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Email Marketing |
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Email Marketing |
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DEVELOPMENT DISTRIBUTION CONTACT
STRATEGY TRACKING ASSET
MAINTENANCE ASSET
MANAGEMENT
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CONCEPT
The concept of an email defines the type of email (what triggers it), its purpose, its desired time to be received, and whether any promotions or specials should be attached. Surprisingly, there is more than one type of email. The most commonly thought of email ‘type’ is a ‘Planned Email’, to be delivered at a planned time, to a selected audience, with a selected message. From a marketing perspective, this type of email is planned weeks, or months, in advance. The corollary to this would be an ‘Unplanned Email, meaning those that are driven by an event. Technically, there is some planning involved, but for the most part, they are a spontaneous reaction to an opportunity. For example, immediately following the disastrous destruction of the World Trade Center, thousands of emails were distributed soliciting the sale of American flags. One month later, anthrax spores were found in letters, soon followed by a bombardment email solicitation for personal protection equipment. Without commenting to the ethical or moral considerations, these emails were unplanned for the direct marketers that sent them. Another type of email is one that has a series of scheduled release dates. An electronic newsletter is a perfect example. With few exceptions, the recipients of a scheduled email can expect to receive it on a regular basis, on or about the same time. Due to Internet loads, routing and firewall considerations, it is difficult to pinpoint an exact delivery time of an email. Consequently, “on or about the same time” might only mean the same day. A recipient can also prompt an email. A good example of this is a request for more information, or addressing a customer service issue. Many times, this type of email is overlooked and treated as a reactionary response. In right venue, however, with the right message, they can also be used as an effective marketing tool. At the very least, all customer service or informational emails should have some type of promotion (even if its only branding) on the lines following the signature. The final type of email to be discussed is generated by an automated response. Auto respond emails are commonly used for a confirmation of purchases, acknowledgement of orders, details of order status or verification of change. Similar to the recipient prompted email, auto responds can also be used for marketing purposes. Again, from simple corporate branding after the signature line, to more involved customer surveys, numerous marketing opportunities are available. Marketing and promotional opportunities should be considered for all ‘types’ of customer emails. Defining the email type is important, but not definite. Its recipients could prompt an automated, planned message, triggered by an unexpected event. Despite the potential for numerous combinations, the origin of an email will tend to be driven as one type. Furthermore, a smooth and successful email release can be assisted tremendously by defining its ‘type’, early on in the Concept Stage. The parameters of an email will change dramatically with its purpose. In marketing, a standard email may only promote a single product or service. These products/services could be bundled with other products/services, expanding the purpose of the email. The purpose of the email might be solely for communication from customer service, or from the sales force. This might include communication going out to promote a sale, or in response to a call that came in to the company (Inbound vs. Outbound sales). In an event driven email, the purpose might only be to solicit a customer reply. As described above, an email often has
multiple purposes and might include any number of the following; Ø Increase web traffic Ø Reinforce branding (corporate, product, and/or service) Ø Collect demographics (i.e. a survey) Ø Collect leads for sales Ø Sell compatible or higher quality products Ø Solicit customer feedback (i.e. product improvement, new product ideas) Ø Migrate buyers along a logical upgrade path Ø Solicit new email address (i.e. mail a friend, refer a friend) Ø Deliver more product information (i.e. fax back info) Ø Conduct a survey Ø Notification of a pending change Ø Confirm a change Ø Support a direct marketing campaign (catalog, solo, fax, telemarketing) Ø Information (Business Awareness, Public Awareness) Ø Subscription (i.e. Newsletter, Alerts, Special Sales) Ø Renewal requests Ø Personal Greeting (Holiday, Birthday, Anniversary) In addition to this, there are several more reasons to send an email when the purpose is tied to an order. As mentioned in an earlier example of ‘type’, the purpose may be to confirm an order or shipment, or an out of stock notification. The purpose of an email might be to confirm the details of a personalized, or custom order. On the marketing side, the purpose might be to follow-up on a product or service that the customer looked at, but didn’t buy, or to solicit the reorder of a consumable product. Depending upon the sophistication of the website, the email might follow-up on items that were abandoned in a shopping cart. While the purpose of an email can have multiple goals, the early establishment of its primary and secondary direction will ultimately influence its design, copy and distribution. The format of an email is generally ‘Plain Text’, HTML, or a mixture of both. Historically, most companies did not take the time to ask their email recipients if they could view HTML documents. In today’s world, it is more of the norm to see this question being asked in close proximity to where the email address is being collected. HTML emails will typically out perform a plain text version, with significantly more responses. The reason is, graphics, images and appealing fonts will capture and retain a recipient’s interest better than flat text file. Although often overused and abused, HTML can include motion and animation, calling immediate attention to a particular item. Technically and politically, there are a lot of hurdles for someone to view HTML in their email client (i.e. Outlook). Older versions of mail software display only some, or none, of the HTML. In other instances, corporate firewalls will stop HTML from coming through on the mail servers. To accommodate these recipients, an HTML email typically has a plain text counterpart. Sometimes the plain text version is buried inside of HTML code that will not display it, unless of course, the recipient cannot see HTML. In this case, the recipient will first see the plain text. Unfortunately, it is visually dangerous to send both HTML and plain text emails in the same documents. In some cases (i.e. older AOL browsers), enough of the HTML is interpreted to display the plain text, along with a garbled version of the HTML. The results are basically unreadable and consequently deleted. There are ways of determining if an email recipient can view an HTML email. This is how it is done. Like a web page, if an HTML email has an image in it, it has to be displayed from a server. (Note: images can be imbedded, but it does not work consistently across dissimilar mail clients). When a call is made to the server for that image, the request is sent with the recipient’s email address or other ID. This information is recorded in a database table, indicating which people can view HTML. On a practical level, this would be a 1x1 white dot (pixel) at the bottom of a plain text email. That way, if the user cannot see HTML, the message is not lost in a mass of HTML coding. If it is