DMA Email Marketing Council Blog

July's Issue of Infobox

This month we have a focus on metrics and results. You can see when marketers are actually sending emails; how to overcome three common barriers to adopting metrics and how to make the most out of your own list.

We also have news from the DMA Legal & Best Practice Hub on its definitive guide to email metrics.

UK marketers do not optimise for time of day; send times are based on sender convenience rather than subscriber preference Dela Quist, Alchemy Worx

Email marketing: overcoming three common barriers to adopting metrics Riaz Kanani, Silverpop

Lists: it’s not the size; it’s how you use it! Tink Taylor, dotMailer

Metrics, metrics and even more metrics Jonathan Burston, Chair of The Legal & Best Practice Hub (alias: Do Good Things Hub)

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Email Research from Return Path: UK Marketers Missing Opportunities to Engage

With market conditions changing so frequently it can be difficult to keep abreast of what is happening. During my time with the DMA I have signed up to a number of blogs and e-newsletters; most days my inbox is teeming with updates and useful information.

Working in a research function my eye is naturally drawn to new studies and reports that help with our day-to-day efforts. I am also keen to promote findings to members that are relevant to their business and that serve as best practice guidelines.

One recent new study that arrived in my inbox was from Return Path, the deliverability service provider. The report, Creating Subscriber Experiences That Maximise Returns for UK Marketers, offers some very interesting findings. Unfortunately, the picture it paints of how email subscribers are treated in the UK is not pretty.

I was particularly interested in the statistics around personalisation and the use of data to target messages.  In the study, Return Path researchers found that 85 per cent of companies that collect personal data on subscribers fail to use this valuable information to make their marketing messages and offers more relevant. 

This is alarming news for the industry.  First, because segmentation and personalisation is the bread-and-butter of any direct marketing effort.  Sending generic messages when you could be sending highly targeted, relevant messages just seems counter-productive. 

Secondly, consumers in Britain are pretty sensitive on privacy issues.  That said, there are plenty of people who see the value in handing over a few personal details in exchange for messages that are more helpful and personal.  But when the result of filling out a form on a web site is a bland email message that doesn’t speak to the consumer’s needs, the value equation quickly appears lopsided.  Consumers start to wonder what the hell we marketers are doing with all this data we are collecting?

The advice that Return Path gives its clients is quite sound and aligns with the advice we give DMA members: Collect only the data you plan to use, use the data you collect. 

The other surprising statistic I found is that Return Path's researchers failed to receive a single email from 39 per cent of the organisations they registered with during the five-week study period.  Not a single email in five weeks!  In a time of global economic crisis it seems mad that companies would ignore potential customers by not following up quickly with the email messages they request.  Either companies aren’t integrating new data into their system quickly enough, or they are sending the emails as requested but are being blocked from the inbox.  Interestingly, if deliverability issues are at play here (and it seems highly likely to be the case, at least for some of these companies) then these two statistics may be linked.  Sending generic messages can often lead to high complaint rates (subscribers hitting the “this is spam” button) which can lead to ISPs blocking all the email from that sender. 

Return Path has very good advice on this as well: make sure you know where your email goes.  Blocked email can’t generate any kind of response.

Those are just two of the juiciest data points, but this report is full of interesting stats, great advice and examples of what some of the best marketers do with email. 

You can download it at the Return Path site:  http://www.returnpath.net/landing/ukstudy/

Beware of the white label data proposition.

White label – A re-branded version of a product or service designed and delivered by one company and promoted as their own by another.

There are many successful white label propositions working for both partners successfully.  It makes sense for an online pet store to partner with an insurance company to offer a re-branded pet insurance, or an advice site on bringing up children to partner with a company selling sticker charts and re-brand them as their own.

However, there is another breed of white label producers that are approaching companies with large databases (typically those not currently commercialising their databases) and offering them opportunities to make lots of money from their white label proposition.

