4. Email is the dominant digital channel in Australia
• Proportion of companies ranking as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’
• Email consistently top/second top channel for ROI since 2008
SEO 79%
Email marketing 70%
PPC 58%
Social media 44%
Display advertising 8%
Mobile marketing 41%
Affiliate marketing 44%
Offline direct marketing 36%
Online display advertising 28%
Display advertising
Econsultancy
5. Email is the dominant digital channel in Australia
• Where budget is being spent…
6. • 71% of Australian
consumers check their
emails first in the
morning
• Email is an active
channel and is about
getting things done
(morning focus),
compared to other
channels such as
social media, which is
more about activities
and leisure (evening
focus).
6
Developing an email strategy
Source: ExactTarget, 2013
7. Developing an email strategy
• But email is also
the most popular
channel used in
evening too…
• 47% of Australian
consumers check
email as their last
digital touchpoint
during a typical
day.
Source: ExactTarget, 2013
9. Developing an email strategy
Think about mobile - usage is exploding
Returnpath
10. Email for mobile
• Half of companies don’t know how much email sent is read on mobile
20%
15%
8%
5% 4%
48%
0%
13%
25%
38%
50%
63%
0-10% 11-20% 21-30% 31-40% 41-100% Don't know
Econsultancy
11. Developing an email strategy
Nursery
programme
Activation
programme
Retention
programme
Multi-phase “welcome”
programme for new (opt-in)
customers
Phase 1. Email to confirm
registration / collect additional data
Phase 2. Email within first week to
highlight key products / offer
incentives for engagement or
purchase
Phase 3. Email within first fortnight
with stronger call to action /
incentive (e.g. free delivery)
Once customer has bought /
engaged they move into the
“Retention programme.
If not active, they move into the
“Activation programme.
Targets non-buying /
engagement customer to
encourage activation.
• Not opening emails
- test subject line
• Opened but not clicking
- Offer incentives / change content
to test stronger calls to action
• Opened and clicked, but no
action
- test remailing impact on
conversion
Once a customer has bought /
engaged, they move into the
“Retention programme”
Cycle threshold will be
determined, after which, if the
customer is still inactive, they
will be removed.
Two-tier approach to increasing
lifetime value and loyalty
• Monthly newsletter
• Content-drive, to include:
• New products
• Company news
• Links to social media
• Blog
• Data capture
• Competitions
Bi-weekly sales cycle
Dynamic content via ESP will
deliver targeted offers and products
based on segmentation criteria.
Objective is to drive repeated sales
and increase average transaction
value.
12. Developing an email strategy
Nursery
programme
Activation
programme
Retention
programme
Multi-phase “welcome”
programme for new (opt-in)
customers
Phase 1. Email to confirm
registration / collect additional data
Phase 2. Email within first week to
highlight key products / offer
incentives for engagement or
purchase
Phase 3. Email within first fortnight
with stronger call to action /
incentive (e.g. free delivery)
Once customer has bought /
engaged they move into the
“Retention programme.
If not active, they move into the
“Activation programme.
Targets non-buying /
engagement customer to
encourage activation.
• Not opening emails
- test subject line
• Opened but not clicking
- Offer incentives / change content
to test stronger calls to action
• Opened and clicked, but no
action
- test remailing impact on
conversion
Once a customer has bought /
engaged, they move into the
“Retention programme”
Cycle threshold will be
determined, after which, if the
customer is still inactive, they
will be removed.
Two-tier approach to increasing
lifetime value and loyalty
• Monthly newsletter
• Content-drive, to include:
• New products
• Company news
• Links to social media
• Blog
• Data capture
• Competitions
Bi-weekly sales cycle
Dynamic content via ESP will
deliver targeted offers and products
based on segmentation criteria.
Objective is to drive repeated sales
and increase average transaction
value.
13. Developing an email strategy
Nursery
programme
Activation
programme
Retention
programme
Multi-phase “welcome”
programme for new (opt-in)
customers
Phase 1. Email to confirm
registration / collect additional data
Phase 2. Email within first week to
highlight key products / offer
incentives for engagement or
purchase
Phase 3. Email within first fortnight
with stronger call to action /
incentive (e.g. free delivery)
Once customer has bought /
engaged they move into the
“Retention programme.
If not active, they move into the
“Activation programme.
Targets non-buying /
engagement customer to
encourage activation.
• Not opening emails
- test subject line
• Opened but not clicking
- Offer incentives / change content
to test stronger calls to action
• Opened and clicked, but no
action
- test remailing impact on
conversion
Once a customer has bought /
engaged, they move into the
“Retention programme”
Cycle threshold will be
determined, after which, if the
customer is still inactive, they
will be removed.
