Archive for Targeting & Planning
In Email Marketing, First Impressions Matter More Than You Know
Here at V12 Group, we specialize in email acquisition, but it’s imperative for our clients to think about converting those prospects into longtime customers with lifetime value. This post opens dialogue on how marketers can make the best first impressions using email preference centers and welcome programs. A great read…
Source: Ryan Deutsch, Sponsored by Blue Hornet (Posted on www.clickz.com)
Email marketers invest millions each year to achieve relevance, working to integrate transactional and behavioral data into email templates in the hopes of delivering the right message at the right time. The problem is that the right message at the right time does little to benefit the brand if it’s never opened.
To deal with lackluster open rates, many email marketers look to subject lines and subject line testing. This is a defined best practice and if executed correctly will almost always result in at least a short-term lift in engagement. I would argue that the issue, though, goes well beyond subject lines to the initial perception a subscriber develops regarding your email program.
While no study exists that I am aware of, I would argue that brands have one to three emails to set a tone of value with their subscribers. Once that sense is lost, so is engagement, and getting it back is nearly impossible. Email marketers need to reinvest in the front end of the customer lifecycle and focus on setting the tone for the ongoing email relationship.
Data Capture and Preference Management
Marketers are mixed as to the importance and practicality of preference centers. Everyone agrees that the collection of data from a subscriber detailing their interests is valuable – especially at the beginning of a relationship where transactional data is limited. However, arguments against implementing preference centers are common. The primary two reasons being that consumers are unwilling to provide brands with meaningful preference data or that putting control in the customer’s hands will limit a brand’s ability to monetize the email channel. In my opinion, both objections are misplaced.
The first argument, that customers are unwilling to provide data, is ridiculous. Customers regularly provide businesses with personal information. Banks and insurance companies maintain a huge amount of personal information. Why? Because the value trade-off is easily understood by the consumer:
Fill out information for my bank = get a line of credit.
Provide information to my insurance company = get coverage for my family.
Where is such a clear value proposition made between brands and subscribers in the email channel? The answer is simple; there isn’t. Brands need to make preference centers more valuable to the subscriber than to the brand. Today, they are built and executed to help the marketer. If this approach is flipped and preference centers are built to benefit the subscriber, participation will increase and relationships will deepen. In exchange for providing profile information, subscribers should get exclusive access to content and offers, be invited to participate in focus groups, or earn loyalty points and rewards for their commitment to the relationship. If brands communicate these concepts at the front end of the subscription process, they will reap the rewards of deeper consumer-set preferences.
The second argument is that, if given the choice, consumers will ask the brand to decrease message frequency. While many brands have already dialed down frequency or have rules in place to do so, they still want to maintain control over these decisions. Tests have repeatedly shown that frequency declines can help drive higher conversion rates. More importantly, the entire social web movement is about increased transparency and control. Brands should embrace this trend, not fight against it. I have seen several preference centers that not only enable frequency control, but allow users to initiate new communication opportunities. FTD, for example, allows subscribers to input customer dates to remind them of personal events that require flowers or select holiday reminders via checkboxes. Consider how putting increased control in the subscriber’s hands could help drive a deeper relationship and more meaningful communications, even at a decreased communication frequency.
The Welcome Program
Most email marketers have implemented a welcome message, but unfortunately they stop there, with a single message. It’s like meeting a person for the first time, shaking hands, and suddenly turning tail and walking the other direction – all the while feeling that you have planted the seeds for a deep, personal relationship. A welcome message is just that, a message, and it is only the first piece of the welcome program. The welcome program is the brand’s opportunity to establish the value of the digital relationship and credibility in the email program as a whole. Brands cannot simply accept a subscription, deliver a welcome communication, and insert the subscriber in the general cadence of communication. Each subscriber should be indoctrinated in a way that reinforces the initial subscription.
The welcome program should accomplish all of the following:
- Confirm subscription: The welcome program is an excellent confirmation opportunity. Weed out non-responders before they have a chance to create a negative reputation for your brand with ISPs.
- Explain cadence and value of upcoming communications: Show actual examples of future communications, explain the frequency of delivery, and stress the value of each communication in the stream.
- Educate on brand’s engagement opportunities: Email is not the only way a subscriber can engage with a brand. Explain other opportunities to get connected to the brand on the web, in social media, or on mobile devices.
- Ask for and reward referrals: There is never a better time to solicit referrals than on the front end of a relationship. Ask for and reward your subscribers for referring their friends to your brand. Social media has made word of mouth scalable. Make sure your brand is taking advantage of it.