Things to double-check before entering into these agreements:-

• Do the commercials add up?  Ask to see examples of conversion rates with other partners, speak to other people running the partnerships (and ask them if it is working to the levels promised).
• Is there a minimum commitment to promote the product and service?  If this involves getting a minimum number of individuals to click on the product (avoid) as this could lead to you committing to sending multiple emails.
• Ultimately, you will be emailing your members with a third-party offer (despite it having your branding).

a)  Do you have the correct permissions to do this?
b)  Will the users be happy to receive it? If not, there could be a negative impact on your key product or service.
c) Does it make commercial sense? Work out you ROI or equivalent value per 1000 emails sent. 
d) Will it have a negative impact on your deliverability?

• Does the company have a viable business model that is working independently? If not, what does your company have that will make it a success?  If it is a close alliance with complementary products and services, then it may be worth exploring further. However if it is a large database, then it might be that the company offering the white label is seeing it as an option to promote what they have to sell cheaply, with no risk to themselves.

If you are considering alternative ways to generate income for your business, then don’t discount monetising your database, but approach it like all good business decisions by gathering all the facts , exploring the options and considering more than one option.  Don’t be drawn into promises of large amounts of money (with no guarantee) in return for damaging your client database. 

Sara Watts – Data Media and Research

Life Story or just an email address?

Having spent more time than is healthy thinking about how much or how little data is the "right" amount to collect, here are my tips on how to gauge what is right for you.

1. Why am I collecting data in the first place? Consider what you are going to do with the data and make sure that the consumer is made aware of what they should expect when they submit their details.

2. Collecting a very limited amount of information will probably increase your sign-ups, but think about how useful this information will be. Even if you’re just starting out, think ahead. Profiling and segmentation will be a lot more straightforward if you have collected a postal address. Also, consumers are not as scared as you may think about giving their details as long as they can see what they will get in return and how you will look after their data.

3. Permissions – I’ve sat in protracted meetings discussing permissions and I concede that they are dull, however they are vitally important. Most channels are opt-in, although postal is still opt-out of course. Does it make sense to ask people to opt-in for all channels? Test it…does positive postal opt-in result in higher quality, more responsive data than relying on failure to opt-out? Am I future proofing my base by doing this? Is one simple multi-channel permission, followed by access to a preference page, less confusing than a jumble of little tick boxes that may confuse the consumer?

4. Consider a "creeping data strategy". Collect a limited amount of information up front, then use this to communicate and build brand trust with the consumer. Over time, collect additional (but only relevant) in subsequent communications.

5. Where do I put the information I’m collecting? It might sound daft, but is there actually a field in your database where you can store the answers to the questions you are asking? It's all well and good collecting "interesting stats", but infinitely more useful if you can add depth to your database and use the new criteria for targeting.

As you can see there isn’t a right or wrong answer, but be forward thinking, transparent and honest and you’re already half way there.

Rupert Harrison

Chair Best Practice & Data Hub, DMA Email Marketing Council and Data Planner, News International

"Email Equity" or "Spray & Pray"

£9.11, £20, or at the risk of sounding like Bruce Forsyth - Higher / Lower? 

At the start of January 2009, an article that was published in Revolution magazine put the value of a permission based email at £20. This proposed a new updated value from the £9.11 put forward by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) National Benchmarking report in this post in 2007.

Two things struck me by this:

1. Whilst both these figures can be criticised as being only "finger in the air" - how many companies can, even if they choose not to say, actually place a value of their own asset (excuse me if I don't put email list, database etc but lets call it what it is)

2. Given that they can value this asset do they treat it as such i.e. regularly measure it, manage it, and through a structured process aim to improve it !

Over 2008 I monitored the number of emails I received from 24 companies (I registered but then did not open). Have a look at the monthly figures but the difference was stark.

• One company emailed me 105 times in the year!! This suggests that they are either very persistent, very optimistic or not listening to the feedback they should be getting ?

• Others emailed hardly at all - I opted in and they failed to deliver !

"The time has come when advertising has in some hands reached the status of a science" - Claude Hopkins wrote in 1923, but my experience over 2008 suggests not all hands !

If companies do not go beyond a "never mind the quality feel the width approach" i.e. How big as opposed to how valuable, they will be unable to have communication that is relevant both to their customers and their corporate goals.

