Retailers’ Top 5 Email Marketing Mistakes December 9, 2009
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Taken From Blacks Retail http://blacksretail.com/
Retailers’ Top 5 Email Marketing Mistakes
By John Fell, President, E-mail Logic
Permission email marketing is the the ultimate retention marketing tool for both brick-and-mortar and online retailers. It’s targeted, dynamic, interactive and cost effective. In fact, there are even tools available that let you do your own email marketing virtually for free.
Email marketing can be very affordable, but what you can’t afford is to do it wrong. Some say that bad marketing is better than no marketing, but I disagree. The window of opportunity for building an email relationship with you customers is small and very competitive. Therefore, it’s important to do email marketing right. After all, it only takes your customer one click to ”unsubscribe” to your relationship.
So how can you ensure a long and healthy online relationship with your customer base? Avoid these mistakes and follow these expert tips.
Mistake #1: Not Getting Permission
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is failing to get permission to send someone an email. Email is the only form of communication that requires the marketer to establish that their target actually wants to receive their message by law (the Can-Spam act). Many email marketers simply send customers and prospects emails without explicitly asking for or confirming their permission. While the recipients aren’t likley to sue you for violation of Can-Spam, it’s simply bad business etiquette and negatively brands you as a marketer. More importantly – you’ve missed the opportunity to do things right! There is only one correct way to get an email address – ask for it. And what might be defined as permission from your customer or prospect should be interpreted as privilege to you, the marketer.
Mistake #2: Not Immediately Reinforcing Your Relationship
Once you’ve established permission, start the relationship in a timely, relevant matter. Seth Godin, the guru of permission marketing, states that all email marketing must be targeted, relevant and anticipated. This seems to be overlooked by many email marketers right from the beginning. It’s amazing to me how many first emails I get from businesses weeks or months after I opt-in. Not only are these senders risking that I won’t recall giving them my permission, and label them as spam, they are missing an opportunity to making a great first impression by reenforcing their brand and benefits with a “welcome” email sent to me right after I sign up.
Mistake #3: Not Ensuring That Your Emails Are Delivered
There are hundreds of Email Service Providers (ESPs) that can be accessed online to do email marketing. They have two basic functions. One is to provide online software tools to create emails, manage lists, and track results, and the other is to deliver emails to the subscribers on your lists. And while there is a range of prices for these services, there is an even bigger range in what these tools offer the user, especially when it comes to deliverability of emails.
The biggest mistake that marketers make when selecting who to buy their email technology tools from is to assume that all the emails they send will be delivered. Regardless of how well you’ve established permission with your subscribers, the likelihood that your emails will be labelled as spam remains high, unless you’ve partnered with a high-end ESP that specializes in deliverability. Simply put; you get what you pay for.
Using one of the popular, inexpensive ESPs to keep your costs down increases the possibility that your emails won’t get delivered and you’ll probably never know about it. And if, and when, you determine your emails aren’t getting delivered it’s unlikely that they’re available to help you navigate through the complicated maze of ISP (Internet Service Provider) and spam filtering.
Furthermore, when it comes to creating your emails, it’s very important that you understand how to use the tools the ESPs provide. This is probably where most amateur email marketers stumble. Many amateurs don’t understand image suppression and how to correctly format emails so they can be viewed in the hundreds of different combinations of devices and software that we use to view email.
Mistake #4: Not Making Sure That Your Emails Can Be Seen & Read
Simply creating a beauftiul graphic and sending out the image can be a big problem if you subscriber uses image suppression. (And just because you might have figured how to get the images in your inbox to show up, it doesn’t mean your subscriber has figured it out, or wants to.) Almost every form of email client (software to view emails) utilizes image supression and email marketers who don’t design for it are limiting their effectiveness.
Beyond image suppression, the email creator must also have some knowledge of HTML since different email clients vary on how they render HTML in emails. For example, if you look at an email using AOL and then look at the same email using the Outlook 2007 software downloaded on your computer, the chances are that they will look quite different. Added to the complexity is the endless variety of mobile device software that render emails differently.
While some online ESPs provide inexpensive, state-of–the-art technology to build emails, using them effectively is another matter. Just like using the latest, greatest clubs doesn’t make you a great golfer,there is no technical tool or solution that can guarantee that your email will render correctly for all the different software and hardware combinations that your subscribers use to display their emails. That is something that is learned through experience by email design specialists, and even we have to constanly be updating our knowledge as the technology changes.
Mistake# 5: No Marketing Savvy
Assuming that email marketers do build their lists correctly, build technically correct emails and get them delivered to their subscribers’ inboxes, the mistake that I see most often is simply lack of marketing savvy. So what is marketing savvy?
