Understanding context
Latest posts | Feed | By Mark Brownlow on February 13, 2008
Continuing the theme of looking at email with a fresh perspective, we often forget the context of our emails.Context?
Merriam-Webster defines context as "the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs." What we might call the email environment.
It helps to consider all the different kinds of context in which our emails operate, each giving you ideas for how to improve what you do.
Some examples:
The emotional context
Stephanie Miller reminds us that our emails are not alone, but are one part of a busy inbox:
"Subscribers view their inbox holistically. We are not only
competing against others in our industry, transactional
messages for purchases and e-statements, but we are also
competing with grandma's message, too."
competing against others in our industry, transactional
messages for purchases and e-statements, but we are also
competing with grandma's message, too."
The rest of the world does not see email as a marketing medium. Though relationship building (and ending) is just as relevant, as a Google Valentine survey reveals.
Hence the value in thinking of your email program as creating an engaging experience as much as a series of standalone messages demanding an immediate response.
This holistic approach lets you build long-term success and relationships. An example is retailer Second Act's brand building program, where email is a key component in driving closer and more meaningful interactions between the customer and the business.
Seasonal context
The Second Act case study also reflects the value of tying email to the season (in their case with a football-flavored campaign).
This builds on email's suitability for reaching people with timely messages, a concept driven home by Michael Goldberg in his article on driving ROI from seasonal campaigns.
Display context
Then we have the issue of where your emails are actually displayed. There are two aspects of this.
First, there is the question of devices and software. Designing emails for different display environments is a well-covered topic in email marketing literature. MarketingSherpa, for example, just brought out a long article on email marketing and the iPhone.
But there is the second aspect, too. Where are people when they see your emails and how does this impact their readiness to read your message and respond to it?
This idea of "display environment" gets less coverage, but will be ever more important as mobile email use increases, especially among consumers.
It's getting harder to make assumptions about email habits. Consider this tidbit on the work mail / private mail divide from a recent survey of messaging technologies by Network World:
"Three-quarters of e-mail users check their work-related
e-mail from home on weekdays and nearly as many do so on weekends"
e-mail from home on weekdays and nearly as many do so on weekends"
(As an aside, the survey reinforces the idea that email is evolving, not dying, and will continue to be the dominant form of communication medium in the future.)
A more specific example comes from a look at Pizza Huts emails, where an hour or two difference in the send time can potentially make a huge difference in results.
Clearly context matters. After all, no man is an iland.
Tags: email marketing, email design, email strategy
[This post brought to you by Campaigner Email Marketing]
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