In discussion with various delegates at a recent Ready Steady Email event, feedback suggested that people are starting on the route to email equity but it still has some distance to travel. However the sooner companies start the sooner they should get there!

I'd appreciate your thoughts.

Stefan Elliot
Six Serving Men

Targeting campaigns and leveraging the media brand

The use of email for cold acquisition campaigns often gets a bad press and it is easy to see why given the general preference to follow the path of least resistance when offering email as a solution.  More often than not media owners are guilty of providing a one size fits all approach to each and every client that comes their way.  Invariably this means that the overriding objective is to supply as much volume as possible in the hope that there is enough response to sustain a client relationship in the short term.  This type of approach neglects the need to understand a client’s acquisition objectives, the appropriate targeting of the right media to maximise response, and the right analysis of said response to ensure the client is getting the most out of their email marketing.

A media owner’s best intentions to deliver a targeted solution can easily be hamstrung by the underlying commercial demands of running databases that have to make money, it’s an inescapable fact.  It has never been more important to ensure that email is used in a responsible and intelligent fashion, ask those trying to get it delivered, yet it remains a bitter pill for some providers.   The current economic climate demands that any money spent on advertising, and particularly email, delivers solid and ideally quantifiable results.  It is no longer viable for a media owner to offset the poor quality of their media by dropping rates to account for the inevitable wastage and non responsive media that gets lumped into client campaigns.   Such an approach is not sustainable and will ultimately do the channel a huge disservice and scare off clients.

It is certainly not doom and gloom however, not by any means.  There finally seems to be a noticeable shift in how email is being used.  Media owners and clients alike are finding themselves more prepared to explore the real value that lies within their databases.   Effective segmentation and the leveraging of media owner brands are seeing exceptional results.  We recently ran a campaign for Champneys using 3rd party permissioned ASOS.com media.  The obvious synergy between the advertiser’s upmarket brand and that of the media owner meant that providing the right demographic based on the Champneys profile was likely to see very strong results.  Indeed, post campaign the ASOS data had recorded unique opens of 26.45% and unique clicks of 11.37%.  Both the media owner and advertiser were extremely pleased, one having delivered their customer base a relevant offer adding to the ASOS.com experience, the other having experienced a campaign conversion rate off the scale compared to other third party lists on the schedule.

Running relevant, targeted campaigns is extremely easy if tackled properly.  There is huge opportunity for media owners who want to embrace fundamental marketing principles and provide a media solution with real integrity.  Times are moving on and the commoditisation of email cannot be sustained.  Media owners need to seize the opportunity to provide more robust solutions, those that don’t will fail to be taken seriously and will fall by the wayside.

Simon Jeffs
Head of Data
TMN Media

Email data capture standards – improving consumer confidence

I have signed up to a whole host of email databases and registered with a myriad of websites.  As a consequence I receive a lot of promotional email communications where on the whole the media owner used is clear.  Given that I work in a business dependent on the planning and buying of email for client campaigns, as well as delivering and managing client media for CRM activity, my radar for solicited communication is finely tuned.  Conversely when I receive an email from an unknown source my suspicions are immediately aroused.  What relationship do I have with this brand?  Why are they contacting me?  Where did I give them the permission to send me email?

There already exists a simple way of ensuring email communications resonate, particularly those facilitating third party promotional offers.  As long as the sender does not conceal their identity and uses clear from lines and branded email templates, there should little to confuse a communication with spam sends.  Couple that with targeted and relevant activity and you would hope that such simple steps are helping to preserve the integrity of the channel. 

Unfortunately, a number of data providers renting their bases steadfastly refuse to acknowledge that the treatment of their media in this manner is worth doing.  Some will pass their media from pillar to post, even contributing to pooled media offerings where there is a trend to hide the source of the original permission or opt in.  These anonymous pools of email data only serve to add to a recipient’s view they are being spammed.

