Four Elements of Email Campaign Success

June 29, 2011

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Jeffrey Rice, Sr. Research Analyst MarketingSherpa / MECLABS Primary Research @WJeffreyR

Sergio Balegno, Director of Research MarketingSherpa / MECLABS Primary Research @SergioBalegno

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 Benchmark Report Find what works for

thousands of email marketers

Mature channel, incremental improvements Multiple tactics accelerate performance

Handbook Identify best practices and

formulate a methodology
Current stage of process for email marketing Look at the new LEAPS methodology

Knowledge transfer Teach email

marketers how to apply best practices

Summits, workshops, certification, webinars

A continuous improvement process

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 Placement of email in the marketing & sales pipeline Planning for internal wins Trial, test and optimizing strategies

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LEAPS
Leverage all tactics to build quality lists Engage your audience with relevant content Act respectfully to ensure deliverability Place email in pipeline to quantify ROI Sync email with social and smart phones

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ELEMENT #1: PLACE EMAIL IN PIPELINE TO QUANTIFY ROI

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 Selecting placement of email in

marketing & sales pipeline

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 80% of B2B

marketers recognize increasing lead generation as the #1 priority

Increasing lead generation

80% 54% 63% 74% 83% 84% 69% 71% 77% 54% 58% 73% 52% 60% 73% 43% 56% 53% Business channel (B2B) Consumer channel (B2C) Both channels (B2B2C)

Increasing sales revenue

Improving customer relations/retention

Email marketing can

impact many steps that lead to a closed sale

Building brand awareness

Increasing Web site traffic

Increasing size of email opt-in lists

Source: MarketingSherpa Email Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded Sep 2010, N=1,115

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 First step is to determine where email

messages have the greatest impact on the path to purchase

Investigate your customer lifecycle

Attract Acquire Service Retain Refer

Well suited for marketing automation

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 The manner in which a

company communicates when a sales transaction is not imminent speaks volumes about its credibility and brand truth
Give guidance, share valuable

information to make a positive impression

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 Remind the new subscriber of where

and how they opted-in to your list

Deliver value immediately

Start with a sincere "thank you Give more than expected Share evergreen content (past newsletters, video links, webinars, or podcasts) Give a discount or exclusive access
Ask to be white listed

Be selective in location

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 Confirm content and frequency

expectations
Offer links to unsubscribe and

privacy policy
Harvest additional data

Welcome emails have some of the highest open rates, get to know the subscriber better via preference center Win-win, the more they share the more tailored the communications

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 The goal of the series of emails is to

move the subscriber quickly from "kicking the tires" to an educated buyer
Give the new opt-in something to look

forward to Package the emails as a four-part series or five-week educational course to make them more enticing
Common campaign categories

Education: metrics, testimonials, data Entertainment: funny or inspirational stories Product Lifecycle: evolving technology

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 Goal is to keep recipient

engaged until ready to make a purchase

Spend 25% of your lead

generating budget on nurturing

A nurturing email is personal,

brief and specific in a matterof-fact kind of way, emphasizing education and minimizing branding

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 Agree on a path to purchase

Customer persona Customer objections and challenges When a lead is passed to sales
Set goals and objectives Define a qualified lead

Clearly state and prioritize the degree of sales readiness

Create content

Communications should build off one another, just as natural conversations evolve

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 Require consistent feedback

from both sales and marketing to discover whats working, and what isnt
Allow your team to make small

improvements and continue to iterate the process successfully

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 First to see

Being the first to share news with colleagues is very important to some people
Limited-time offer

Exclusivity and urgency are a powerful mix

eCoupon

First Time Purchase discount offer

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 Post sale emails build upon the trust

earned during the sale Inform buyer on purchase, delivery and service
Common examples

Activation encourage use of new product

Verizon Wireless reduced inbound calls by 5%

Renewals send email prior to end date Reorder deliver timely reminders Special occasion installation anniversary Pre-event offer value options before tradeshow or install Post-event thanks for stopping by our booth

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 The U.S. Federal Trade Commission

defines a transactional email as one that facilitates an agreed-upon transaction or updates a customer in an existing business relationship
Examples: Bills, receipts, statements etc

Exempt from the CAN-SPAM Act Have higher conversion rates Explore all communication channels and

departments that make contact with customers

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 Subject Line

Write to relate exclusively to the transaction

Branding

Include corporate logo for quick recognition

Copy

More than 75% of the overall email should be dedicated to relevant order information
Up-sell and Cross-sell

Dedicate a small portion to future buys

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 A single or series of emails created by a

defined set of rules based on dates, events or behaviors that are automatically sent to a subscriber
Consistently achieve higher open rates

due to timing and relevancy

Examples

Welcome Triggered Cart Abandonment Re-activate

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 Be strategic in the placement

of email communications

Capitalize on the power of

welcome emails

Look for more ways to provide

value with automated and transactional emails

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ELEMENT #2: PLANNING WITH THE END IN MIND

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 Planning your

measurement strategy

Deciding which metrics

to track

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The CFO asks How has email marketing helped maximize revenue? The VP of Sales fires How does the campaign impact the lifetime value of the customer? The CMO responds with Improved our brand awareness Increased percentage of opens, and clickthroughs Larger email database