Two-tier approach to increasing
lifetime value and loyalty
• Monthly newsletter
• Content-drive, to include:
• New products
• Company news
• Links to social media
• Blog
• Data capture
• Competitions
Bi-weekly sales cycle
Dynamic content via ESP will
deliver targeted offers and products
based on segmentation criteria.
Objective is to drive repeated sales
and increase average transaction
value.
14. Developing an email strategy
Nursery
programme
Activation
programme
Retention
programme
Multi-phase “welcome”
programme for new (opt-in)
customers
Phase 1. Email to confirm
registration / collect additional data
Phase 2. Email within first week to
highlight key products / offer
incentives for engagement or
purchase
Phase 3. Email within first fortnight
with stronger call to action /
incentive (e.g. free delivery)
Once customer has bought /
engaged they move into the
“Retention programme.
If not active, they move into the
“Activation programme.
Targets non-buying /
engagement customer to
encourage activation.
• Not opening emails
- test subject line
• Opened but not clicking
- Offer incentives / change content
to test stronger calls to action
• Opened and clicked, but no
action
- test remailing impact on
conversion
Once a customer has bought /
engaged, they move into the
“Retention programme”
Cycle threshold will be
determined, after which, if the
customer is still inactive, they
will be removed.
Two-tier approach to increasing
lifetime value and loyalty
• Monthly newsletter
• Content-drive, to include:
• New products
• Company news
• Links to social media
• Blog
• Data capture
• Competitions
Bi-weekly sales cycle
Dynamic content via ESP will
deliver targeted offers and products
based on segmentation criteria.
Objective is to drive repeated sales
and increase average transaction
value.
15. Developing an email strategy
Nursery
programme
Activation
programme
Retention
programme
Multi-phase “welcome”
programme for new (opt-in)
customers
Phase 1. Email to confirm
registration / collect additional data
Phase 2. Email within first week to
highlight key products / offer
incentives for engagement or
purchase
Phase 3. Email within first fortnight
with stronger call to action /
incentive (e.g. free delivery)
Once customer has bought /
engaged they move into the
“Retention programme.
If not active, they move into the
“Activation programme.
Targets non-buying /
engagement customer to
encourage activation.
• Not opening emails
- test subject line
• Opened but not clicking
- Offer incentives / change content
to test stronger calls to action
• Opened and clicked, but no
action
- test remailing impact on
conversion
Once a customer has bought /
engaged, they move into the
“Retention programme”
Cycle threshold will be
determined, after which, if the
customer is still inactive, they
will be removed.
Two-tier approach to increasing
lifetime value and loyalty
• Monthly newsletter
• Content-drive, to include:
• New products
• Company news
• Links to social media
• Blog
• Data capture
• Competitions
Bi-weekly sales cycle
Dynamic content via ESP will
deliver targeted offers and products
based on segmentation criteria.
Objective is to drive repeated sales
and increase average transaction
value.
Landing pages and microsites: Can be used as part of a test-target model to improve click-through and
conversion rates (Especially for major product/service categories or seasonal camapigns)
17. Single view of the customer
• Connect all customer data
Create relevancy for customer
• Prospect & customer get content they need at that time based on their data &
profile
Manage Frequency
• Manage the amount of communication customers receive
Ratio commercial & non-commercial content
• Don’t only take, but help & give back to customer
Email planning (ECRM fallback)
18. Welcome Development Retention
Customer Value Enhancement
KPI
Register for portal
and manage
expectation
KPI
Develop customer: Inform, interact and
cross-sell
KPI
Retain
Create
relevancy
for customer
Manage
Frequency
Ratio
commercial and
non-commercial
content
Email planning (ECRM fallback)
23. 5 Steps to achieving successful strategy
1. Communicate with existing customers differently to potential
customers
2. Go beyond broadcast emails by considering campaign
objectives, setting suitable metrics and segmenting your list
3. Build customer lifecycle campaigns with alerts and event based
emails
4. Assess campaigns to lower churn and keep down costs
5. Make sure your ESP and data will allow you to achieve your
strategic objectives – think long term
24. Measuring objectives
Objective Engagement Direct Response Brand Building
Measurement • Opens
• CTR
• Page
Impressions
• Sign ups
• Downloads
• Video Play
• Engagement
Ratios
• Opens
• CTR
• Purchase
• Registration
• Opens
• CTR
• Page
Impressions
• Length of Stay
• Video Play
28. Segmentation based on open rates
Av.CTR
Av. Open%
CTR (=click through rate)
Open%
These recipients
open more then
average but click
less
Email champions
This group
opens less than
average but they
are more likely
to click
Opens and
clicks of this
group are
below average
Possible action:
stimulate CTR
Possible action:
Reactivation or
Switch
channels
Possible action:
stimulate open
rate
Possible action:
Raise frequency
(controlled)
1.
2.
