Note: this article is a practical assessment of German and EU law, not legal advice. The legal position on email advertising depends on the individual case. Have your concrete approach checked by a lawyer before you start a campaign.
The short answer
In Germany, advertising by email needs the recipient's prior express consent, even if the recipient is a business (§ 7(2) no. 2 UWG, the German Unfair Competition Act) [1]. Without consent it's only possible with your own customers under four narrow conditions (§ 7(3) UWG). Classic cold email to researched or bought addresses is therefore legally risky, even though it's widespread.
Where email is allowed, timing decides whether you get a reply. For broad B2B campaigns, a 3–6 % reply rate counts as a good result [5]. Anyone who writes after a concrete occasion instead of to everyone is more likely to beat that.
Is cold email in B2B allowed in Germany?
Two laws interlock, and both have to fit. Many only look at the GDPR and overlook competition law.
| Level | Question | What applies |
|---|---|---|
| UWG (§ 7) | May the advertising email be sent at all? | Only with prior express consent, exception for existing customers [1] |
| GDPR (Art. 6) | May you process the contact data for it? | Consent or legitimate interest with a balancing test [2] |
The UWG: consent before the first advertising email
§ 7(2) no. 2 UWG calls advertising by electronic mail without the addressee's prior express consent an unreasonable nuisance [1]. The law makes no distinction between consumers and businesses. The phone is different: towards businesses, at least presumed consent is enough there (§ 7(2) no. 1 UWG). This relaxation doesn't exist for email.
What counts as advertising is defined broadly. The EU directive on misleading and comparative advertising understands it as any representation in trade with the aim of promoting the supply of goods or services [4]. A personally worded individual email with an offer isn't automatically exempt.
The exception for existing customers
§ 7(3) UWG only allows advertising emails without consent if all four conditions are met [1]: you received the address from the customer when selling goods or services. You're advertising your own similar offers. The customer hasn't objected. And you clearly informed them of their right to object when collecting the address and in every email. So this exception doesn't help with new customers.
The GDPR: a second level, not a replacement
The GDPR governs whether you may process the data. In B2B many rely on legitimate interest under Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Recital 47 says that direct marketing can be such an interest [2]. But that doesn't replace consent under the UWG. The most common fallacy is: "I have a legitimate interest, so I may send." Legitimate interest covers the data processing, not the sending of the advertising email.
On top come obligations that are often forgotten. If you didn't collect the data from the person themselves, you must tell them at the latest with the first communication where the data comes from and what you use it for (Art. 14 GDPR). And anyone can object to the use for direct marketing at any time. After that, it stops (Art. 21(2) and (3) GDPR) [2].
What do you risk if you break the rules?
Anyone who violates § 7 UWG can face a claim for injunctive relief. Under § 8 UWG, competitors, certain trade associations and chambers of industry and commerce, among others, are entitled to bring it [3]. In practice this usually arrives as a formal warning letter (Abmahnung) demanding a cease-and-desist declaration.
On top comes a technical risk that works faster than any court. Unwanted emails are reported as spam, and the complaint rate is a hard criterion for Gmail: it should stay below 0.3 %, preferably below 0.1 % [6]. Badly done cold outreach can drag down the delivery of your invoices and quotes if it runs over the same domain. More on this in the article Deliverability.
Which routes into the inbox are clean?
The good news: there are plenty of routes into the inbox without a cold email. These five are the most important:
- The contact asks themselves: anyone who writes to you or fills in a form gets a reply. A reply to their enquiry isn't an unsolicited advertising email, as long as you stay on the topic of the enquiry.
- Consent at first contact: at a trade fair, in a webinar or when downloading a checklist, you ask explicitly whether you may send information by email, and record it.
- Talk first, then email: a call to a business is permitted with presumed consent (§ 7(2) no. 1 UWG) [1]. If the person you talk to asks for documents, you send them at their request. Record the request.
