You need to target and not target at the same time
Latest posts | Feed | By Mark Brownlow on April 04, 2007
Nobody can argue with the value of ensuring your emails are targeted to the recipient. Whether it's just staying on-topic or product offers based on an individual's past purchases...any level of targeting helps.
But you also need to account for the spontaneity, randomness and fickleness of people on your email list:
I don't need a new microphone, but perhaps I can replace those speakers that broke yesterday?
I already did my taxes, but do these folk have advice on more general bookkeeping?
In this context, your email is also a non-specific nudge in the right direction. A reminder that you exist. Another tender moment in the customer relationship.
And that has consequences for what you put in your email.
This point was hammered home to me in a recent report and case study. Talking with Ken Magill at Direct, the ecommerce manager of Universal Screen Arts reveals that most email-driven sales are not products featured in the email itself.
She says, "It's the contact with the customer that makes the difference, not necessarily that you contacted them with a particular product."
And a recent Forrester report, as reported by Bill McCloskey, notes "50% of those who open and read email marketing messages are more likely to purchase impulse items once they get to the site."
The choice of featured product or content is still important, of course. It triggers a direct response and it ensures the email is relevant, which is vital to keeping the email relationship with your reader healthy.
But on top of that you need to make it easy for the recipient when it comes to the indirect response, for example by including links to other parts of your website.
An email promoting a single product, where the only clickable link takes you to that product's page, might be losing you sales or clicks.
Sales and clicks from those who aren't motivated to buy the specific product featured in the email, but who are now motivated to visit the site for some other reason. Thanks to the indirect branding / relationship / reminder effect your email has.
Certainly something worth thinking about and testing. Would welcome any views and experiences...
More on targeting | Tags: email marketing, segmentation, targeting, branding with email
But you also need to account for the spontaneity, randomness and fickleness of people on your email list:
I don't need a new microphone, but perhaps I can replace those speakers that broke yesterday?
I already did my taxes, but do these folk have advice on more general bookkeeping?
In this context, your email is also a non-specific nudge in the right direction. A reminder that you exist. Another tender moment in the customer relationship.
And that has consequences for what you put in your email.
This point was hammered home to me in a recent report and case study. Talking with Ken Magill at Direct, the ecommerce manager of Universal Screen Arts reveals that most email-driven sales are not products featured in the email itself.
She says, "It's the contact with the customer that makes the difference, not necessarily that you contacted them with a particular product."
And a recent Forrester report, as reported by Bill McCloskey, notes "50% of those who open and read email marketing messages are more likely to purchase impulse items once they get to the site."
The choice of featured product or content is still important, of course. It triggers a direct response and it ensures the email is relevant, which is vital to keeping the email relationship with your reader healthy.
But on top of that you need to make it easy for the recipient when it comes to the indirect response, for example by including links to other parts of your website.
An email promoting a single product, where the only clickable link takes you to that product's page, might be losing you sales or clicks.
Sales and clicks from those who aren't motivated to buy the specific product featured in the email, but who are now motivated to visit the site for some other reason. Thanks to the indirect branding / relationship / reminder effect your email has.
Certainly something worth thinking about and testing. Would welcome any views and experiences...
More on targeting | Tags: email marketing, segmentation, targeting, branding with email
[This post brought to you by Campaigner Email Marketing]
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