Triggered Reengagement Capabilities
Once subscribers become unengaged, it is very difficult to reactivate them. Build rules into your welcome stream that recognize disengagement and attempt to reengage in real time. Too many brands wait until subscribers have been non-responsive for months before trying to reengage.
Email marketers should remember that our channel is subject to the same psychological realities as general human interactions. The bottom line: first impressions mean more than they should. Remember that and invest in making it the best possible.
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posted in: Metrics & Testing | Subject Lines | Targeting & Planning | Writing Effective Copy It’s All About the List: 3 Reasons to Practice Good Email List Hygiene
V12 Group’s core offering is our repository of premium consumer and business data that can be used for CRM or acquisition purposes. Data Hygiene is one of the most cost-effective ways that marketers can trim their budgets by weeding out customers that no longer have valid emails or have recently moved. This post focuses on how expired emails can affect delivery and domain reputations proving that it makes sense to clean your lists regularly!!
Source: Melissa Miller, HubSpot
The success of an email marketing program is based on a range of factors, including eye-catching subject lines, valuable offers, quality copy, etc. But there’s one factor that you must consider before you even begin to compose copy: the cleanliness of your email list.
Even if your list is entirely built on valid opt-ins, you are at risk of being branded a “spammer” if you don’t practice proper email hygiene. Here is why:
1) ISPs base complaint rates on active subscribers, not total subscribers.
If your list is loaded with inactive emails, you don’t have a sense of your true complaint rate. While many marketers just look at total complaints over total list size, ISPs (internet service providers) are actually looking at total complaints over number of active email users. Read more
Five Reasons Why Websites Still Matter
Just back from DMA2011: The Direct Marketing Association’s Annual Trade Show Event and I’m fresh with ideas for marketing for both the email and social arenas…and then I stumble upon this article (which I thought was a given industry law) that…WEBSITES STILL MATTER!! Don’t overlook the core selling feature of your entire business, the website. All the email, social, online, print, etc. dollars your companies are spending mean nothing if your website is not up to snuff. Here’s why…
Original post by Mikal E. Belicove, (excerpt taken from entrepreneur.com)
You know you must leverage Facebook, Twitter and word-of-mouth marketing to increase awareness of your brand. But the fact is, websites remain infinitely more popular with consumers than all of the business pages on social media sites combined.
Only 22 percent of those of us online in the U.S. visit a branded social networking page such as those found on Facebook, while 62 percent of us regularly visit branded websites, according to the latest Global Web Index report. If you were starting to let your site become outdated or haggard, consider a refresh. After all, as these figures note, websites still matter.
Here are five reasons why you shouldn’t ignore yours:
1. Branding: Since it’s your site, you set the design, which affords you the flexibility to optimize the user experience in ways that directly support your business model and brand-related goals. There’s no competition on your website, just a branded experience that you direct yourself.
2. IT and Engineering Jurisdiction: When you control your own site, you have complete jurisdiction over its code, hosting environment, page count, content, plug-ins and more. Just as I mentioned above with regard to branding — here too you have the elasticity required to make small or sweeping adjustments at will, an advantage you don’t get with third-party websites. With sites like Facebook, you can change minor graphics and some content but not code, navigation scheme, server speed or the graphic user interface.
3. Content: Speaking of content, more of it can be found on your own website than on a third-party utility or platform, and none of it competes side-by-side for your visitor’s attention. Create compelling and useful content that speaks to why someone is visiting your site and you stand a higher chance of that visitor taking action with respect to your products or services. And since inventory (i.e., web pages) is virtually unlimited on a site under your control, you have ample opportunity to add additional content and calls-to-action in the format you deem most appropriate.
4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): If garnering multiple, relevant and highly positioned placements in the SERPs (search engine result pages) is part of your sales and marketing strategy, a website is a must. When properly coded and managed, your site delivers natural and sustaining search results that drive qualified traffic to the exact pages on your site where you want visitors to be.
5. Analytics: While many social utilities, platforms and networks provide access to data related to demographics associated with who accesses your profile and how often they do so, website analytic tools go much deeper. They can provide you with the type of business intelligence you need to determine in real-time how your online marketing performs and stacks up against the competition.
Don’t think for a moment that I’m suggesting you drop social in favor of your own website. What I’m advocating is that you lead first with your website, followed by leveraging social, email marketing, point of purchase, mobile, apps and other forms of marketing and outreach to drive traffic to your website where you can generate qualified leads who convert to paying customers.