3.
4.
31. Disney : Digital Accelerator 2013
31
It can be as
simple
as Male vs
Female…
Using data: Personalisation
32. Sourcing data: Email lists
• Use your existing list data
• (Or part of your list)
– Segmentation coming up
• Gain permission if unsure
– Opt-in Rules
• Rent or Buy a list
33. Sourcing data: List providers
• Opt-in process
• Rent or purchase
• Freshness of data
• Cost models
34. Data issues
CRM ESP
Potential ISP Blocking
Issues
Whitelisted Sending
Synching to
Prevent
Data
Duplication
Opportunity to
offload all data
management
Bouncebacks
Unsubscribes
Segmentation
data
Targeting will
require data
synching
35. 35
1. Look at touch points to assess where data can be
collected
2. Improve data collection at appropriate touch points both
online and offline
3. Put process in place to check penetration against
benchmark
4. Allow users to register preference through your site
5. Collect data based on behaviour
List growth and subscription management
37. Email context
We don’t read emails… We only scan them.
Triangle of
attention
E-L-F are
general
patterns
www.useit.com/alertbox/ reading_pattern.html
38. Creating an email campaign
We don’t read emails… We only scan them.
• Use headlines
• Images
• Calls to action
• Contextual links
39. “From” name
• Use person name or company name or both
• Maximum of 20 characters
• For B2B email, a known contact often works best
‘From’ Clickthrough rate
PriceMinister Advice Baseline
Sophie at PriceMinister + 56%
PriceMinister Info + 21%
40. “Subject” field
• Grab attention
• Inspire customer to
open
• Be compelling
• Promote benefits
• Highlight content
• Use keywords
• Maximum of 45
characters
• Test alternatives
• (A/B testing or
multivariate testing)
‘Subject’ Entries
Get a pampering treat of a lifetime worth $10,000 Baseline
Spa break worth $10,000 + 36%
A trip to Lilianfels Retreat worth $10,000 + 64%
A pampered new you worth $10,000 + 59%
41. Creating an email campaign: Format
• Be concise
• Break content up
• Short sentences, short paragraphs
• Provide summaries with links to ‘read
more’
• Use headlines
• Use captions
• Include navigation links
42. Creating an email campaign: Content
Make content valuable
– Offers
– Advice
– Information
• State benefits early
• Explain why your content, products or services are
worth attention
• Make it clear what problems you are solving
• Make it clear what wants or needs you are meeting
• Make it obvious what action is required
43. Creating an email campaign: Content
What you need to say:
– Provide supporting information:
– Social proof
– Contact information
– Web links
– Incentives
– Images
44. Creating an email campaign: Content
Calls to action:
• Use ‘action’ words:
– Buy
– Order
– Call
– Visit
– Download
– Read
– Print
• Add subject, place and time for stronger calls to action:
– Download this item online before the end of the month
45. Creating an email campaign: Content
Calls to action:
• Make call to actions as clear as possible
• Ensure your primary CTA is at top of email, so it can be seen
without scrolling
• Ensure it is in HTML rather than an image, so it can be seen even
if images aren’t downloaded
46. Creating an email campaign: Design
• Keep it simple and to the point
• Make it immediately recognisable who it has come
from – logo and branding
• Hyperlink the logo – users are familiar with this from
web browsing
• Main message and majority of text should sit on solid
background colours – so you can read them without
downloading images
• Targeting mobile clients? – email no more than 600px
wide to hit majority
47. Creating an email campaign: Design
• Select ESP that allows easy sending of HTML emails
• Put ALT tags and snippets in place for when images
switched off
• Test deliverability of HTML template in inbox inspector
and include mobile devices
• Create different email templates for different forms of
communication
• Monitor effectiveness of design by setting benchmarks
and build review into process
• Use ESP to create dynamic content
49. Version testing
• Try different subject lines, “from” address,
content, etc.
• Identify best response
– Open Rate
– Click Through Rate
• Send to rest of list
50. Things to test
1. Subject Lines
2. From Address
3. Headings
4. Image/Placement
5. Copy Length
6. Call to Action
7. Links
8. Time of Day
9. Day of Week
52. Testing: 5-step process
1. Test all links and functionality in multiple email clients
using an internal/external test list
2. Test visibility of images and layout using inbox
inspector
3. Test deliverability using automated spam testing
– A/B test subject lines
– A/B test content
4. Multivariate testing of content variations
5. Landing page multivariate and A/B testing
54. Deliverability
• Send emails from separate IP using ESP
• Send text/html multipart messages
• Make sure ESP has whitelist protocols in place and
that you are adhering to terms
• Clarify ESP relationship roles and responsibilities
• Use ESP to handle automatic bounce management
• Use star rating / past behavior to cleanse list on
regular basis
56. Timing of an e-mailout
• After 10am
• Late morning ideal
• Tuesday to Thursday recommended
• Friday afternoon effect
• Consider activity spikes immediately following
delivery
• International considerations
• What have you done?
