Email Subscriber Lifecycle Strategies from the Swipe File

Track: Email Marketing
#CNX14
#CNX14
Email Subscriber Lifecycle Strategies
from the Swipe File
Chad White
Lead Research Analyst, ExactTarget Marketing Cloud
Author of Email Marketing Rules
@chadswhite
@ETswipefile
pinterest.com/ExactTarget

@chadswhite
#CNX14
“Mass marketers develop a product
and try to find customers for that
product. But 1:1 marketers develop
a customer and try to find products
for that customer.”
—Don Peppers and Martha Rogers,
Coauthors of The One to One Future

@chadswhite
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To maximize the value of an
email relationship, you need to
cater to your subscribers’ needs
and wants throughout their
entire subscriber lifecycle.

@chadswhite
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The subscriber lifecycle has 6 stages:
• Acquisition — signup processes through acquisition sources
• Onboarding — signup confirmation page and welcome email(s)
• Engagement — broadcast and seasonal emails
• Reengagement — win-back and other reengagement tactics
• Super-engagement — segmented, browse & cart
abandonment, post-purchase, and other emails
• Transition — opt-out page, opt-out confirmation page,
preference center, re-permission emails

@chadswhite
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@chadswhite
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What we’ll cover during the next 40 minutes…
1 2 3
Acquisition
+
Onboarding
Engagement
+
Reengagement
+
Super-
Engagement
Transition

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Chad White
• Lead Research Analyst at the
ExactTarget Marketing Cloud
• Author of Email Marketing Rules
(2nd Edition released 9/2/14)
• 10+ years covering email marketing and
ecommerce as researcher and journalist
@chadswhite

#CNX14
The Swipe File
• New examples of great digital
marketing every week
Email Swipe File
Audience Growth Swipe File
Social Swipe File
Mobile Swipe File
• Dozens of ExactTarget Marketing
Cloud contributors from around
the world
@chadswhite

@chadswhite
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The Acquisition Stage consists of
the methods you use to get
consumers to opt in to your email
program, as well as the entirety
of a confirmed opt-in process.

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A few Email Marketing Rules for Acquisition:
• Keep the signup process short
• Target acquisition sources close to your shopping and customer
service operations
• Make your signup calls-to-actions prominent
• Make it clear that people are opting in
• Make calls-to-actions clear
@chadswhite

@chadswhite
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ExactTarget’s Retail Touchpoints Optimized report found…

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Zillow
• Signup call-to-action reaches
mobile app users when they
are engaged
• A value-add to Favorites List
• Simple Yes/No opt-in since
they already have the user’s
email address

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E-receipt
Krispy
Kreme
• Prominent on box
• Exposed to signup
CTA during and
after consumption
• Easy-to-remember
URL goes directly
to email signup
form

@chadswhite
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E-receipt
Krispy
Kreme
• Prominent on box
• Exposed to signup
CTA during and
after consumption
• Easy-to-remember
URL goes directly
to email signup
form
• But long opt-in form

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Olive Garden
• Takes advantage
of idle time in the
restaurant
• 2 ways to expose
guests to signup
call-to-action
• 3 ways to sign up:
• Via URL
• Via text
• Via QR code

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Olive Garden
• Another
exposure
post-meal
• Highlights
signup
incentive
• Provides a 4th
way to
subscribe: via
paper form

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Home
Depot
• Opt-in
request
piggybacks
on e-receipt
• Above-the-fold
placement
of signup
banner
@chadswhite

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Noun Project
• Subscription
activation
email as part
of a confirmed
opt-in (COI)
process
• Simple, direct
message
@chadswhite

@chadswhite
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The Onboarding Stage
consists of your opt-in
confirmation page and your
welcome email or welcome
email series.

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A few Email Marketing Rules for Onboarding:
• Use opt-in confirmation page as a “pre-welcome”
• Send welcome emails immediately to maximize “signup
honeymoon” effect
• Send a series of welcome emails
• Make your welcome emails seasonally relevant
@chadswhite

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Brooks Brothers
• After collecting just an
email address, the
signup confirmation
page asks for more info
• Includes “opt up”
opportunity to receive
emails from factory
stores and blog

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ExactTarget’s State of Marketing report found…
@chadswhite

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Pinterest
• Qualifying
email is
followed
by…
@chadswhite

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Pinterest
• Qualifying
email is
followed
by…

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Pinterest
• A 6-email
welcome
series over 6
days
• Each email is
focused on
one aspect of
Pinterest for
Business
program

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Walmart
• Engages with
seasonally relevant
imagery and
messaging
• Makes the most
of seasonal
subscribers

@chadswhite
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The Engagement Stage consists
of your baseline promotional
mailstream—that is, your regularly
scheduled broadcast emails
plus seasonal fluctuations in
frequency.

