Download Manifesto for E-mail Marketers: Consumers Demand Relevance

Manifesto for E-mail Marketers:
Consumers Demand Relevance
Executive Summary
The e-Dialog Center for Digital Marketing Excellence provides interactive marketers with strategic guidance and best practices designed
to increase customer engagement and improve results. Through independent surveys, proprietary research, and more than a decade of
experience working with world-class brands, the Center for Digital Marketing Excellence is able to deliver the critical insight required to
effectively market in today’s cross-channel environment. The goal of the Center is to translate industry and consumer data into
action-oriented marketing strategies that can be applied in e-mail, social media, mobile marketing, e-commerce, and point of sale in
order to achieve greater success.
This report is based on Consumer Insight on E-mail Relevance, an independent commissioned survey by Forrester Consulting conducted
on behalf of the Center for Digital Marketing Excellence. The survey endeavored to answer two key questions related to e-mail relevance.
First, what does e-mail relevance mean to consumers? And second, how should marketers use this information to achieve greater
relevance in their e-mail programs? The results of the survey have been captured in the following report, which examines the key findings
and includes a series of recommendations from e-Dialog’s e-mail marketing experts.
From the report you will have these key takeaways. E-mail use is high with 78 percent of consumers in the United States and United
Kingdom using e-mail several times a day. Irrelevant and too frequent marketing e-mails will be dismissed by nearly 60 percent of
consumers surveyed. Consumers demand marketers better understand and match messages to their preferences and half have indicated
that those marketers will be rewarded with their engagement. And marketers must embrace preference capture and improve contact
management through tactics that include robust site registration, preference tactics, and relevance empowering tactics including
frequency metering, testing, and behavior analysis.
Recommended Reading:
The Relevance Trajectory: Creating a Standard for Relevance in E-mail, published by e-Dialog Inc., January 2009
© 2010 e-Dialog, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
www.e-Dialog.com
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E-mail Use Remains Strong, Mobile E-mail Usage Grows
A survey of 2,083 adults in the United States and United Kingdom found that 78 percent of respondents use e-mail several times a day. The
rise of social media communication via Twitter and Facebook has only helped to underscore the importance of e-mail as a communication
channel and increased its volume. In fact, consumers’ e-mail addresses are akin to digital fingerprints, as an e-mail account is required
to maintain a social media account, conduct banking online, and complete transactions. Additionally the following consumer e-mail traits
underscore the notion that e-mail will remain the primary online communication and marketing tool:
• Consumers have embraced e-mail marketing messages. The consumers’ appetite for marketing e-mail messages in their primary
e-mail account remains high. 79 percent of US consumers surveyed stated that the marketing messages that they opt into are sent
to their primary personal account. Overall just 12 percent of US consumers report to have a dedicated e-mail account for marketing
messages as compared to 20 percent of UK consumers.
• Mobile e-mail usage continues to grow. Further underscoring the critical importance of e-mail for consumers is the growing use of
e-mail on their mobile devices. Just a few years ago market research indicated that mobile e-mail use had been adopted by about one
in ten online consumers. This survey finds that 33 percent of consumers in the US and UK access e-mail on their mobile devices in
addition to their computers.
The continued use of e-mail by consumers as well as the increase in the volume of messages underscores the need for marketers to adopt
tactics that will improve their relevance with their subscribers in order to cut through the inbox clutter.
Retaining Subscribers Hinges on Relevance and Managing Message Frequency
Consumers are opening and reading the promotional messages they opt into. Overall, 20 percent of consumers surveyed stated that they
read all of the retail e-mail messages they receive and 38 percent indicated that they read half or more than half of these messages. While
the retail vertical had the highest engagement across the eight verticals surveyed, the following data highlights consumers’ appetites for
relevant messages and dislike of over-mailing:
• High frequency alienates subscribers. When consumers were asked, “Of the messages you don’t regularly open and read, why
don’t you do so?” an overwhelming 59 percent of them said these messages come too frequently. Over-mailing was the top reason
consumers cited for lowering their engagement with the messages that they receive.
• Lack of relevance drives engagement lower. E-mail engagement is further reduced when the messages do not match the
consumer’s area of interest. 55 percent of consumers stated they do not open and read messages regularly because they don’t match
their areas of interest. Moreover, 39 percent stated that they don’t want or need products or services from this company anymore.
