Subscribers are raising the bar on relevance. They’re tired of being treated the same as everyone else and they’re tuning out “one size fits all” messaging. They want brands to prove they’re paying attention by delivering the right content at the right time. In short, they expect smarter emails. In this presentation, Chad White, Lead Research Analyst at Salesforce Marketing Cloud, presents a framework for gradually turning up the IQ of your emails in several manageable steps by improving the (1) design, (2) personalization, and (3) journeys. Along the way, tactics are illustrated with examples from Salesforce’s award-winning Email Swipe File. Get inspired and take the next step toward building smarter emails.

1. Blueprints for Smarter Emails
Chad White
Lead Research Analyst
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
@chadswhite

2. Subscriber expectations are
rising. People are tired of “one
size fits all” messaging. They
know marketers can do better.
@chadswhite

3. And they’re right.
@chadswhite

4. Marketers have all the
tools necessary to meet
or exceed subscriber
expectations.
@chadswhite

5. The challenge is how to get
from where you are to where
you want to be.
@chadswhite

7. Rather than trying to heroically
leap to the top in a single
bound, implement a series of
incremental improvements.
@chadswhite

8. In other words, take the stairs.
@chadswhite

9. Chad White
• Lead Research Analyst, Salesforce Marketing Cloud
• Author of “Email Marketing Rules” and nearly 3,000
posts and articles about email marketing
• 10+ years covering email marketing and ecommerce
as researcher and journalist

10. 1. Design
2. Personalization
3. Journeys
Over the next 35 minutes, we’ll talk
about how incremental changes to…
…can lead to smarter emails.
@chadswhite

11. Plus, real-world
examples from the
Email Swipe File
pinterest.com/marketingcloud
@chadswhite

12. 1
Design

13. + Defensive Design
+ Mobile-Friendly Email Design
+ Mobile-Friendly Landing Pages
Smarter through Design
@chadswhite

14. 1. HTML text
2. Alt text, including styled alt text
3. Background colors, including mosaics
4. “Bulletproof” buttons
Defensive Design Tactics
@chadswhite

16. View

18. View

20. View

21. + Defensive Design
+ Mobile-Friendly Email Design
+ Mobile-Friendly Landing Pages
Smarter through Design
@chadswhite

22. Percentage of emails read in mobile,
webmail, and desktop environments

23. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Oct. '13 Dec. '13 Feb. '14 Apr. '14 Jun. '14 Aug. '14 Oct. '14 Dec. '14 Feb. '15
Not Mobile-Friendly Mobile-Friendly Responsive Mobile-Aware
Percentage of 140+ Major B2C Brands Using Mobile-Friendly Email Designs
The State of Email Mobile-Friendliness
Source: Salesforce Marketing Cloud

24. Email conversion rates on
smartphones are about half of
what they are on tablets and
desktops. The majority of that
gap is due to poor design rather
than consumer preference.
@chadswhite

25. Responsive: Content adapts to device
Hybrid Responsive-Aware: Some responsive and
some mobile-aware content
Mobile-Aware: Single column, large images & text,
well-spaced links
Quasi–Mobile-Aware: Some mobile-aware content
Desktop-Centric: 2+ columns, small text, close links
The Mobile-Friendly Spectrum
@chadswhite

26. View
@chadswhite

27. View

28. View

29. + Defensive Design
+ Mobile-Friendly Email Design
+ Mobile-Friendly Landing Pages
Smarter through Design
@chadswhite

30. © Copyright Salesforce ExactTarget Marketing Cloud. All Rights Reserved.© Copyright Salesforce ExactTarget Marketing Cloud. All Rights Reserved.
Mobile-Friendly Disconnects
In June 2014, only 30% of major
B2C brands had mobile-friendly
emails and landing pages. And
55% had one or the other.
Disconnect:

31. © Copyright Salesforce ExactTarget Marketing Cloud. All Rights Reserved.
Google will begin ranking mobile-friendly
sites higher starting Apr. 21

32. “With approximately 50% of
searches now conducted on
mobile devices, any sites that
are not optimized for mobile
could see big decreases in
search traffic.” —Return Path
@chadswhite

33. 1. How early in the relationship they are
2. Your subscribers’ email client and
device usage
3. Providing a consistent experience as
they go from email to landing page
Think about Designing based on…
@chadswhite

34. 2
Personalization

35. Marketers recognize the need
for personalization, but other
initiatives have pushed it down
the to-do list.
@chadswhite

36. Personalization Has an Impact on
Metrics Related to Top Marketing
Goals
@chadswhite

37. Personalized Customer Experiences
Still Lag Traditional Marketing Goals
@chadswhite

38. + Personalization & Dynamic Content
+ Segmentation
+ Live Content
+ Predictive Intelligence
Smarter through Personalization
@chadswhite

39. View

40. View

41. + Personalization & Dynamic Content
+ Progressive Profiling & Segmentation
+ Live Content
+ Predictive Intelligence
Smarter through Personalization
@chadswhite

42. View

43. View
@chadswhite

44. + Personalization & Dynamic Content
+ Segmentation
+ Live Content
+ Predictive Intelligence
Smarter through Personalization
@chadswhite

45. View

46. + Personalization & Dynamic Content
+ Segmentation
+ Live Content
+ Predictive Intelligence
Smarter through Personalization
@chadswhite

47. View

48. View

49. 1. Who They Are: demographics, psychographics
2. Who They Care About: their kids, pets, parents,…
3. What They Did: actions, behaviors,…
4. What Others Did in Reaction: community reaction
5. What They Have: purchase history, acct. balance
6. Where They Are: location, residence, fav store
7. How Others Like Them Behave: segments…
Think about Personalizing by…
@chadswhite

50. 3
Journeys

51. + Address Moments that Matter
+ Make It a Series
+ Integrate Journeys across Channels
Smarter through Journeys
@chadswhite

52. “Moments that matter—the
events that have a high impact
on customer satisfaction,
engagement, and purchase
intent.” —Email Marketing Rules
@chadswhite

53. Source: “Email Marketing Rules” (2nd Ed.)
@chadswhite

54. • Subscribes or joins loyalty program
• Makes a purchase
• Registers for an event
• Browses or carts without buying
• Enters a contest
• Provides birth date, anniversary
• Stops engaging
Micro-Journey Triggers
@chadswhite

55. Effectiveness of Triggered Email
Campaigns
@chadswhite

56. Maximize the positive impact of
these moments by driving high
impact behaviors and creating
the strongest brand impression.
@chadswhite

57. View

58. View

59. + Address Moments that Matter
+ Make It a Series
+ Integrate Journeys across Channels
Smarter through Journeys
@chadswhite

60. Welcome Email Series stats
Source: Salesforce Marketing Cloud
@chadswhite

61. View

62. View

63. View

64. View

65. View

66. View

67. View

68. View

69. + Address Moments that Matter
+ Make It a Series
+ Integrate Journeys across Channels
Smarter through Journeys
@chadswhite

70. View

71. View
@chadswhite

72. 1. Content & calls-to-action
2. The number of emails (series)
3. Timing of each email in journey
4. Conditional emails and content
Think about Optimizing…
@chadswhite

73. Now
Take the Next Step

76. 5 Blueprints for Smarter Emails
salesforce.com/5blueprints
Download…
@chadswhite

77. June 16-18 | New York City
salesforce.com/connections2015

78. Thank you