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A few Email Marketing Rules for Engagement:
• Design emails that render well across all platforms
• Use dynamic content and personalization to add targeted content
to emails
• Offer subscribers non-promotional content and
calls-to-action
• Send more emails when your customers are in market
@chadswhite

@chadswhite
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Percentage of B2C brands using mobile-friendly email designs
Oct. ’13 Dec. ’13. Feb. ’14. Apr. ’14 Jun. ’14 Aug. ’14 *Dec. ’14
22% 30% 30% 33% 41% 48% 70%
*prediction

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Reliant
• “Weekly Summary”
emails about the
homeowner’s
energy usage
• Deeply personalized

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Hipmunk
• Uses B2B infographic
tactic
• Educational rather than
promotional
• Drives engagement
with blog
• Shareworthy content

@chadswhite
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Predicted number of promotional emails retailers will send each of their subscribers
July Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.
18 18 18 19 22 28 19

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The Reengagement Stage
consists of messaging tactics
designed to address subscribers
who are inactive or are in
danger of soon becoming
inactive.

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A few Email Marketing Rules for Reengagement:
• Be thoughtful about defining inactivity
• Reengage with rich discounts and progressive profiling
• Send inactive subscribers emails less frequently
• Target inactives in other channels with win-back emails
@chadswhite

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American Apparel
• Discount coupled
with progressive
profiling
• Simple, direct
messaging

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American Apparel
• Requests info to
power triggered
messaging,
segmentation, and
personalization,
Birthday
Zip code
Interests

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Pinkberry
• Reengagement email
• In response to 3
months of mobile app
inactivity

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While reengagement reduces
the risks posed by inactives,
Super-Engagement fosters
more opportunities with
active subscribers.

@chadswhite
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A few Email Marketing Rules for Super-Engagement:
• Send more segmented messages
• Set up more triggered emails including browse and cart
abandonment emails, birthday emails, post-purchase emails
• Give subscribers opportunities to “opt up” to receive emails
on additional topics, as part of a loyalty program, or from
sister brands
• Optimize transactional emails for upsells and cross-sells

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Lowe’s
• Progressive profiling
• Gauging seasonal
interests
• Powers segmented
messages

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ModCloth
• Signup anniversary
email
• Sharable coupon
• Social sign-in call-to-action
with promise of
birthday email

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Crate & Barrel
• Post-purchase email
• Care instructions
• Cross-sells bar
equipment and wine
and cheese accessories

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Starbucks
• Loyalty program
emails
• Milestone notification
email
• Progressive profiling
survey

@chadswhite
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The purpose of the Transition
Stage is to avoid unnecessary
damage to your sender
reputation and to attempt to
retain the subscriber.

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A few Email Marketing Rules for Transition:
• Make it easy to opt out by following the “2-click unsubscribe rule”
• Try to address the reasons that people unsubscribe
Too many emails
Irrelevant emails
Want to change email address
• Be gracious as people opt out
@chadswhite

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Staples
• Follows 2-
click
unsubscribe
rule
• Option to
change
address
• Option to opt
down

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Democratic
Congressional
Campaign
Committee
• Uses
confirmation
page to drive
opt-overs to
social media
@chadswhite

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Mini USA
• Re-permission email
• On brand messaging
• Gives subscribers
many options to click

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Mini
• Re-permission email
• On brand messaging
• Gives subscribers
many options to click

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Before I leave you with some
final thoughts...
Questions?
@chadswhite

@chadswhite
#CNX14
I’m fascinated by email
marketing metaphors.
I’ve heard people say email
marketing is like…

@chadswhite
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…theatre… dating… building a
house… the Olympics… golf…
baseball… fitness… marriage…
raising a kid… a fire hose…
craft beer branding… sex

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But my personal favorite is:
Email marketing is like a
couples dance.
@chadswhite

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In fact, the first mock
cover for the 1st
Edition of my book
included cryptic,
centuries-old dance
instructions.
@chadswhite

@chadswhite
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The metaphor is apt because it has…
• A beginning-middle-end
• Norms built around styles
• Social expectations
• Practice leads to skill
• Non-verbal communications

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I suck at dancing.
@chadswhite

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I practiced a lot
for the first
dance with my
wife at our
wedding.
@chadswhite

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And I wasn’t
horrible.
My point is try
to be a good
partner so…
@chadswhite

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…when you
mess up and
drop that first
bite of cake
down your
partner’s dress
@chadswhite

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…she’ll give
you another
chance.
@chadswhite

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from the Swipe File”
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