- Existing customers: advertising for similar offers of your own within § 7(3) UWG, with a notice of the right to object in every email.
- Content that earns sign-ups: a newsletter or checklist prospects sign up for themselves. How that's structured is under newsletter structure.
Why signals instead of the watering can?
The watering can works like this: a list of 2,000 addresses, a template with first names, four follow-ups. That's legally delicate, and it almost always hits the wrong moment. Many recipients don't have the problem you solve on their desk right now.
The better approach turns the order around. First comes the question of which target customer is on the move right now. Typical signals are a new position in sales, a change in management, repeated visits to your pricing page or a trade fair appearance. Only then follows the question of who the right person is there and through which channel you can reach them cleanly. Instead of 2,000 emails, maybe 30 approaches go out per week, each with a real occasion.
Building this work as an ongoing system is called GTM engineering. What's behind it is explained in the article What is GTM engineering?. How we implement it for B2B sales teams is on the page GTM engineering at TACOBITE.
How do you write an email that gets answered?
Whether after a trade fair conversation, after a call or to customers: an email gets answered if it's short, has a recognisable occasion and asks an easy question. An inserted first name alone convinces nobody. Most recipients recognise templates immediately.
Example (fictional) of an email after a trade fair conversation in which information was requested:
Subject: Documents on maintenance planning, as discussed
Hello Ms Sample,
thank you for the conversation at our stand on Tuesday. You mentioned that your maintenance appointments are still planned in Excel and that two sites are being added.Attached is the overview of how other businesses with three sites made the switch. Page 2 shows the process in the first week.
Would it suit you if I gave you a quick call at the end of next week to answer your questions?
Best regards
Max Muster
What the email does right:
- Occasion in the first sentence: the recipient immediately knows why they're getting the email.
- Their situation instead of your product: Excel, two new sites. The offer only appears as help.
- A small question at the end: easy to answer with yes or no, no "When do you have 45 minutes?".
- Short: under 120 words, no image, no tracking pixel needed.
How many follow-ups make sense?
A single email easily gets lost in everyday work. As a practical value from our project experience, a short sequence of three to four emails over two to three weeks works well. Each email brings a new angle, such as an example, a figure or a different question. "Quick follow-up on my last email" rarely achieves anything.
Two rules always apply. Follow-ups only to contacts you're allowed to email at all. And anyone who replies, objects or unsubscribes leaves the sequence immediately. After an objection, the data may no longer be used for advertising (Art. 21(3) GDPR) [2].
Which reply rate is realistic?
The outreach provider Apollo names these ranges for broad B2B campaigns [5]:
| Reply rate | Assessment according to Apollo |
|---|---|
| below 3 % | usually a problem with the target group or deliverability |
| 3–6 % | a good result for broad B2B campaigns |
| above 6 % | strong execution |
| above 8 % | the exception, usually with a very narrowly defined target group and buying signals |
Two caveats: the values come from a US provider and describe the market, not the German legal position. And anyone advertising double-digit rates often means the open rate. Since Apple's Mail Privacy Protection that hardly means anything any more, see email KPIs. So count replies and the meetings that come from them, not opens.
What should you document?
In a dispute, what counts is what can be proven, not what sounds plausible. Record per contact:
- Where the address comes from and when you got it.
- The consent: when, how, with which text, or on which other basis you're writing.
- Your balancing of interests under Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, if you rely on it.
- When and how you informed them under Art. 14 GDPR.
- Objections and unsubscribes, in a suppression list every tool checks against before sending.
Conclusion: fewer emails, better occasions
Cold email in the sense of "buy a list and write to it" is legally risky in Germany, in B2B too, and usually badly timed. Email still remains a strong channel: after an enquiry, after a conversation, with customers and with contacts who have signed up. Anyone who aligns their outreach with signals writes fewer emails and gets more replies. And anyone unsure whether their approach holds up should clarify it with a lawyer beforehand rather than afterwards.