Strategies, goals and quick wins: expert interview

Latest posts | Feed | By Mark Brownlow on August 06, 2008

Photo of Simms JenkinsI was lucky enough to have a small involvement in the Truth About Email Marketing book project, so was able to persuade author Simms Jenkins (pictured left) to talk with me about strategic problems for email marketers, quick fixes and the industry as a whole.

Simms is CEO of email marketing services firm, BrightWave Marketing, the brains behind EmailStatCenter.com and a columnist for iMediaConnection. He has a particularly strong understanding of organizational and strategic issues. So it pays to listen when he talks...

So, Simms, who should be reading your book?

I think the book will really appeal to a wide range of readers. Everyone from high level marketing professionals trying to get a better read on what makes a good email marketing program...to novices and small business owners...to email marketers in the trenches looking for additional insight (and maybe even validation for what they do!)

The great thing about the book is it can be used as a guidebook in building or improving your email program, or be read on the plane where the reader should come away better educated on how to improve their email efforts.

The title implies there are a lot of misconceptions around about email marketing. What do you feel are the most damaging?

I think there are two main misconceptions. The first one is the cloud that always hovers above what we do for a living: spam. So I really think that cannot be overlooked in addressing the email channel.

I try to clearly spell out what permission email marketing is all about, and this needs to be revisited by even the most experienced marketers. This may seem basic, but one of the biggest challenges is educating people about permission email marketing.

Whether it is educating our peers, our executives, or friends and family...we all have to continue to clarify that all good email marketing is connected to permission.

The second misconception is that email is easy.

Great email marketing campaigns require a lot of hard work, knowledge and strategy. Because of this perception, low distribution cost and (at times) email's strong success, many executives assume email should be easy to execute. We know that this is rarely the case and this perception does a disservice to all in the space.

The book begins with a focus on organizational and strategic elements. Is that something you feel deserves more attention?

Absolutely. Without the upfront planning and executive buy in, email marketing will never reach its potential. I think because of some of the aforementioned issues, email doesn't get the strategic attention it deserves in terms of, for example, budget and resources, proper measurement or the broader impact on the business.

A big part of the constant challenge we see for email marketers is that because of the nature of email campaigns (that next campaign is always around the corner), teams responsible for email often don't get the chance to set and measure goals, optimize campaigns and align best practices.

It isn't easy being an email marketer for sure. However, I encourage all email marketing pros to step back at least once a quarter to reevaluate their plans and make changes needed to improve. Or at the least test some new things.

When we talked a couple of years ago you noted, for example, how few companies set adequate goals for their program. You just mentioned goals again. So is this still a problem?

It sure is. Many companies continue to only measure their performance and impact in terms of opens and clicks. While these can be helpful, we see real benefits from setting goals beyond simple email responses: evaluating how email improves other areas like revenue, customer loyalty, frequency and conversions, to name a few.

For example, one client had doubts on whether or not email was a valid communication channel for them.

We helped develop a scorecard that framed their successes and opportunities, and tied in the overall value of these efforts in terms of revenue generated from email and other areas. These are numbers that CEOs and CFOs care about.

So they went from "should we kill our email program" to "our email program is worth X dollars for our company." That is pretty powerful.

Another strategic problem for email marketers is justifying further investment in what you said is perceived to be a "low cost" channel. Given that budgets are likely to get tighter, how DO you justify such investment?

I have been doing a lot of speaking on how and why email marketing works in a recession and that is certainly top of mind for all marketers, regardless of the direct impact this economy is having on their business.

Email distribution is low cost, but to manage a strategic email program that delivers relevant and unique messaging you have to invest in it. That can mean resources, vendors, testing etc.

One of email's most important strengths is the ability to measure the success (or failure) of such campaigns.

Forrester Research, for example, has some new information about how many marketers are investing more in targeted and measurable channels like interactive during this economic downturn. The ROI measurement is of course an important one in justifying a greater investment.

Another thought is...if you removed your email communications, what would it cost in alternative media/marketing to communicate with a captive audience like your email subscribers?

We also are seeing marketers realize that email is about more than driving revenue, leads and website traffic. It is a great cost reducer on things like employee communication, catalogs and other direct mail efforts. And it can drive your users to interact with other low cost media, like social networking.

One client, for instance, is considering moving their employee newsletter to email, which would result in substantial cost savings. So changing the mindset that email is just a transactional tool is key: email is a relationship builder that can accomplish many different goals.

Of course, if you don't properly measure and connect the dots on your email program, you will have a hard time justifying more resources, much less your own existence.

Are there any "quick wins" (i.e. easy to implement) in terms of improving your strategic and organizational approach to email marketing?

I will give you and your readers' three things that most companies can do that won't cost you much but will deliver a big impact:

1. Optimizing your creative to deal with the very real issue of image suppression is crucial. After all, if half of your audience has images turned off, you cannot risk them receiving an email with a red x and no messaging, branding or links.

2. Testing subject lines is something that gets overlooked by many, yet has a major impact on the response rates of your emails.

3. Using LinkedIn, Facebook and other social networks to grow your email database and provide an additional messaging vehicle is something we have seen done to great success with minimal resources required.

I have used this technique to build interest (and sales) for my book, so I see this as a great supplement to email, which of course is one of the central promotional strategies for marketing the book.

The book goes on to cover best practices in list building, content, targeting etc. Why is it that so many organizations fail to implement even the basics of successful email marketing?

I truly think it is because most email marketing teams are overtaxed and underappreciated. Therefore, they often have little time (and sadly incentive) to make the major strategic optimizations needed to continually enhance their email efforts. We have that validated on a daily basis when talking to the people responsible for their email marketing program.

How do you think industry blogs, sites and organizations can do a better job of promoting those best practices?

I think our industry does a fantastic job of proactively educating and evangelizing our craft. I have not seen many other industries where so many high-level, passionate and smart people spend a great deal of time on offering suggestions, trends and opinions for anyone to see.

The number of blogs and free resources out there can really be beneficial for email marketers. Finding the time to read them and adopt some of these findings can be difficult though. I know I rely on my peers and get some great ideas that we can test out for clients and cite in our presentations, speeches and research.

Thanks Simms!

[Simms is offering blog readers a special 25% discount on his book, plus free shipping (US only). Purchase the book through the FT Press store and enter the discount code Emailmark07 during the checkout process.]

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