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 Plan with the end in mind

Prioritize metrics

Emphasize teamwork

Swap success stories

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 Think like your C-suite to decide how

you will measure results before launching the campaign

Consider the limitations of your

database technology and human resources

Let this quote be your guide

What gets measured, gets done " - John E. Jones

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 Prioritize what, when and how to

measure based on your brands goals and resources

Only collect data that you and your

team will act on

Be prepared to respond to both

positive and negative information

Taking action positively impacts team

members morale

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 Construct measurements that

highlight the collaboration between departments

Celebrate and recognize winning

contributions
Example :
Show the flow of visitors to your website, the portion that clicked to enroll in your email program for nurturing, and how many were passed to the sales team

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 Telling true customer tales

brings numbers to life

The act of storytelling brings

to life your teams passion and enthusiasm for helping customers

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Clickthrough rate

Organizations in the

78%

96% 93% 95% 91% 92%

strategic phase of email marketing maturity are significantly more likely to track many performance indicators
3x more likely to track post-

Open rate

73% 79%

Delivery rate

60% 45% 64%

Clicks per email

35% 37%

Post-click conversion rate

62%

20%

Strategic phase Transition phase Trial phase

click conversion rates

Almost 4x more likely to

Clicks per link in email

33% 24%

49% 51%

60%

Revenue per email

13%

track revenue per email

Response by list segment 22% 17% 13%

30% 32%

44%

Social sharing rate

Source: MarketingSherpa Email Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded Sep 2010, N=1,115

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 New subscribers
Opt-in rate of new website visitors Opt-in registration abandonment rate

Conversion rates
Track the intent of your email campaign

ROI is a challenge
Only 41% of marketers have a method
Complex task to align data, outcomes and have the resources to manage

Dollar value of an email address

Revenue Generated / number of subscribers

Lifetime value (LTV)

LTV = Average Age x Average Profit

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 Plan with the end in mind

Watch new subscriber metrics

carefully

Be resourceful in proving ROI

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ELEMENTS #3 and #4: TRIAL, TEST, OPTIMIZE - REPEAT

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 Methodology for email

testing and optimization

Test preparation

Elements to test
As soon as you say, failure is not an option, you've just said, innovation is not an option. - Seth Godin

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 61% of organizations do not

routinely test email campaigns

Best practices are a starting
Yes 39%

point
Testing is the only way to find out what works for your company and customers
No 61%

Dedicate 5-10% of resources to

testing
Results in new approaches, initiatives, and insights leading to more efficient and effective communications
Source: MarketingSherpa Email Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded Sep 2010, N=1,115

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 The company: Cisco Systems

The marketplace:

Communications technology

The product: Computer networks

The channel: Email The campaign objective:

Activate thousands of contacts in database

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Step #1. Select a test segment Chose 14.5% of the unmarketable U.S contacts for reactivation test Step #2. Match offer to contacts potential value Split list into two groups; high-level and low level contacts based on their job titles The incentives included: High-position group: $25 Starbucks gift card Low-position group 1: Whitepaper download Low-position group 2: No offer

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Step #3. Craft emails for each segment Headline text Get Connected, Stay Informed Subject line High-position group: Get a Starbucks card by updating your profile Low-position group 1: Get a Collaboration whitepaper by updating your profile Low-position group 2: Update your profile to stay current Call to action Update now button
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 High-position group / Gift card offer

Conversion rate: 6.10%

Low-position group 1 / Whitepaper offer

Conversion rate: 1.40%

Low-position group 2 / No offer

Conversion rate: 3.90%

No offer" is the best offer as it

Required smaller investment than the "gift card" offer Did not "bargain" for an updated profile

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 Create a culture of continuous improvement

Assign a group of Lab Coats to establish a process for experimentation, measurement and implementation Maintain an ongoing list of testing ideas ranging from simple to the impossible Encourage input from members outside your department

Start small
Gain momentum with quick wins Small scale tests give flexibility and minimize risk

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heuristic for Email Messaging Optimization Index:

eme = rv (of + i) (f + a)
eme = email messaging effectiveness index rv = relevance to the consumer elements of process (internal and external) of = offer value (why) i = incentive to take action f = friction or psychological resistance a = anxiety or psychological concern stimulated
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 Clarity trumps persuasion

Dr. Flint McGlaughlin, Managing Director (CEO), MECLABS

At its core, email is a value

exchange

Do not permit unsupervised thinking

Structure a thought sequence

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 Marketers have less than seven

seconds to grab the readers attention and convince them to take action

Start with one desired outcome,

usually a click, not a sale

Have one core message, do not

clutter with multiple offers , links or flowery language

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 Subscribers exchange their

valuable time, attention, mental exertion and personal information for the value of the information offered in the email

To trade the perceived

values must outweigh the costs

The value proposition is the primary reason why your ideal prospect should buy from you rather than your competitors and it must be appealing, exclusive and credible
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Your communication of value begins in your subject lines and should be maintained throughout the entire conversion process

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 Capture
Proper introduction, name, company, title

Convince
Build off subject line and greeting, give specific reasons why the subscriber should keep reading

Close
Call to action and contact info

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 Right analytics
Make sure you have a process or analytical system in place to capture the metrics tied to your goals

Right segment
Universally testing across the board will pull the findings in all different directions Segment lists based on testing objective

Right frequency
Balance, dont test too often or too seldom

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Subject line (phrasing, length) Message (greeting, body, closing) Calls to action Layout and images Day of week sent Time of day sent Landing pages Personalization From line 31% 40% 40% 54% 48% 47% 64% 61%

90%

Dont limit yourself to

just subject and from line testing

Source: MarketingSherpa Email Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded Sep 2010, N=1,115

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 Create your own testing lab

Have a methodology and

benchmark results

Prepare diligently

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Thank you.