known that a list of recipients can view emails in HTML, this raises the question of where (which server) the images are to be located. For example, if the HTML email is a corporate newsletter, displaying the corporate logo at the top of the page, that logo has to reside on some server connected to the Internet. If vendor is being used to distribute the emails, they will typically maintain an area for HTML images. In other instances, this might be a last minute surprise to the marketing department as they try to get MIS support, or the Webmaster to host the images for their HTML email. In any event, images in HTML emails can provide valuable marketing statistics. Basically, when an image is called from the server, it means that the email was opened, and this can be tracked. Regardless of HTML or plain text format, software has been available for a number of years that will personalize bulk emails. The information is pulled from a database table to fill in the appropriate salutation, “Dear ______”, or “Thank you ______”. Email personalization goes beyond names, to include account numbers, geographic details, or even specific images in HTML emails. In fact, sending a users email address back to the server is a form of personalization., even though it is hidden to the recipient. It is very difficult to anticipate the exact delivery time of an email, particularly when sending a mass distribution. Between Internet congestion and the time it takes to send emails, it is only a guess when the recipient will see it in their email box. Aside from these unknowns, there are a certain number of internal deadlines that need to be set to even come close to coordinating an email drop on a specific day. Working backwards from the drop date, deadlines need to be set for copy, images, vendor selection and or criteria, special arrangements and promotions. After the type, purpose and format of an email is determined, a quantifiable time should be set for the review of copy. If the format of the email is to include HTML, then images will also have to be requested. To that point, while an HTML email offers greater flexibility in its layout, it may require a longer time to review and change. For reference, a basic checklist has been included in the addendum of this white paper. If a vendor is to be used in the
distribution of the emails, they will have their own set of deadlines.
Vendor deadlines of a more than a few days might be difficult to work
with if it is an event driven email. Despite the marketing urgency,
the links need to be tested, as well as a test of the distribution, on
all emails. The vendor’s timeline may be imposed by their physical
limitations of sending out a large quantity of email, but the aspect
of email distribution will be discussed later in this paper. For an email to have any measurable value, its links back into the website, need to have a unique identifier so that the results can be tracked. Tracking of email responses are typically done be embedding a special code in the links. As mentioned earlier, this can be done with greater efficiency in HTML emails. The presentation is also looks much cleaner to the recipient with the tracking codes embedded in to a simple phrase or attached to an image. For example, if an HTML recipient saw this link “BUY NOW”, the plain text recipient would have to deal with something like this, “Buy Now at www.abc.com/123”. In any event, the links should be tracked so that effectiveness can be measured. Tracking identification is usually attached to a marketing campaign that might take some time to model. All of these considerations must added on to the deliverable timeline, working backwards from the desired drop date. The selection of an e-mail’s recipients (list select) will also take some preparation time. The results of an email campaign will be more favorable if the receiving audience is selected based upon their interests or buying habits. While this is true across all direct marketing, it has greater implications with email. Without a careful list selection, email clients and prospects may become unresponsive knowing that its just another email from the ABC Company. While deleting an email is easy, if the recipient becomes totally annoyed, they will asked to be removed from the email list. If not removed, they may file civil action, and / or add the company to a Blacklist. Both of these actions will have a measurable impact on the asset’s value. Special arrangements associated with a particular email may also require greater lead times and setup. For example, if the email is going out in HTML and plain text format, two distinct copies need to be created and formatted. This is complicated further if different panels (different versions to different groups) are being tested. The HTML and plain text email panels should have unique tracking numbers embedded in the links. Other special arrangements may require some technical setup, necessitating the involvement of an IS department. From the hosting of HTML images to creation of unique mailboxes for responses, these activities will usually take a few meetings and require additional lead-time. Promotions in an email will also require some advanced planning. If the promotion is a premium that is going to be given away, they need to be ordered and in stock. Knowing how many to order will require an estimate of what the response rate will be. If its an HTML email, an image of the promotional item will probably be included. On the technical side, if something is going to be given away, there will probably be a registration process. If not in existence, a database will need to be setup to capture this information. The following section takes a closer look at the various types of promotions and specials that could be used with an email campaign. Promotions and specials can take many different forms. The most common are discounts, coupons, gifts and samples. Utilizing the electronic media to the fullest, many emails include a link to an online demo, which are a great way to pre-qualify leads. Someone clicking on a demo has an interest. If they complete the demo, then they are informed. Other promotions might include an offer for special service, or special treatment. Again, utilizing the electronic media to the fullest extent, a special section, or welcoming page, can be constructed on a website. This special treatment might be carried through their entire web experience. Promotional items can come in the form of an attachment to the email. It could be something electronic, like screen saver or a software program. Or, the attachment could be something printable, like a calendar, in PDF format. Carrying this thought further, a printable attachment might be a sample of the product, prompting the purchase of a full color or laminated version. While attachments can be a economical vehicle for stimulating response, there are some cautions. Firewalls or mail servers may block certain files if they are too big, or have a potentially harmful extension. A harmful extension would be .EXE that might carry a virus. Due to the glut of computer viruses, users are very wary about opening any email with an attachment, even if it does pass through the firewall. For these reasons, emails with attachments should only be sent to recipients that know and trust the sender (subscribers), or that expecting to receive something (i.e. notified in advance). An alternative to an attachment is a link to a download. This is a safer way of distributing an electronic promotion or special. A download also lends the opportunity to capture who responds, and when, by embedding a code to the recipient’s email address in the links.
Next Section - DEVELOPMENT |
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Copyright 2003 - Brent J. Dreyer, at bdreyer@iMarketingStrategy.com |