Advanced e mail_strategies_0902

2002 L-Soft

Advanced e-Mail Marketing Strategies

eMarketing Association Conference

Redondo Beach, California

September 5, 2002

Gabriela Linares

L-Soft international, Inc.

www.lsoft.com

[email protected]

301-731-0440

800-399-5449

2002 L-Soft

Steps for an e-Mail Marketing Plan

Defining e-Mail Marketing Objectives Determining Effective Strategies Reaching your Target Audience Designing e-Mail Content Evaluating Results Selecting a Solution

2002 L-Soft

Common e-Mail Marketing Objectives

Build brand awareness Acquire new leads/ registrants/ customers/ clients Drive immediate sales Enhance customer retention Build stronger relationships with existing

customers/clients Provide company or product information Increase revenues by up-selling to existing

customers/clients Post-order targeted e-mails As part of an integrated marketing strategy

Defining e-Mail Marketing Objectives

2002 L-Soft

e-Mail marketing campaign response rates by campaign objective

Source: IMT Strategies, September 2001

2002 L-Soft

Conversion Costs for Retention and Acquisition Goals

Acquisition Retention

E-mail $57.10 $2.50

Direct Mail $25.00 $60.00

Banner ads $140.00 N/A

Source: IMT Strategies, September 2001

Acquisition versus retention Acquisition Retention

Search engine positioning 94% 6%

Banner ads 91% 9%

Referral/viral programs 85% 15%

Affiliate programs/ sponsorships 75% 25%

Incentive programs 51% 49%

E-Mail Marketing 37% 63%

2002 L-Soft

Popular e-Mail models Sales Promotions Transaction

confirmations Account status e-mails Recommendations

from friends (viral marketing)

Scheduled corporate newsletters

Customizable information updates

Time-based reminders

Rewards program E-mail discussion groups Product updates of interest Independent media newsletters Entertainment (humor, film clips) E-Mail education series Contests for address

Determining Effective Strategies

2002 L-Soft

E-mail overload: Number of e-mail marketing e-mail sent in the US

Source: Forrester Research, August 2001

Reaching your Target Audience

2002 L-Soft

Response to permission e-mail versus unknown senders

2002 L-Soft

Opt-in, opt-out, double opt-in, spam: Preferred e-mail marketing methods

Source: Opt-In News, May 2002

2002 L-Soft

CTR and Conversion rate of US e-mail marketing campaigns – for permission based lists

Source: IMT Strategies, Sept. 2001

2002 L-Soft

US Consumers’ Privacy concerns

Source: Harris Interactive, February 2002

2002 L-Soft

US E-Mail users’ preferred e-mail marketing privacy and customer-support practices Unsubscribe option in all e-mails Explicit no-share-address policy 48-hour e-mail support answers Editable personal preferences page Provide phone numbers in e-mail Explicit privacy policy Double opt-in confirmation Unchecked default opt-in box Third-party privacy seal in e-mail

2002 L-Soft

Most Important e-Mail Marketing trust-building factors among US users

Secure sign-up form Trustworthy reputation Loyal customer Well-known brand Friend recommendation Trusted site referral Relevant offers

2002 L-Soft

Why customers would give personal info

Guarantee that the information will not be misused

Eligibility to win a prize in a sweepstakes Regular e-mail updates on products they are

interested in Access to more or better content or

information Affinity points Receive targeted ads they’re likely to be

interested in

2002 L-Soft

Building Customer Intelligence

Harness your Customer Database Effective personalization and targeting Common Segmentation Factors:

Purchase history Location/zip code Demographics Lifestyle/hobbies/interests

2002 L-Soft

Building your lists

Subscriber form on web site Sponsor lists of sites with a similar

demographic Send to a friend button – viral marketing Ask for permission to customer base Maintain list hygiene E-mail appending…

2002 L-Soft

E-Mail Message Content

Subject Line – getting recipients to open mail is half the battle

Creativity Personality and dynamic content Keep it short and use links to draw reader to your web

site Keep it fresh – don’t re-use the same content Relevance – the more you understand your customers,

the more targeted and relevant messages will be Frequency Test messages

Creating the Content

2002 L-Soft

Email users’ preferred e-mail marketing personalization models

Communication Control Self-select content Name recognition Personal events & reminders Geography Account History Lifestyle Purchasing Behavior

2002 L-Soft

How to measure the effectiveness of e-mail marketing campaigns

Click-through rates unique and sum of events & comparisons

Unsubscribe rates Open rates Conversion rates (website tracking) Click-stream analyses E-mail pass along rates –viral marketing Coupon codes Unanimous tracking to respect privacy

Evaluating results

2002 L-Soft

Response time and cost per unit, e-mail vs. direct mail

Be prepared to handle responses

E-Mail Direct Mail

Response Time

3 days 3-6 weeks

Cost per unit $0.25 $1.25

Source: DMA, Forrester Research, Gartner Group, 2002

2002 L-Soft

Maintain your server Hardware/computer

network Dedicated Internet

Connection Software for e-mail

management and delivery Best for large loads and

those with experience More cost-effective Flexibility to create

campaigns on the fly

Outsource your list hosting Reliability and experience Redundant servers and

delivery capacity Flexibility to maintain

company Internet presence Ability to move from hosting

to in-house when ready More expensive Rely on company’s schedule

VS.

To Outsource or not to Outsource

2002 L-Soft

Evaluate Options

Evaluate software product or hosting service before purchasing

Determine if solution provides appropriate features Decide what reporting features you need

online real-time reporting, compatibility with other software you employ

Differentiating levels of privacy tracking Campaign manager to organize jobs Integration with your database and other applications Handle bounces