing matters less than relevance.
Real talk: If your click rate is under 1%, your emails probably aren’t relevant—or your list is stale. Don’t blame timing or subject lines.
Step 5: Optimize your journey—without overcomplicating it
Once you’ve got some data, it’s tempting to start tweaking everything. Resist the urge to optimize for the sake of it. Focus on what moves the needle.
What actually works for B2B email optimization
- Tighten your list: Regularly clean and segment your contacts. Remove dead weight so you’re not sending to people who’ll never buy.
- Test offers, not just copy: Switch up what you’re actually offering. Try a short call, an industry report, or an invite to an event. See what gets traction.
- Personalize (but don’t fake it): Use merge tags for names, companies, or roles—but only if you have good data. Nothing kills trust like “Hi [First Name].”
- Shorter journeys: Don’t string people along with 12 emails. In B2B, 3–5 well-spaced, relevant emails often work better than long sequences.
Pro tip: If you’re getting replies or actual sales actions, don’t change too much at once. Small, focused tests beat a full overhaul.
Step 6: Report and share only actionable insights
You don’t need a 10-page PDF for your boss. Focus on what matters.
- Show what’s working: “This email got 12 demo bookings from 250 sends.”
- Highlight bottlenecks: “Most people click, but few book a call. Let’s revisit the landing page.”
- Flag stale segments: “This list hasn’t engaged in 3 months—let’s pause or re-engage.”
If you have to present numbers, keep it simple and tie everything back to sales or pipeline movement.
A few things to skip (unless you like wasting time)
- Chasing “industry benchmark” stats: Your business is unique. Competitor benchmarks are mostly noise.
- Obsessing over every bounce: Bounces happen. Clean your list, move on.
- Automating everything: Automated Journeys are great, but sometimes a manual, personal follow-up works best—especially in B2B.
Wrapping up: Keep it simple, iterate fast
Don’t let fancy dashboards or endless tweaking slow you down. In B2B, the real wins come from clear signals: Did someone take the next step? Did you start a real conversation? That’s what moves deals forward.
Set up your Mailchimp Journeys to measure what matters, ignore the noise, and keep refining as you go. If you’re learning and improving—even in small ways—you’re ahead of 90% of B2B marketers out there.