|
CHANCES ARE THAT YOU'RE NOT NEW TO E-MAIL MARKETING. With more than 550 million active e-mail
accounts out there, the inbox rivals only the mailbox
as a direct line to customers. In fact, according to the
Direct Marketing Association, e-mail has the second highest
ROI of any direct marketing channel.
Yet, while you may be a player, you're also likely in the
company of 90 percent of marketers
who do not use e-mail as a relevant
direct marketing tool. This 2005
JupiterResearch survey reveals an
alarming fact: Relevancy is largely
missing in the one medium that
needs it most.
Break on through
The saturation of the e-mail market
now means that those who connect with
their customers through relevant, timely
messages will come out on top. Averaging
an hour a day, consumers have an
addiction to their e-mail with an intensity
only matched by their abhorrence of spam.
So the good news is the e-mail channel
is ripe with opportunity; the bad news is
opportunity exists only if your message
gets through.
| Some delivery challenges to consider: |
|
|
|
Eight out of 10 broadband users delete most commercial e-mail without reading it, and six out of 10 say most e-mail doesn't offer them anything interesting. (Forrester Research) |
|
|
About 67 percent of e-mail is now being flagged as spam. (Symantec BrightMail) |
|
|
49 percent of consumers define spam as “e-mail from a company that I have done business with that comes too often.” (DoubleClick) |
This last statistic may seem surprising, as
spam is largely associated with dubious
products, get-rich-quick schemes or quasi legal
services. Spam is generally defined
to be “unsolicited bulk e-mail (UBE),”
which means the recipient has not granted
permission and the same e-mail is sent to a
large list of people. As you may guess, this
opens the door to interpretation and mixed
perceptions from consumers.
In the end, individual consumers define
spam by what is inappropriate or irrelevant
to them. The only way to avoid getting
lumped in with the spammers is relevant
content and appropriate frequency of that
content. Relevancy is what differentiates
your messages as valuable and worthy of
your customers’ attention.
Build a profile
Considering the importance of relevancy,
and knowledge of your recipients, the
most effective use of e-mail is customer
communication. In fact, a study by
research firm eMarketer showed that 63 percent of marketers plan to use e-mail
to "retain customers and increase loyalty."
Permission-based e-mail marketing can
really enhance your relationships, but it
first requires a little customer discovery:
| What do you know about your customers from their interactions with you — product usage, region, special offers used, demographics? |
|
| What can you find out to meet their expectation of relevancy? |
Marrying your own customer data
with their preferences creates more
opportunities for relevance. To aid in that
discovery, consider a preference center
or preference page. When customers opt
in to an e-mail program, you have an
opportunity to gather information that can shape your content and frequency
of communication. Let customers decide
what they receive and how often. Top line
categories for e-mails may include updates
on new products and services, special
offers, surveys and timely reminders.
The specifics will vary by industry but the
intent is the same. Amazon.com, a pioneer
in relevant content, sums up the attitude at
the top of their preference page: "We want
to stay in touch, but only in ways that you
find helpful."
The idea is to create e-mail that your
customers will actually look forward
to receiving because it's focused on their needs, not yours. According to MarketingSherpa’s Email Marketing Benchmark Guide 2006, marketers who give consumers more control over content actually end up e-mailing them more often. |
Home