Image credit: Idea go
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posted in: Industry | News & Articles | Social Media | Targeting & Planning | Writing Effective Copy 2011 Trend Watch Questions and Answers
Excerpts taken from a recent Webinar: The Future of Email
Written by Jennifer Cook, Nello Franco, Lyris
On Social Media/Social Currency:
Q: What’s the best way to run a promotion through social media to gain social currency?
A: The first step is to figure out where your customers are so that you can determine the best way to actually reach them. There’s no point in running a promotion on Facebook if your customers aren’t there. Next, identify your marketing objectives – what are you trying to accomplish? Are you looking to grow your fan base? Showcase a new product launch? Drive conversions?
Then, design your offer or announcement based on these objectives. Remember, social media provides a uniquely personal brand experience – it’s a chance to connect with customers in a one-on-one way and build a community around your brand.
The best programs are simple, easy to understand, and most importantly, easy to share.
Q: Â What can I do to increase our fan base on Facebook?
A: The best way to build your fan base is to offer incentives to become a fan. For instance, you can create a program that provides an immediate discount on purchase offer – something like “become a fan and get 15% off your next purchase.â€
You can also communicate the availability of exclusive “fan only†offers and other special perks to motivate prospects. You can provide things like special product previews, exclusive bundles, or everyday free shipping for fans. It’s about providing tangible and immediate value to entice your fan prospect to “Like†you.
Another way to increase your fanbase is by sharing any charitable activities on Facebook . Philanthropy has an amazing viral affect. Share stories and videos about how your good deeds are making an impact. You also can kick off fundraisers via Facebook and ask your fans to spread the word to friends for whom the cause is important. Â Stories about philanthropy are a very shareable way to grow your fanbase.
On Social Media/Location-based Marketing:
Q: How do I segment in social media?
A: The way to get started is to think about how your fan or subscriber is experiencing your content in the social sphere and look for ways to improve their experience.
If you’re a large company with a broad portfolio of brands and products, you may find that it’s best to set up individual pages. For instance, if you were Proctor and Gamble, your Tide fan may not be interested in viewing content about your Pringles product. You could set this up with an umbrella page for Proctor and Gamble and individual pages for specific brands.
Another way to do it is through geography. If certain goods or services aren’t available in a given area, then you don’t want to frustrate subscribers with content about products they can’t purchase.
It’s about maintaining relevancy and the quality of the user experience.
On Mobility:
Q: Â What are the most important things to know about designing for mobility?
A: The first thing to keep in mind is that you need to remember that your content is very likely to be accessed on a mobile device, and that you need to consider this factor on each and every campaign send.
Remember that mobile devices, while very convenient, offer a very different content experience than what a user gets with a traditional interface. The screen is small, and users are on-the-go. So, you need to keep messages concise and subject lines short.
Definitely use pre-headers and remove images and don’t forget to test how your campaigns register across various mobile platforms.
On Location-based Marketing:
Q: Can you give some examples of what you can do with location-based marketing?
A: With location based marketing, you’re leveraging the power of social media to get granular information on your subscriber. This allows you to message them with highly targeted offers. To get them to check in with you initially, you can offer an immediate reward – something like check-in and get 10% off today’s purchase.
Once you have engaged them in a location based activity, you can reward them for their loyalty – something like check in here 10 times and receive a special incentive.
You can also engage them with Foursquare’s mayor offers – if someone becomes the mayor of a your location, you can grant them a special prize or discount – like a week of free coffee at Starbucks or a free appetizer at TGI Fridays.
Location based marketing engages subscribers in real time based on what they’re actually doing and therefore creates an amazing opportunity to be extremely timely and relevant.
On Social Gaming:
Q:Â So, is gaming something marketers should really take seriously? It seems like just playing around. Is it worth the investment?
A. Yes, absolutely. Gaming is an extremely profitable industry and a great way to get potential and current customers to engage with your brand in a way that’s fun, interactive and 100% voluntary. The potential for word-of-mouth, viral exposure is immeasurable.
And, big brands are getting involved in gaming, experimenting with this playful medium to deliver their messages. We showed how McDonald’s is gaming, but there are others. Century 21, USA Network, Expedia, MasterCard and even the New York City Public Library have all leveraged gaming and developed virtual goods to bolster their investments. They’re seeing results in the form of increased web site pages views, increased revenue and growth in their online influence.
image credit: dan
Before You Launch Your Next Marketing Campaign: The 7 Deadliest Marketing Mistakes
Source: Jessica Swanson, Manta via www.sosemarketing.com
Before you launch your next marketing campaign, whether online or offline, make sure to avoid some of the most common marketing mistakes.
