Advanced e-Mail Marketing Strategies

Advanced e-Mail Marketing Strategies eMarketing Association Conference Redondo Beach, California September 5, 2002 Gabriela Linares L-Soft international, Inc. www.lsoft.com Info@lsoft.com 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 Defining e-Mail Marketing Objectives 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  2002 L-Soft     e-Mail marketing campaign response rates by campaign objective Conversion CTR Awareness 6.80% 17.10% Sales 5.60% 15.20% Leads 7.90% 15.30% Source: IMT Strategies, September 2001  2002 L-Soft Acquisition versus retention Acquisition Search engine positioning 94% Retention 6% Banner ads Referral/viral programs Affiliate programs/ sponsorships Incentive programs E-Mail Marketing 91% 85% 75% 51% 37% 9% 15% 25% 49% 63% Conversion Costs for Retention and Acquisition Goals Acquisition E-mail $57.10 Retention $2.50 Direct Mail Banner ads $25.00 $140.00 $60.00 N/A Source: IMT Strategies, September 2001  2002 L-Soft Determining Effective Strategies 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  2002 L-Soft Reaching your Target Audience E-mail overload: Number of e-mail marketing e-mail sent in the US 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 0 Source: Forrester Research, August 2001 289 430 549 674 796 939 500 1000  2002 L-Soft Response to permission e-mail versus unknown senders Eager to read Curious to read Indifferent Open but annoyed Delete 0% Unknown senders 1% 13% 12% 15% 29% 49% 6% 3% 21% 52% 20% 40% 60%  2002 L-Soft Permission e-mail Opt-in, opt-out, double opt-in, spam: Preferred e-mail marketing methods 1% 4% 31% Double Opt-In Opt-in Opt-out Spam 64% Source: Opt-In News, May 2002  2002 L-Soft CTR and Conversion rate of US e-mail marketing campaigns – for permission based lists Clickthrough Net conversion Bounce Unsubscribe 0% Source: IMT Strategies, Sept. 2001 17.80% 7.00% 7.80% 2.10% 5% 10% 15% 20%  2002 L-Soft US Consumers’ Privacy concerns Sharing info with third parties Transactions not secure Hackers will steal info 66% 68% 70% 75% 69% 70% 72% 74% 76% 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 trustbuilding 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 Creating the Content 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  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 Evaluating results How to measure the effectiveness of email 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  2002 L-Soft Response time and cost per unit, e-mail vs. direct mail  Be prepared to handle responses E-Mail Response Time Cost per unit Direct Mail 3-6 weeks 3 days $0.25 $1.25 Source: DMA, Forrester Research, Gartner Group, 2002  2002 L-Soft To Outsource or not to Outsource 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  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  2002 L-Soft