Lastly, 31 percent stated that they simply are not relevant, specifically citing “The products and services don’t meet my needs (e.g.,
baby products when I don’t have kids).”
• Mobile e-mail users are more sensitive to frequency on the small screen. While consumers think about relevance the same
way regardless if they are reading the message on their computers or their mobile devices, the feeling is not mutual for frequency of
message. 45 percent of mobile users stated the best time for companies to send e-mail is only when it is necessary as compared to
39 percent of their non-mobile peers. Furthermore, even with transactional messages, mobile users are slightly less apt to open them
(67 percent) than their non-mobile peers (73 percent). On the small screen, higher-frequency senders create more work for the multitasking subscriber.
© 2010 e-Dialog, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
www.e-Dialog.com
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Figure 1. Over E-mailing and Lack of Interest Indicate Areas for Relevance Improvement
Source: Online survey of US and UK adults, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of e-Dialog, December 2009
Consumers Demand Relevance
When asked what consumers wanted included in the messages that they receive, it was not surprising that discounts (68 percent) and
advance notice of sales (58 percent) topped their relevance wish list. However, beyond the love for discounts, consumers showed their
desire for highly tailored and task-oriented e-mail marketing messages. Marketers can advance the relevance of their messages by
equipping e-mails with the following types of content:
• Product recommendations: Overall, 21 percent indicated an interest in getting product recommendations based on their past
purchasing behavior. Such an approach by marketers can also ensure that they do not alienate the 31 percent of consumers that
stated they ignore messages when the products and services do not meet their needs.
• Service alert messages: Overall, 55 percent stated that they have an interest in getting alert messages that are specific to their
relationship with the organization. Such service-oriented transactional messages offer marketers the opportunity to further embellish
the service content with offers or ad inventory.
• Follow-up messages: Overall, 43 percent expressed an interest in messages that follow up on a recent service experience. As more
organizations put non-marketing functions such as customer service under the guidance of marketing, these messages will likely
become more common, and thus expected by the end consumer.
• Exclusive information: Overall, 43 percent stated that they desire exclusive information that can only be obtained via e-mail.
Marketers that reward consumers with exclusive information are likely to see higher levels of engagement from their subscribers.
© 2010 e-Dialog, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
www.e-Dialog.com
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Figure 2. Consumer Interest in Highly Tailored E-mail is High
Source: Online survey of US and UK adults, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of e-Dialog, December 2009
Consumers Want Marketers to Demonstrate Knowledge of Their Interests
Consumers are keen on marketers exhibiting intimate knowledge of their preferences, interests, and purchase history. For example, when
asked, 64 percent of consumers overall stated they want the marketer to know what types of products or services they were interested
in. A large number of consumers also wanted the marketer to know what types of offers they like, whether they are a new or returning
customer, and their communication preferences and shopping habits. Even 51 percent of consumers that desired general non-targeted
offers want marketers to demonstrate that they know their communication preferences. Consumers are clearly primed to have their
preferences managed by marketers, and are likely to reward those marketers that leverage this information to improve message relevance.
This data underscores that the one-to-many model of marketing is broken, and consumers desire to have more individual treatment.
© 2010 e-Dialog, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
www.e-Dialog.com
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Figure 3. Consumers Desire Marketers to Demonstrate Knowledge of Preferences
Source: Online survey of US and UK adults, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of e-Dialog, December 2009
The Most Effective Relevant Messages Emphasize Knowledge of the Consumer
Consumers with interest in receiving more personalized messages are more likely to open and read these messages. Overall more than
half of consumers’ e-mails across every industry vertical would be opened and read if the marketer demonstrated that they knew the
consumer. Why? Because these messages are clearly more relevant to the subscribers, and consumers will reward marketers that
employ personalized messages with engagement. The following data underscore how such intimate knowledge of the subscriber can drive
message effectiveness:
• Retail: 53 percent of consumers interested in receiving personalized elements in their e-mail messages stated that they would open
and read the message if the marketer demonstrated that they knew them a lot. Another 45 percent of the same segment stated the
same if the marketer demonstrated that they knew them a little.