1. Failure to write a powerful headline.
Whether you’re writing a newspaper ad, email message or press release, you must create a powerful headline. Research suggests that your headline is the most important part of your ad. It is absolutely essential that you draw your prospective customer or client into your ad and keep them interested in what you have to offer.
2. Absence of an irresistible offer. continue reading »
Interesting A/B Test Results for iPad
Designing for a mobile device is quite different than designing for the desktop user. Tests like this one can help marketers determine what design tactics can improve a user’s overall experience and click-ability aka. touch-ability! Vote on this test and see if you guess correctly!
Source: Anne Holland, www.whichtestwon.com
It’s our first iPad test! Can you guess which version of a
(famous) German auto insurance company’s homepage – served
just to iPad traffic – got a 9.23% lift in online
registration form fills?
Both buttons had the same copy … but they looked really
different! http://whichtestwon.com/archives/12598
Note: This was a multivariate test, so many other page
elements changed. BUT our lift data is specifically for the
button only. So, ignore the other differences and pick the
button you think compelled more iPad users to register:
http://whichtestwon.com/archives/12598
10 Tips To Prevent Your Email From Being Marked As Spam
The “Spam” button can be the kiss of death…it hurts sender reputation on a delivery level and brand reputation at the consumer level…not to mention the egos of email marketers everywhere. Here are some tips to help try and avoid the unwanted action of marking email as SPAM!
Source: Marla Chupack, www.emailtransit.com
Your email campaigns are important to the success of your marketing efforts, but even the most well-intentioned message can hit a nerve with a recipient. In order to avoid having your subscribers click the “Spam†button, take the following precautions with your campaigns.
1. Manage new subscriber expectations with post-enrollment communications
When a new subscriber consents with permission to market to them, it is best practice to manage their expectations by sending a confirmation email which includes the following:
- Enrolling Site (website name and/or url) they opted in from
- Name of the subscribed communication
- Frequency of communication delivery
- Benefits of communication
- Learn more link (if there is a related communication or information of value to your subscriber)
- Opt-out option (in case the choice was made in error)
- Contact information for reporting a problem
2. Increase relevancy though segmentation
Segment your list to personalize and target offers and specific content to your audience. Create multiple versions of your email or use dynamic content to increase relevancy.
3. Make the unsubscribe option easy to find and keep the opt-out process simple
Always have an unsubscribe link in the footer, and consider adding it to the header or some other more noticeable place. Also make the unsubscribe option simple (at most one click to the unsubscribe page and then a confirmation click). Do not force the recipient to re-enter their email address, send an email with instructions or have to search to find the unsubscribe link on the unsubscribe page.
Remember that you don’t want to keep sending to anyone who doesn’t want your messages. If you do you’re just wasting your money, their time, deflating your metrics and further creating a negative brand experience.
4. Use a familiar “From Nameâ€
It should either come from a familiar corporate name or a peronal name that is associated with the brand (CEO, Mascot, Ad Persona, etc.). If you are in doubt, go with the more well-known of the two.
5. Use a real “From Email†address
Using a donotreply@companyname.com or a blatantly non-personal email (i.e.- sales@companyname.com) just tells the recipient that there’s no personal touch with the email- its a bulk message and you are part of the bulk.
6. Periodically survey your recipients for content and frequency preferences
Not sure what your audience wants to hear or how often they want to hear from you? Ask them. And then work towards honoring their preferences. Or better yet set up a Preferences Center so they can manage everything themselves.
7. Trigger your emails based on the events of your subscribers
Triggered messages based on user action can help increase relevancy. Certain types of automated messages, like a confirmation email or a Welcome message, typically recieve high engagement rates and get the relationship off on the right foot.
8. Be consistent with email frequency and content type
If users become accustomed to hearing from you at the same time of day or day of the week/month, then your messages are less likely to be perceived as spam.
9. Keep email subject and content interesting and engaging
Your subject line may be the single biggest reason why people choose to read your email. Make it interesting and you’ll likely get positive results.
10. Deliver what you promise in your email subject line
Using a misleading subject line can make recipients to “get back at you†by clicking the spam button. Be honest with your subject line and deliver the offer or content that you promote.
