Transcript Advanced eMail Marketing Strategies - L-Soft

Successful e-Mail
Marketing Practices
eMarketing Association
May 20-21, 2003
Gabriela Linares
 2003 L-Soft
Managing e-Mail Marketing
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Defining e-Mail Marketing Objectives
Determining Communication Strategies
Reaching your Target Audience
Designing e-Mail Creative
Evaluating Results
Selecting a Solution
Final Recommendations
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Defining e-Mail Marketing
Objectives
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Common Objectives
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Acquire new leads/ registrants/ customers/ clients
Drive immediate sales
Enhance customer retention programs
Build stronger relationships with existing
customers/clients
Provide company or product information
Increase revenues by up-selling to existing
customers/clients
Post-order targeted e-mails
Build brand awareness
As part of an integrated marketing strategy
Increase web site traffic
 2003 L-Soft
Response Rates by Campaign Objective
Conversion
CTR
Awareness
Sales
6.80%
5.60%
Leads
Source: IMT Strategies, September 2001
7.90%
17.10%
15.20%
15.30%
 2003 L-Soft
Acquisition versus retention
Acquisition
Retention
Search engine positioning
94%
6%
Banner ads
91%
9%
Referral/viral programs
85%
15%
Affiliate programs/ sponsorships
75%
25%
Incentive programs
51%
49%
E-Mail Marketing
37%
63%
Source: DMA- April, 2002
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Sales Conversion Costs
Acquisition
Retention
E-mail
$57.10
$2.50
Direct Mail
$25.00
$60.00
Banner ads
$140.00
N/A
Source: IMT Strategies, September 2001
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Determining Communication
Strategies
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Popular e-Mail models
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Discount sales promotions
Sales transaction confirmations
Account statements
Scheduled corporate newsletters
Press release list
News alerts from Media outlets
Time-based reminders
E-mail discussion groups/ communities
Product announcements
Entertainment (humor, film clips)
Online education courses
Product user/support groups
Auto-responders
 2003 L-Soft
Average CTR for B2C and B2B
e-mail newsletters
B2C
B2B
2002
2001
2000
0.30%
1.90%
0.50%
2.80%
0.90%
0%
2%
3.40%
4%
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Source: Opt-in News, May 2002
Top Interests for Permission
e-Mail Users in the US
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Specials/offers from online merchants
Specials/offers from local retailers or restaurants
Household tips/recipes/crafts
Humor
Travel
Entertainment
Weather
Local news
Tech/business news
Finance/stock information
Sports
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Top reasons why US Internet users
respond to e-mail offers
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Know and trust brand
Relevant information
Friend has recommended
Price/coupon/reward
Timely
Compelling subject
Entertaining
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Viral Marketing: Types of
messages that are forwarded
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Merchandise deals and promotions
Prize/coupon/reward
Social/political messages and petitions
Warnings and advisories
High level of relevance
Funny
Work related
Informative
Cool
New Technology
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How US internet users learn about
new web sites
Search engines
80%
Link from other site
59%
Viral Marketing
56%
Television
48%
Guess URL
22%
Radio
19%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
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Source: IMT Strategies, Sept. 2001
Reaching your Target
Audience
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US Internet User Attitude towards
e-Mail Volume, 2001
Cannot
handle
15%
34%
Too many
Somewhat
more
3%
Just right
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49%
20%
40%
60%
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Source: IMT Strategies, September 2001
E-mail overload: Number of e-mail
marketing e-mail sent in the US
2001
289
2002
430
2003
549
2004
674
2005
796
2006
939
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500
1000
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Source: Forrester Research, August 2001
Response to permission e-mail
versus unknown senders
Eager to read
1%
Curious to read
13%
12%
Indifferent
Open but annoyed
Delete
49%
15%
6%
29%
21%
3%
0%
Unknown senders
52%
20%
40%
Permission e-mail
60%
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Opt-in, opt-out, double opt-in,
spam: Preferred e-mail marketing
methods
1%
4%
31%
64%
Double Opt-In
Opt-in
Opt-out
Spam
Source: Opt-In News, May 2002
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Rates for US e-mail permissionbased marketing campaigns
Clickthrough
17.80%
Net
conversion
7.00%
7.80%
Bounce
Unsubscribe
2.10%
0%
Source: IMT Strategies, Sept. 2001
5%
10%
15%
20%
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Permission e-mail marketing vs.