• Travel: Similar to retail messages, 52 percent of consumers interested in personalized messages stated that they would read
messages in which the marketer showed that they knew them a lot. 40 percent said the same if the marketer demonstrated that they
knew them a little.
• Media: The lowest of all categories, but still the data underscores that personalized relevant messages can drive message
effectiveness. 39 percent of consumers interested in personalization stated that they would read the messages if the marketer knew
them a lot and 29 percent reported the same if the marketer knew them a little.
This segment of consumers that seek for marketers to know them better is referred to as a preference seeker. These preference seekers
are clearly more engaged and interested in receiving messages that are tailored to their preferences.
© 2010 e-Dialog, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
www.e-Dialog.com
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Figure 4. Personalized Messages Are More Likely To Be Read By Consumers
Source: Online survey of US and UK adults, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of e-Dialog, December 2009
Preference Seekers Can Be Mailed More Frequently and
Subscribe To More E-mail
While the aforementioned intolerance towards high e-mail frequency is widespread, there is some indication that consumers who
provide detailed preference data are more tolerant of frequent mailing volumes. For example, when asked, “When is the best
time for companies to send e-mail?” 65 percent of the consumers that are interested in more personalized preference-oriented
e-mail stated “Whenever the company has something important to say.” Additionally, these consumers that seek personalization
through the marketer’s improved understanding of their preferences also subscribe to more e-mail. For example, 74 percent of
preference seekers subscribe to three or more retail e-mails as compared to 67 percent of the non-preference seekers. The need
to deliver relevant messages to this preference seeker segment is even greater since their inboxes appear to be more cluttered
than non-preference seekers.
© 2010 e-Dialog, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
www.e-Dialog.com
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Recommendations from e-Dialog
Embrace preference capture and contact management to drive relevance. Marketers must drive consumers to site registration
pages in order to capture subscriber preferences. Marketers must embrace contact management by gathering product, communication,
and frequency preferences of subscribers. Marketers not embracing relevance-empowering tactics such as frequency caps, behavioral
targeting, and testing are in the danger zone as consumers are poised to ignore old school batch and blast marketers.
Marketers must capture and honor subscriber preferences. Improving relevance through monitoring explicit behavior as well
as inferring interests through data aggregation and modeling has proven to drive message performance. To accelerate the insight
that can be gleaned from this treasure trove of aggregated data, marketers must augment behavioral targeting through more robust
management of the subscriber’s stated preferences. A blended approach is needed to make messages more relevant. Marketers failing
to adopt practices that embody relevance are at risk of lower marketing performance as consumers have clearly indicated that they
reward personalized preference-driven messages with their engagement.
Drive consumers to site registration pages to facilitate contact management. Search engine optimization often drives site
visitors away from the home page, landing them deep within the Web site on product detail pages. These optimized pages often
bypass registration pages. Ensure that every Web page has a link back to a central subscriber preference center, as 87 percent
of UK consumers and 85 percent of US consumers state that companies should ask about their e-mail preferences during the site
registration process. The ability to capture additional preference information is highest during the site registration process. Consumers
are becoming more familiar with preference centers as social sites such as Facebook are offering site visitors greater options for the
manner in which the organization interacts with its subscribers.
Figure 5. Consumers Desire To Set Their Preferences at Registration
Source: Online survey of US and UK adults, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of e-Dialog, December 2009
© 2010 e-Dialog, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
www.e-Dialog.com
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Recommendations Continued
Gather product category, communication, and frequency preferences. Three in five consumers want marketers to know what
products and offers that they like. 65 percent of US consumers want marketers to collect information about the types of products or
services that they like. Similarly 61 percent of consumers in both countries want marketers to understand the offers that they like.
Marketers must ask about product and service categories, as well as capture individual preferences for the frequency and channel of
communication that a subscriber desires. This type of communication preference is desired by nearly half of consumers (see Figure 7.).
Marketers can improve the ability to capture product and category preferences by placing a bookmark capture function, such as
‘Add this category to my preferences’ on product description pages. This tactic will allow marketers to begin building preference data
for subscribers already on their mailing lists.