While many of these tactics are already being practiced by ethical marketers, remembering not to push the boundaries too far can help keep your message safe from the “Report SPAM†button so many recipients like to click.
5 Steps to Spelling Out E-M-A-I-L
Source: www.blog.hubspot.com with Guest Poster Jim Ducharme, a social media professional and online marketing consultant who helps companies use an integrated approach to their online marketing. You can read more of his thoughts on social and marketing at: www.hugehead.ca.
There’s nothing I love more than a good acronym and so a while back I set out to create one for the word “email” in order to help people remember some of the key points to an effective email marketing campaign. I hope it offers a little inspiration for your integrated email marketing efforts. continue reading »
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posted in: Email for Mobile | Social Media | Targeting & Planning | Trends | Writing Effective Copy Enhanced Email Program on the Menu for Wolfgang Puck
This article supports V12′s thinking that customer profiling and effective targeting are essential strategies to take your email marketing programs to the next level. Contact a V12 rep for more details on applying this methodology to your marketing.
Source: Beth Negus Viveiros, chiefmarketer.com
The Wolfgang Puck family of companies had a great set of ingredients for email marketing, but they didn’t work if they weren’t blended in the right way.
Wolfgang Puck is comprised of three separate companies:Â Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining, which operates restaurants internationally; Wolfgang Puck Catering, which caters for events such as the Academy Awards, the Grammys and large fundraisers; and Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, which operates casual restaurants and sells licensed products such as broths and cookware.
Each brand was maintaining its own separate database of email addresses and purchase histories, and they couldn’t be easily shared. The company recently worked with Listrak to consolidate those files and create more cross sell opportunities.
The brands all have distinct audiences. “Someone may be familiar with our grocery store products, but never have dined in one of our restaurants,†says Stephanie Davis, director of brand communications for the Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group. “We wanted to speak with them separately, but collectively.”
The goal was to create profiles of the various audiences and target email campaigns to them. Wolfgang Puck did away with direct mail about give years ago, largely because of cost but also because the ability to target and track behavior and measure the ROI wasn’t high enough, notes Davis.
Wolfgang Puck is encouraging email sign-ups on the company’s home page as well as on social media sites. “There is definitely cross-over between the audiences,†says Davis. “We have customers who enjoy all the brands—they go to Spago but also enjoy frozen pizza.â€
At present, the company is publishing only one quarterly email newsletter. The first issue mailed in January, and is incorporating video in an effort to encourage readers to click through for more information.
Individual email campaigns are also being run for specific events, such as a summer wine series featuring different winemakers at the WP24 Ritz Carton Los Angeles. In the fall, an email campaign will roll out to promote a new line of bottled sauces.
One interesting impact of the new email database system, created with Listrak, is the ability to target by users’ travel preferences. “A lot of our frequent diners travel across the country—maybe they live in Los Angeles but go to Atlantic City to gamble,†says Davis. “We want to target he aspects of their life that they care about.â€
When someone opts-in to the database, they receive a four-part email
welcome series introducing the world of Wolfgang Puck. The content isn’t broken down by company name, because that wouldn’t really be meaningful to readers. Rather, it is broken down by how consumers would experience the products, such as in their home or in the restaurants. The welcome series has an average open rate of 15%, and clickthrough rates of 3.5%.
As for the future, Wolfgang Puck will continue to grow its email database with efforts such as a national recipe contest using the company’s line of soup stocks and broths. The contest, which was promoted via social media, grew the file by 15,000 names in just one month. The prize was to be celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck’s sous chef for a day.
3 Direct Mail Rules to use in your multi-channel marketing
Multi-channel marketing, when done right, will still give you the best overall results from both a branding and direct standpoint. It takes strategic knowledge, experience and skill to craft the perfect multi-channel campaign that includes email, social and direct mail. Here are the top 3 suggested rules to direct mail that can be carried out in email as well.
Source: Target Marketing
***3 direct mail rules***
1-”Bill me” offers will improve results by 50% over a “cash
with order” offer.
2-Adding an element (e.g., a lift note, buck slip, or brochure)
to your direct mail package is more likely to pay than cutting
one out.
3-Dollar for dollar, premiums work far better than cash
discounts.
Some other multi-channel suggestions include, timing your direct mail before and after your email drops to increase recognition and lift. Another is the use of personalization in both direct and email creatives. And finally, effective targeting for relevancy is king!
Image credit: renjith krishnan