Essential Guide to E-mail Marketing - Haymarket

E-MAIL CAMPAIGNS
Page 39
The elements of relevance,
by John Rizzi, e-Dialog.
Page 40
When e-mail design goes bad,
by Julian Scott, Responsys.
Keys to trigger-based e-mail
marketing, by Michael Thompson,
eServices at Click Tactics
Page 41
The how and why of integrating
e-mail across channels, by
Michael Gorman, Acxiom Digital
Page 42
Mona Lisa’s eyes, by Anne Alden,
Merkle, Inc.
Earn higher conversions using an
A/B split, by Michael Stebbin,
MarketMotive
Page 43
Viral marketing – optimize your
marketing mix, by Josh Perlstein,
Response Media
Page 44
Design for your eight e-mail
audiences, by Stefan Pollard,
EmailLabs
Page 45
E-mail marketing fuels social
media, by Janine Popick, Vertical
Response
Beat outbound telemarketers to
the punch, by Tim Daly and Clay
Gillespie, UnReal Marketing
Page 46
Integrating e-mail with traditional
marketing methods, by Doug
Marshall, Responsys
DM News • E-Mail Marketing Guide 2007 E-MAIL CAMPAIGNS 39
E-Mail Fundamentals
Campaigns
E-mail campaigns are a foundation to an online marketing
program. Included in this section are articles by industry
thought leaders about relevance, design, timing and triggered
e-mail, cross channel integration, optimizing viral marketing
and e-mail and social media.
The elements of
relevance
BY JOHN RIZZI
Could you have imagined this 10 years ago?
Today 97 percent of all marketers use e-mail
to communicate with customers. The reasons are
clear: E-mail offers ease of entry and the lowest
cost-per-contact of any marketing tool. But the
ubiquitous nature of e-mail is also the source of
its challenges.
It has never been more difficult to get messages
noticed in a customer’s inbox, let alone to get
customers to respond positively or take action.
E-mail does offer some rather dramatic technical
advantages that, when used wisely, can increase
its visibility and effectiveness. Yet few marketers
today know what those advantages are, let alone
how to use them. Instead, many are broadcasting
e-mails like needles in a haystack and hoping that
their customers will somehow find them.
What makes a relevant e-mail? Imagine your email
“needle” is the size of a basketball, tricycle
or subcompact car. Would that increase the likelihood
that customers will notice it? That’s the
idea behind e-mail relevance — applying enough
individual significance to your message that it
becomes difficult for customers to overlook.
There are several tactics you can take to
increasing e-mail relevance, all relying on marketing
ingenuity and information contained in your
customer database. These tactics can be broken
down into six key elements that characterize relevant
e-mail, and are guaranteed to increase customer
engagement and e-mail productivity.
■ Segmentation Why broadcast an e-mail campaign
if you have the ability to target specific
audiences? Use the data you have on customer
demographics, preferences, location and behavior
to segment individual groups who share the
same attributes. Your audiences will be smaller
but far more qualified and responsive.
■ Personalization You would be surprised how
many companies are not even marketing to customers
on a first-name basis. Use the customer
data you have to personalize the content based
on profile, attributes, location, status, preferences
and behavior.
■ Lifecycle management Is the customer new to
your business, a loyal shopper or no longer active?
Being able to key your messages to a person’s
place in the customer lifecycle will help you refine
your programs and optimize retention efforts.
■ Triggers Whenever possible, your e-mail marketing
should include programs that are driven
by customer status and behavior. There are
applications that enable you to automate these
programs, ensuring
consistency in the way
you handle welcoming
new customers, up-selling
certain products or
following up with those
who abandon their
shopping cart.
■ Interactivity Indulge
your customer’s curiosi-
John Rizzi
e-Dialog
ty and feed her need to
be entertained. Include
a clear call to action as
well as interactive elements that engage customers,
such as a preference center, survey or
information links. Always leave the customer
wanting more.
■ Testing and measurement Understand the
impact your e-mail program has and how to
improve it by employing valid control groups,
A/B testing and any available metrics.
Relevance isn’t easy. It requires a confluence of
customer data, targeting tactics, marketing
expertise, process, and technology. But as an email
marketing strategy, the impact relevance can
have on both customer engagement and profitability
makes it worth the effort.
John Rizzi is the president and CEO of e-Dialog in
Lexington, MA. You can reach him at jrizzi@e-dialog.com.