57. Analytics and email
• If you don’t add tracking code, email traffic
looks like direct traffic
• Email System has reporting but no end to end
58. Email performance: KPIs
• Agree campaign objectives and metrics with internal stakeholders
• Use ESP to have access to CTR, Open rate, Bounce and
Unsubscribe
• Set up ESP to allow reporting of these metrics by segment
• Add campaign tracking code to emails to allow tracking through
analytics
• Look at heat maps to assess popular content
• Set up conversion tracking on your site and look at path analysis
• Set up ESP to integrate data from analysis back into data
59. Key measurements
• Source of traffic
– Search engine, email campaign, direct?
• Volume of traffic
– Visitors, unique visitors, page views
• Quality of traffic
– Returning visitors, length of stay, bounce rate
• Goal conversion of traffic
– Sales, enquiries, advert clicks, sign-ups
60. Bounce = visitors who enter and exit site on same page
Example….
Visitor
clicks
on an
email
link
Visitor
enters
on
landing
page
Visitor
leaves
site
without
visiting
another
Email performance: Bounce rate
61. Process and organisation
• Set up internal responsibility for email
• Document current process and identify current steps
and responsibilities
• Attempt to remove issues in process that slow down the
ability to launch a campaign
• Improve processes to include spam and inbox inspector
checking
• Improve process to include data cleansing on an
ongoing basis
• Build A/B testing into the process
• Include analytics analysis as part of process
Editor's Notes
Cart abandoner emails work very well to increase CTR
Targeted campaigns vs. automated emails
5 Key steps to achieving an effective strategy, based on requirements to move up capability framework.
Quality of traffic – length of stay, number of pages, engagement, activity
Conversions not CTR
We need to consider what our objectives are from the outset of a campaign and set relevant metrics. However we shouldn’t get obsessed with Click Through Rate as brand engagement or a “conversion” are more important. We also need to remember that a conversions doesn’t need to be a sale, it can be a sign up, down load,etc as well.
Subscribers want to know exactly what they will get in exchange for providing their email address. By clearly stating this value up-front, you’ll set expectations with subscribers for a mutually beneficial relationship.
What is the level of personalisation in your email program?
Segmentation doesn’t need to be as complicated as– we can just separate on Open and Click Through Rates.
We can see four potential outcomes from segmenting content:
Re-Activation emails to “wake up” engagment
Send more frequent messages in a controlled way
Try different content to stimulate CTR
Try different subject lines/form addresses to stimulate open rates
Moving from broadcast to be more and more like a one to one email – the kind of thing we send to each other every day
Moving from broadcast to be more and more like a one to one email – the kind of thing we send to each other every day
List brokers and providers – just some key questions to ask.
Think about age of data and where/how data was collected.
Can work well for B2B but sometimes questionable for B2C.
You can send directly from your CRM (customer relationship management) but you risk being blacklisted if you are consider a spammer and your whole company being blocked from sending emails unless you have setup separate IP addresses – IT issue.
You can use an ESP (Email Service Provider) to send – they should have whitelisting agreements with the major ISPs to make it clear they follow best practice and don’t send spam. When you sign up with them you are agreeing to this.
When you send from an ESP you need them to have your email data. This can mean your data is duplicated in two places, your CRM and your ESP. You must synch the two to avoid any data problems in terms of data protection and unsubscribes. Not always easy to do.
Version testing should be done on a section of your list and then the best performing test sent to the rest of the list.
See next side for visual representation of this.
20-30% is a good amount for testing to give you a significant enough result to draw conclusions if your list is over 1000 email addresses.
Below this you may need to use more.
Again this shows MailChimp and its testing interface.
You set an amount to do your test on, select open or clickthrough and then how long you want to wait before sending the winning test to the rest of the list.
When you sign up with an ESP you are agreeing to their best practice on spamming terms and conditions
Check that they have white listing agreements in place with the major ISP’s
You need to keep testing your emails for deliverability in regard to spam.
Even if you use a ESP, spam is still your responsibility so don’t assume the ESP is dealing with it and you can do what you want.
This is the MailChimp version – it actually sends the email and looks at the results so is much more effective. Look for an ESP that has similar functionality or use this system.
Mailchimp is great but it is an automated system with no account managers so you wont be completely supported (only online support).
We can see that the rules based systems would have missed the fact that Outlook 2007 would have filtered this email completely based on a comination of words that we would never have guessed would have been seen as spam.
Explaining that tracking code is needed in email inks otherwise the traffic from email will show as “Direct” traffic and you can’t differentiate it from any other traffic of this type.