It appears there is a real need to up the ante in terms of how responsible data collection and its usage are reflected to the consumer.  Perhaps a data collection ‘kite mark’ could be introduced on websites as a means to offer the appropriate assurances?  This standard could be displayed at the point an individual submits their details alongside a brief description of what exactly PECR compliancy actually means.  For media owners collecting and using email correctly this would merely endorse and reinforce the responsible application of any media moving forward.  Where future communications might already resonate with the recipient as the sender’s identity is made clear, a quality standard mark contained within the body of an email will further serve to offer an additional level of integrity.

This could be another small step towards a better delivery environment running in tandem with existing technical authentication protocols.  In a marketplace where data standards easily slip and reputation is key, it could enable at the very least a more transparent and auditable means of ensuring media quality is at its highest.  There already exists a List Warranty scheme with a focus on offline media; perhaps it’s time to introduce an online equivalent?

Simon Jeffs
Head of Data
www.tmnmedia.com

3rd Party Data Capture or 3rd party list rental?

Once you are maximising your own customer and prospect data (gathered from your website) then the next step is to look at how to utilise other data to get the full benefit from your email marketing strategy. In order to do this effectively you need to make sure you: 

1. Are clear on the target audience; who do you want to receive your email. Look at the profile of your existing client base in relation to what you are promoting in order to ascertain this
2. Have a clear communication strategy. Are you just promoting your product or service on emails; will the same message be reflected in other marketing mediums; or will the email be followed up by a phone call? In most cases the marketing message you send to your new prospects needs to be different to the  one you send to your own customers.
3. Be clear on what you are monitoring. Don’t make the mistake of just looking at the number of people who open or click on the email – the monitoring needs to be related to your key business aims. E.g. people who purchase something or are active on the areas of the website where you need them to be active.
4. Always follow the DMA best practice guidelines (www.dma.org.uk/bpg) and be fully  aware of where the data you are using has come from, how it has been collected and that the data owners’ privacy policies and data collection statements are clear and legal.

Two of the most effective ways of expanding email marketing from simply using your own data to using 3rd party data are List Rental and Data Capture are:

• List rental – where you send a one off mailing (or if agreed a series of emails) to a selection of people who have given permission on another company’s website to receive emails from selected 3rd parties. This is typically priced at a cost per thousand (CPM)
• 3rd party Data Acquisition – where individuals give their details and sign up to become a member of your company’s mailings on a 3rd party’s website or through an off line medium. This is normally priced at a cost per record where the price will vary depending on the amount of information you require, what the user is signing up for and what criteria of people you want to make the offer to.

Email Marketing: Get Personal with Your Customers

Aberdeen Group (a US based research company) has published a new report entitled ‘Email Marketing: Get Personal with Your Customers’. The report covers the how, why, and what of email marketing personalisation along with the challenges and the benefits.

The report is well written and supported by a case study from within the retail sector and many charts and very useful nuggets of information spread over its’ 25 pages.

The report can be accessed free of charge until 29^th August 2008, here.

Measure your subscribers inactivities

Building your own benchmarks and trends is key to being able to measuring the success and ROI of your email marketing campaigns. By building a long term picture of the peaks and troughs in your marketing, you'll be able to spot what’s working - but perhaps even more importantly, what’s not.

Along with the activity metrics, look at measuring these metrics as well:

"Inactives" - Subscribers who have not been tagged as having opened, nor have they clicked on any links.

"Opened but did not click" - Subscribers who have been tagged as having opened issues, but never clicked.

"Links not clicked" - Include calls to actions, articles and links that haven’t been clicked at all (or very little).

The next step ...

Once you've begun to benchmark and trend this information, along with activity, assess what parts of your email marketing campaigns need to be improved.

Review - For inactives, take a look at your subject line and who the email is coming from. These most likely need to provide better branding, identification and a stronger enticement in the subject line. If it is links not clicked, take a look at your layout, synopsis text, and the strength of your call to actions.

Segment - Segmentation will allow you to separate out your subscribers based on actions and non-actions. Even if you simply segment out those subscribers who are tagged as inactive vs. active, you’ll be able to take a different approach in what you send the inactives.

Test - Taking all the above into consideration, plan to do some testing. The good news in analysing what’s not happening is that you will have a clearer picture of what needs improving.

Jennifer Curtin.
Head of Marketing, Newsweaver
www.newsweaver.co.uk