direct mail retention costs
E-mail to
in-house
list
Cost per
thousand
(CPM)
ClickThrough
Rates
(CTR)
Conversion
Rate
Cost per
sale
$5
15%
3.7%
$1
N/A
3.9%
$20
Direct Mail $761
to inhouse list
Source: Forrester Research, August 2001
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Building your
permission-based lists
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Subscriber form on web site
Sponsor lists of sites with a similar demographic
Send to a friend button – viral marketing
Ask for permission to customer base
Maintain list hygiene
E-mail appending…
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Building Customer Intelligence
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Harness your Customer Database
Evaluate Customer Behavior
Effective personalization and targeting
Common Segmentation Factors:
o Purchase history
o Location/zip code
o Demographics
o Lifestyle/hobbies/interests
o Psychographics
 2003 L-Soft
US Internet Users’ Level of
Concern Regarding Online Privacy
8.80%
2000
29.50%
61.70%
5.50%
2001
23.10%
Not
concerned
Somewhat
concerned
Extremely
concerned
71.30%
Source: UCLA Center for Communication Policy, November 2001
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US Consumers’ Privacy concerns
Sharing info
with third
parties
75%
Transactions
not secure
70%
Hackers will
steal info
66%
69%
68%
70% 72%
74%
76%
Source: Harris Interactive, February 2002
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US E-Mail users’ preferred e-mail
marketing privacy and customersupport practices
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Unsubscribe option in all e-mails
Explicit no-share-address policy
48-hour e-mail support answers
Editable personal preferences page
Provide phone numbers in e-mail
Explicit privacy policy
Double opt-in confirmation
Unchecked default opt-in box
Third-party privacy seal in e-mail
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Most Important e-Mail Marketing trustbuilding factors among US users
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Secure sign-up form
Trustworthy reputation
Loyal customer
Well-known brand
Friend recommendation
Trusted site referral
Relevant offers
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Why customers would give
personal info
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Guarantee that the information will not be misused
Eligibility to win a prize in a sweepstakes
Regular e-mail updates for products of their interest
Access to more or better content or information
Affinity points
Receive targeted ads they’re likely to be interested in
 2003 L-Soft
E-mail Appending
24%
Ethical
Not ethical
76%
Source: Opt-In News, May 2002
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Privacy & Regulations
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HIPPA covers health personal information
COPPA protects children
Gramm-Leach Bliley Act concerns financial information
FTC supports Corporate Privacy Policies
Federal spam regulation does not exist
State laws exists in 13 US states, including California,
Colorado, etc.
More information about spam regulations visit:
www.spamlaws.com
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Creating the Content
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E-Mail Message Content
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Subject Line – getting recipients to open mail is half the
battle
Creativity
Personality and dynamic content
Keep it short and use links to draw reader to your web
site
Keep it fresh – don’t re-use the same content
Relevance – the more you understand your customers,
the more targeted and relevant messages will be
Frequency
Test messages
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Email users’ preferred e-mail
marketing personalization models
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Communication Control: Digests, Frequency
Self-select content
Name recognition
Personal events & reminders
Geographic relevance
Account History
Recognizing Lifestyle Preferences
Purchasing Behavior
 2003 L-Soft
Preferred e-mail advertisement
formats worldwide, Q1 2002
3%
35%
HTML
Text
Rich Media
62%
Source: Opt-IN News, May 2002
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Response rates per format
ClickThrough
15.60%
18.50%
5.30%
9.00%
Conversion
7.70%
7.40%
Bounce
Unsubscribe
HTML
Text
3.20%
1.20%
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5.00
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Source: IMT Strategies, Sept. 2001
10.00 15.00 20.00
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Evaluating results
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How to measure the effectiveness
of e-mail marketing campaigns
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Click-through rates
o unique and sum of events & comparisons
Unsubscribe rates
Open rates
Conversion rates (website tracking)
Click-stream analyses
E-mail pass along rates –viral marketing
Coupon codes
Anonymous tracking to respect privacy
Campaign Comparison Reporting
 2003 L-Soft
Response time and cost per unit,
e-mail vs. direct mail
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Be prepared to handle responses
E-Mail
Direct Mail
Response Time
3 days
3-6 weeks
Cost per unit
$0.25
$1.25
Source: DMA, Forrester Research, Gartner Group, 2002
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To Outsource or not to
Outsource
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Maintain your server
• Hardware/computer
network
• Dedicated Internet
Connection
• Software for e-mail
management and delivery
• Best for large loads and
those with experience
• More cost-effective/
economies of scale
• Flexibility to create
campaigns on the fly
Outsource your list hosting
• Reliability and experience
• Redundant servers and
delivery capacity
• Flexibility to maintain
company Internet presence
• Ability to move from
hosting to in-house when
ready
• More expensive
• Rely on company’s
schedule
 2003 L-Soft
Outsourced e-Mail
Marketing Services
Strategy
Creative
8%
2%
0%
10%
Delivery
Analysis
0%
68%
28%
8%
2001
2003
22%
20%
40%
Source: Forrester Research, August 2001
60%
80%
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Evaluating Options
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Evaluate software product or hosting service before
purchasing
Determine if solution provides appropriate features
Decide what reporting features you need
o online real-time reporting, compatibility with other
software you employ
Differentiating levels of privacy tracking
Campaign manager to organize jobs
Integration with your database and other applications
Handle bounces
 2003 L-Soft
Main Recommendations
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Integrate e-mail into your integrated marketing
communication plan
E-Mail marketing is best used for retention and other
customer permission-based communications
Offering sales promotions is the most successful
strategy
Consider double opt-in and build your permission-based
lists
Respect recipients’ privacy to earn their trust
Personalize messages to provide relevant information
which will increase response rates
Evaluate options and opt for time-tested solutions
 2003 L-Soft
Questions?
5:45pm Consulting Session - Today
Gabriela Linares
L-Soft international, Inc.
www.lsoft.com
[email protected]
301-731-0440
800-399-5449
 2003 L-Soft