Successful eMail Marketing Practices

1
Successful e-Mail Marketing Practices

• eMarketing Association
• May 20-21, 2003
• Gabriela Linares

2
Managing e-Mail Marketing

• Defining e-Mail Marketing Objectives
• Determining Communication Strategies
• Reaching your Target Audience
• Designing e-Mail Creative
• Evaluating Results
• Selecting a Solution
• Final Recommendations

3
Defining e-Mail Marketing Objectives
4
Common Objectives

• 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

5
Response Rates by Campaign Objective
Source IMT Strategies, September 2001
6
Acquisition versus retention
Source DMA- April, 2002
7
Sales Conversion Costs
Source IMT Strategies, September 2001
8
Determining Communication Strategies
9
Popular e-Mail models

• 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

10
Average CTR for B2C and B2B e-mail
newsletters
Source Opt-in News, May 2002
11
Top Interests for Permission e-Mail Users in the
US

• 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

12
Top reasons why US Internet users respond to
e-mail offers

• Know and trust brand
• Relevant information
• Friend has recommended
• Price/coupon/reward
• Timely
• Compelling subject
• Entertaining

13
Viral Marketing Types of messages that are
forwarded

• 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

14
How US internet users learn about new web sites
Source IMT Strategies, Sept. 2001
15
Reaching your Target Audience
16
US Internet User Attitude towards e-Mail Volume,
2001
Source IMT Strategies, September 2001
17
E-mail overload Number of e-mail marketing
e-mail sent in the US
Source Forrester Research, August 2001
18
Response to permission e-mail versus unknown
senders
19
Opt-in, opt-out, double opt-in, spam Preferred
e-mail marketing methods
Source Opt-In News, May 2002
20
Rates for US e-mail permission-based marketing
campaigns
Source IMT Strategies, Sept. 2001
21
Permission e-mail marketing vs. direct mail
retention costs
Source Forrester Research, August 2001
22
Building your permission-based lists

• 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

23
Building Customer Intelligence

• Harness your Customer Database
• Evaluate Customer Behavior
• Effective personalization and targeting
• Common Segmentation Factors
• Purchase history
• Location/zip code
• Demographics
• Lifestyle/hobbies/interests
• Psychographics

24
US Internet Users Level of Concern Regarding
Online Privacy
Source UCLA Center for Communication Policy,
November 2001
25
US Consumers Privacy concerns
Source Harris Interactive, February 2002
26
US E-Mail users preferred e-mail marketing
privacy and customer-support practices

• 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

27
Most Important e-Mail Marketing trust-building
factors among US users

• Secure sign-up form
• Trustworthy reputation
• Loyal customer
• Well-known brand
• Friend recommendation
• Trusted site referral
• Relevant offers

28
Why customers would give personal info

• 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 theyre likely to be
  interested in

29
E-mail Appending
Source Opt-In News, May 2002
30
Privacy Regulations

• 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

31
Creating the Content
32
E-Mail Message Content

• 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 dont re-use the same content
• Relevance the more you understand your
  customers, the more targeted and relevant
  messages will be
• Frequency
• Test messages

33
Email users preferred e-mail marketing
personalization models

• Communication Control Digests, Frequency
• Self-select content
• Name recognition
• Personal events reminders
• Geographic relevance
• Account History
• Recognizing Lifestyle Preferences
• Purchasing Behavior

34
Preferred e-mail advertisement formats worldwide,
Q1 2002
Source Opt-IN News, May 2002
35
Response rates per format
Source IMT Strategies, Sept. 2001
36
Evaluating results
37
How to measure the effectiveness of e-mail
marketing campaigns

• Click-through rates
• 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

38
Response time and cost per unit, e-mail vs.
direct mail

• Be prepared to handle responses

Source DMA, Forrester Research, Gartner Group,
2002
39
To Outsource or not to Outsource
40
VS.

• 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 companys schedule

41
Outsourced e-Mail Marketing Services
Source Forrester Research, August 2001
42
Evaluating Options

• Evaluate software product or hosting service
  before purchasing
• Determine if solution provides appropriate
  features
• Decide what reporting features you need
• 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

43
Main Recommendations

• 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

44
Questions?545pm Consulting Session - Today

• Gabriela Linares
• L-Soft international, Inc.
• www.lsoft.com
• Info_at_lsoft.com
• 301-731-0440
• 800-399-5449