Hi Matt,
This month in Email Strategies, we focus on practical steps to acquire customers.
Enjoy!
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Acquire New Customers:
Summary of Best Practices
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Ian Giles is ThinData's Vice President, Loyalty Strategy
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Over the last several months, we have identified very specific actions for all marketers to take to increase the success of their customer acquisition campaigns.
This month, we pull together these insights to serve as a handy resource whenever your marketing campaigns need to focus on building new loyal customers.
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ThinData Presents to the Marketing Community
ThinData presented two sessions at this year’s Canadian Marketing Association convention and tradeshow.
In his very well received session entitled, Keeping Customer Hooked, ThinData’s President, Chris Carder highlighted several practical lessons to help marketers evaluate and integrate mobile initiatives in marketing programs.
ThinData's Director, Delivery & ISP Relations, Matthew Vernhout highlighted practical tips in his fast-paced session entitled, The Future of Email Deliverability: What Marketers Need to Know Now. Matthew Vernhout recently contributed to ThinData’s whitepaper, The Marketer’s Guide to Successful Email Delivery.
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Transactional Email That Markets Effectively
An Email Strategies subscriber asked:
As a national retailer, we send out large volumes of email to our customers to confirm purchases or account modifications that they have made while using our online store. We want to make sure that we are respectful of our customers while using these emails as an opportunity for promotion. Can you provide any recommendations – particularly since we plan to dramatically increase our use of email over the next few months?
Our Expert's Answer:
Your issue is one that every business that conducts commerce online needs to address.
There are two major types of email – commercial and transactional. Commercial email has one purpose: promotion of brand and/or products. In contrast, transactional-focused emails are far more complex. Most commonly, transactional emails are used to: welcome new registrants or customers, confirm transactions, provide notification of shipment and outline return policies. In short, this type of email supports a critical part of your relationship with customers – they provide confidence and build trust in your brand.
There are guidelines for transactional email that you should follow – because it demonstrates a respect for your customers and for reasons of complying with industry legislation (e.g. CAN-SPAM). Here are the key rules for transactional emails:
- 80% of the content, imagery and space of a transactional email should serve to support a previous or pending transaction – rather than be promotional.
- Marketing content should be below the fold – and clearly set apart from the transactional information.
- Marketing offers presented should be somehow related to the transaction. For example, if the transaction is a purchase of an iPod, the marketing content could highlight relevant guarantees, product support or iPod accessories.
- Use subject lines that clearly identify the email as transactional. For example, "Confirming Your Purchase of..."
- If more than 20% of the email’s content, imagery or space is used for promotional purposes, you must include an “unsubscribe” option that will be honoured. Keep in-mind that if you do this, you run the risk of losing contact with a purchasing customer.
Follow these rules and your transactional emails will serve your brand and marketing objectives well.
Matthew Vernhout, Director, Delivery & ISP Relations
Send us your question and one of our email experts might answer it here next month.
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| GOOD TO KNOW |
Email Remains Powerful Lead Generator
Email produced the highest response rates (4.09%) for those companies whose primary objective was to generate leads.
- Direct Marketing Association, "2007 Response Rate Trends Report".
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| THE INBOX |
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Renee Racine, Content Director, selects the best email in her inbox this month:
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I find the experience of reading the monthly Harbourfront Centre eNewsletter a bit like strolling the water's edge. With a placid scan, I'm able to see the whole horizon, unobstructed by excess copy or visual distractions. Images of art and events really pop, surrounded in calm white space.
Know of a great email program? Let Renee know!
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