Figure 7. Majority of Consumers Are Primed to Share Preferences Information
Source: Online survey of US and UK adults, a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of e-Dialog, December 2009
Marketers must manage frequency by monitoring subscriber behavior. In addition to capturing preferences, marketers must
monitor subscriber behavior and adjust their mailing tactics for those subscribers that are not engaged. ISPs and business receivers are
increasingly using dormant e-mail accounts and turning them into spam traps in order to block marketers that are mailing to inactive
accounts. To guard against these traps, marketers should pay close attention to the behavior of subscribers and identify inactive
subscribers, investigate their previous behavior before becoming inactive, and set up a series of triggers when active subscribers begin
to exhibit the same traits. Additionally marketers must:
•
Meter frequency based on lapsing subscriber behavior. For subscribers that exhibit declining response rates marketers should test
sending less e-mail at a slower cadence in a metered fashion until response rates improve. Consumers have clearly indicated that high
message frequency will drive them away and marketer’s trialing this “less is more” are likely to see a decline in unsubscribe rates.
© 2010 e-Dialog, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
www.e-Dialog.com
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Recommendations Continued
•
Enlist surveys to build effective win-back campaigns. Tailoring win-back campaigns and using surveys have proven to be an
effective means to spur consumer behavior. In fact, preference seekers are far more likely to participate in surveys, as 45 percent
state that they have a desire to take surveys or polls as compared to 34 percent of non-preference seekers.
Set Frequency Caps and Use Triggered Alerts to Improve Contact Management. Marketers should survey subscribers continually
about message frequency and ask them within the preference center how often they want to receive messages on a monthly basis.
Data indicates that business to consumer marketers send on average four marketing messages a month; however, this frequency may
not be appropriate for every marketer. Marketers should move to managing frequency by message type. For example, marketers could
increase frequency when soliciting product review data, or alerting subscribers that a new review had been posted to the Web site.
Such a lifecycle management approach can be applied to virtually every industry, ensuring that the messages will remain relevant to the
subscriber as it underscores their preferences and behaviors.
Marketers must combine knowledge of preferences with analytics and testing. While demographic segmentation will assist
the marketer in matching some of these tactics with the aforementioned demographic data, marketers must leverage site behavior
and blend it with preference center data. While this research details how messaging to subscribers based on their preferences can
improve e-mail marketing effectiveness, measuring subscriber behavior will highlight any deviations from the subscriber’s preferences.
Marketers must combine the knowledge of the subscribers’ preferences with the analysis of their behavior and optimize this through
testing. Marketers should adopt the following to measure and optimize the effect that preference management can have on message
performance.
•
Create a non-preferenced subscriber control group. It is necessary to have a control group of subscribers where you a) have not
collected their preference data or b) have collected it but are not honoring it. This control group will allow the marketer an easy
point of comparison to determined the effect that preference-driven personalization is having on mailing performance.
•
Focus on content on and test to determine what is most desirable to consumers. When asked about what elements consumers
would like to have marketers include in their e-mail messages, there were stark differences between US and UK consumers. For
example 62 percent of US consumers were interested in advance notice of sales, as compared to 53 percent of UK consumers.
More remarkable is the difference when asked about personal alerts, which 62 percent of US consumers desired as compared to
49 percent of their UK peers. Marketers must test to determine which message elements are optimal for their subscribers as clear
geographical differences among consumers.
About e-Dialog
With more than 10 years of e-mail marketing experience and many experts on our
staff, e-Dialog provides software-as-a-service and strategic services to world-class
marketers in retail, entertainment, travel, media, business-to-business, and more.
We understand what it takes for our clients to be successful, which is why e-Dialog
is one of the only e-mail service providers consistently recognized by top analyst
firms for both outstanding service and first-class technology. e-Dialog is a wholly
owned subsidiary of GSI Commerce, Inc. (Nasdaq: GSIC).
To learn more about e-Dialog’s leading
technology, services, and solutions,
visit our Web site at www.e-Dialog.com.
North America
888-256-7687
[email protected]
International
+44 (0) 20 3219 6200
[email protected]
The Consumer Insight on E-mail Relevance survey was conducted as an online survey of 2,038 US and UK consumers. The survey was conducted on behalf of e-Dialog and the Center for Digital Marketing
Excellence by Forrester Consulting in December, 2009.
© 2010 e-Dialog, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
www.e-Dialog.com
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