Don't Waste Your Team's Time In Sending Emails That Provide Too Little, Too Late
1. Don't Waste Your Team's Time In
Sending Emails That Provide Too
Little, Too Late!
Rosanna Martinez
Amanda Kuldanek
National Instruments
2. About NI
• Sell engineers and scientists software and hardware
• Target a broad range of industries and applications
• Execute in 60+ countries in 25+ languages
• Corporate develops global direct marketing programs and
local offices manage programs specific to their regions.
National Instruments Confidential 2
3. Agenda
• What has been our traditional approach at NI?
• Which programs have performed best?
• How are we evolving this approach, globally?
• What case studies can you consider?
National Instruments Confidential 3
4. Traditional Approach
• One-off emails were 80% of emails sent
• Corporate and US/Canada lines were blurred
• Branch adoption was very low
• Segmentation criteria was dated
National Instruments Confidential 4
5. What kinds of emails did we send?
National Instruments Confidential 5
6. LabVIEW 2011 Launch
• Largest launch of the year
taking 3 months of work
• 95% of branches sent
launch emails
• 68% adopted full
segmentation strategy
National Instruments Confidential 6
8. Launches can’t replace year-round nurturing
LabVIEW 2011 Launch Email
(Sent within 6 months of interest)
Click %
Open %
LabVIEW Awareness Program Email
(Sent within 1 week of interest)
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
National Instruments Confidential *US/CA data, based on 72-hour reporting
8
9. What have we learned?
• One-off communications have a low global ROI
• Need deliberate programs along buying cycle
• Opens and Clicks are not the end-goal
National Instruments Confidential 9
10. Deliberate Nurturing Stream
InitialCustomer Success
Proficiency/
Awareness Consideration Evaluation
Success Loyalty
Getting-Started Training Promo
SW Evaluation Program
SW Awareness Program Service Contract
Program
Program (in progress)
Goal: drive contacts to consider/ Goal: convert
evaluate SW evaluators to Goal: help
Goal: build
purchase customers
customers’
with initial
proficiency
success;
with SW
explain
services
benefits
NI News e-Newsletter
Goal: drive contacts to consider/ evaluate SW
12. Software Awareness Program
• Who: Contacts who create a SW product interest or visit specific
SW web pages in the last week
• What: 5-touch pipeline communicating core SW benefits
• When: 8 weeks
• Where: US/Canada currently
• Why: To drive prospects to download the SW Eval or purchase
National Instruments Confidential 12
13. 5-touch Consideration Program
Interest Expressed 1 wk later 2 wks later 2 wks later 2 wks later 2 wks later
… …
Created a Lead
Visited key SW pages
• 2-minute video on • White Paper • 5-minute video on • White Paper • LabVIEW
LabVIEW benefits analysis features Evaluation
Program Goal:
Use web browsing behavior to pull into nurturing stream
and drive to Evaluation Download, quote or purchase
Results:
30% sustained open rate, 14% clicked thru 1+emails
13% converted to a evaluation, quote or purchased
National Instruments Confidential 13
15. Next Steps
• Shorten program to 4 touches
• Make goal CTA more prominent
• Roll out to Japan, India, and Mexico
National Instruments Confidential 15
17. Software Evaluation Program
• Who: Contacts who go through a SW evaluation form
• What: 7-touch pipeline of resources for learning the SW
• When: Across 35 days to match evaluation period
• Where: US/Canada (pilot), Global roll-out phase 2
• Why: To help prospects determine if NI SW is right for their application
National Instruments Confidential 17
18. 7-touch Evaluation Program
1 Day later 1 Day Later 1 wk later 1 wk later 1 wk later 1 wk later 1 wk later
SW Eval
• Getting Started • White Paper • Webcast • Tips/Tricks • Tutorial • “Buy” push • Feedback
Resources Survey
Program Goal: Design effective pipeline that is
timed to the 30-day evaluation period.
Results: 25% sustained open rate, 8% avg.
CTR…however, quote conversion is no higher
than the 1-touch program currently in place.
National Instruments Confidential 18
20. Standard Service Program Renewals
• Who: Customers who purchase a 1-yr SW service contract
• What: 7-touch pipeline with custom content about entitlement usage and quoting.
• When: 1 year
• Where: Americas and Europe (2010), Asia (2012)
• Why: To educate customers on their entitlements and remind to renew to maintain
these entitlements.
National Instruments Confidential 20
21. 7-touch Dynamic Program
Purchase 180 days 90 days 60 days 30 days Expiration
… …
Welcome email Usage Soon to expire Soon to expire Expire
Or Renewal email Summary
• Introduce benefits • Service touch point • Summarize value • Email notification • Telesales • Telesales
• Encourage to • Remind about delivered during (with quote) follow up follow up
access service contract • Email reminder • Expiration
(with quote) email (with
quote)
Demonstrate Value with Entitlement Delivery
• Service/SSP key part of launch communications
and general product messaging
• /support messaging
National Instruments Confidential 21
25. Software Awareness Program
• Who: Subscribers to NI News Global who were not showing
interest in newsletter
• What: Clean-Up effort + Re-permissioning effort
• When: 6 months of no activity
• Where: Worldwide
• Why: To make a 1-time clean up + keep subscription list as clean
as possible by asking for re-permission.
National Instruments Confidential 25
26. Steps to Our Solution
• Researched activity patterns over 12 months
• Findings:
Open rates had a very slow decline from first edition to later
editions, lost interest seemed to be a minor factor.
Nearly all contacts who opened at some point were likely to
open again, mostly within 6 months.
A new contact who did not open the first 4 editions had only
a 33% chance of ever opening in the future.
National Instruments Confidential 26
27. Chance of New Contact Ever Opening
After X times Without Opens
60.00%
50.00% 49%
43%
40.00% 38%
34%
31%
29%
30.00%
26%
24%
21%
19%
20.00% 17%
10.00%
0.00%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
National Instruments Confidential 27
28. Key Take-Aways
• Timely and relevant emails perform best
• One-off communications have a low ROI
• Need to manage program along buying cycle –
test, test, test
• Opens and Clicks are not the end-goal
National Instruments Confidential 28
We provide software, hardware and synchronizing platforms to engineers and scientists who work across a broad range of industries and tackle a wide variety of applications in the fields of industrial automation, automated test and embedded design. We are a global company with offices in over 40 countries. Our marketing department has employees managing global and US/Canada specific programs from the corporate office in Austin, as well as employees in the branches managing programs specific to their local region.