Email Marketing

 

I moved all of my marketing emails to junk.  Well,  this was my opportunity to cleanse my inbox and start again. 

 

This was partly my fault for signing up to everything, 

 

 But  it was also the senders fault.

 

At some point the relationship broke down and they forgot why and how it started. 

 

They stopped listening, took me for granted and that's when I fell into the dreaded weekly 'content email'  bucket.  

 

The few emails I enjoy receiving seem to know me, are timely, relevant and as a result are engaging.

 

I'm a big fan of email marketing which typically accounts for between 7 and 15% of web sales in my experience.   

 

Unlike the other digital channels, it's a true direct communication with customers and therefore is a huge opportunity often taken for granted.

 

I have alot of experience with various email marketing systems and using them to build well crafted, automated and targeted comms always with data at the centre. 

 

"We would like to start emailing our customers and leads, but don't know where to start"...

 

You may have a few hundred customers or leads in your database, or it could be thousands.   

It really doesn't matter.   

 

The key is to start now and evolve the strategy as you move forward.   

 

Just by saying 'hello' in a welcome email or having a triggered email managing expectations from a brochure request or signup to an event is infinitely better than saying nothing.

 

It's all about initiating that direct relationship with the customer.

 

In my experience, the best response rates are those initial emails which are also the best time to get to know your customers  through surveys or  "select what describes you so we can send you tailored emails'.

 

I have hands on experience working with lower cost systems such as mailchimp through to more enterprise solutions such as Responsys, Silverpop, Cheetah Digital, Redeye, salesforce, dynamics and more.

 

I know which systems align best with business needs and have managed implementations  ensuring data flows, GDPR and segmentation are always considered.

 

I also have a good appreciation of how email should sit within the wider marketing mix from my experience of creating CRM and digital strategies.

 

An email isn't always about sales.  It could be an automated product lifecycle linked to purchase,  a trigger based on signals or even just brand building and customer service.

 

There's alot to email marketing and I'm here to help steer you in the right direction.

 

"We send out emails, but feel we could do more"...

 

I've come across this many times with email marketing.

 

You may have weekly emails  sent by an agency and they achieve decent open and click rates, so why review?.  "They have just always been like that".

 

You may feel your emails need a creative refresh, but your designer may be busy with the website or they need some direction based on insight.

 

Or you could have recurring data issues leading to angry customers not being able to subscribe or they are receiving the wrong emails.

 

Email soon becomes de-prioritised with the focus and resource allocated elsewhere to more 'sexy' channels.

 

The good news is this is usually a great opportunity because the foundations should be to some extent in place and there will be insight to be gained from previous sends.

 

I have experience of revitalising strategies, re-working data flows, tweaking data selections that ultimately lead to improved engagement past open and click.

 

"We don't know if the emails are working past open and click"

 

I once worked for a company where a product owner insisted their emails were working because they achieved higher than average open rates.

 

However, once we had a dig into the data , it became apparent the results were overinflated by newer customers being enticed by tricksy subject lines enticing the open.

 

On top of this the bounce rate when they reached the site was very high.  Unsubscribe rates were also unhealthy.  

 

We also found that the open rates for the most established "best" segments was way below the standard. 

 

This was easily fixed by testing and improved relevance in messaging.

 

The point is that to have a holistic view of email marketing, you need some standard engagement metrics segmented in some way.  That could be data segment or email type for example.

 

From there it's about continuous testing to make improvements to campaigns..

 

You should always consider the wider objectives too.

 

Does it help retention rates?.

What is the threshold of number of sends and open rate?.

Which customers love emails and which should have their frequency dialled down?.

Does brand led imagery lead to better engagement than product focus?.

 

I could go on.

 

I can help get the most from your system and also advise or indeed create reports and dashboards which show real insight. 

 

At the same time I can advise on a testing strategy and how best to use the insight gleaned.

 

The trick is to keep it simple with the use of data and always keep the customer in mind.

 

The final point is too often forgotten and we as consumers receive emails that aren't relevant and hark back to the days of mass advertising instead of trying to connect-more.