The Right Way
When we design a strategy for a client we look to do three things well:
Correct Frequency: First, create a regular dialog with subscribers by sending the right message to the right customer at the right time. Over sending can wear out your welcome in the inbox. Sending too infrequently can make them forget about you. Tracking tools can be very helpful in determining the correct sending frequency. In addition, you need to segment the list based on subscriber data which will help you to determine which subscribers to send to so that emails are more relevant.
Contain a Call to Action: Second, a call to action is essential in all marketing, especially email. Too many times I get emails that are nothing more that a billboard and give me nothing to do. In addition, building a “click-though” to an offer or more information can be measured for effectiveness with tracking tools and be used to identify leads or motivate subscribers.
“Wow” Effect: Thirdly, emails should be used to build your brand. The first impression of an email is what matters the most. If you don’t deliver some “wow” the instant that a subscriber gets your message, it’s unlikely that he will open your email – much less read it.
The one distinct advantage small independent retailers have over their larger competition is the unique and personalized relationship they have built with customers. Email is the perfect opportunity to enhance this relationship and creatively re-enforce your brand. Most consumers get a lot of emails each day, but, the problem is that many of these emails look unprofessional and that can only tarnish the brand of the sender. The challenge is to make your email the one that stands out and that won’t happen if your email is boring and impersonal.
Summary: To be a successful email marketer retailers must:
• Correctly establish their email relationship with prospects and customers
• Create and design creative and effective emails
• Make sure their emails are delivered through the maze of filtering
• Make sure their emails are viewed correctly by hundreds of different software programs and devices
• Include a call to action
• Have their R.O.M.I. (return on marketing investment) maximized
John Fell is the president of E-Mail Logic.
Since 2002, E-Mail Logic has been partnering with over a hundred independent retailers helping them streamline their marketing costs and implement internet marketing strategies.
Marketing Spending Pays Off for Small Biz – eMarketer November 11, 2009
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“This is not the time to cut advertising. It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times.” -John A. Quelch, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School
The old adage of marketing more when in a downturn is definitely great advice for the many independent specialty retail clients that we work with at E-Mail Logic. But they are constantly struggling with the need to cut expenses and that can create a big dilemma: More marketing spending in a downturn can help a company come out ahead when the economy picks up again. Here’s a great supporting article in eMarketer Daily. My favorite quote: “Use of e-mail marketing in particular correlated with expected revenue growth.”
Exact Target Connections ‘09 October 15, 2009
Posted by emaillogic in Uncategorized.Tags: brick and mortar retail, email marketing, Exact Target, John Fell, One to one marketing, Specialty Stores
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DATELINE INDY:
4 of us attended the Exact Target User Conference —- Connections ‘09. Branded “Success by Design” it was a terrific event.
I’ve attended all the Exact Target User Conferences. And since the 1st one in 2003 the one thing that has stayed the same with Exact Target is its’ consistent growth.
We signed on as a “pro connect” with Exact Target in 2002 and we’ve never looked back or had any regrets. While they’ve grown quickly and have there have been some growing pains, our association with them has been the key to E-Mail Logic’s growth. We’ve successfully partnered with them, utilizing their technology and implementing their marketing ideas of the future with our marketing savvy from our experiences to successfully lead our clients from old marketing to new.
John Fell, Gerry Garcia, Jake Fell and Tom Gwaltney at Connections 09
Exact Tac=rget 2003 - 1st User Conference
Here’s the image of Tom and I in ‘03
Here’s the newsletter- we wrote about the experience – I guess you could say we’ve come a long way too.
E-Mail Logic Introduces “Social Forward”‘ August 3, 2009
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E-Mail Logic is now offering Social Forward
Social Forward - Social Forward allows subscribers to directly embed a marketing message on their social networks using a “Share This” integration or the “Direct to Social feature”. You can track click activity of shared email messages all the way from an email to the social network, and even the number of page views resulting from the shared message! DETAILS: E-Mail Logic Introduces “Social Forward”‘
Posted using ShareThis
Time to Schmooze. July 5, 2009
Posted by emaillogic in Uncategorized.Tags: brick and mortar retail, Collective, E-Mail Logic, email marketing, Menswear, Menswear Retailer, Outdoor Retailer, Salt Lake City, Specialty Stores
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Virtual businesses have their advantages. There are seven of us working on our email marketing campaigns for a variety of small businesses around the country. We take care of a variety of businesses from brick and mortar specialty stores, web merchants to various “B to B” specialists. While the internet makes it possible for us to work with businesses located anywhere – it also allows the same possibilities for our worker bees.
Our main office is in Evanston Il. And our Creative Director is in Greenville, SC and our Director of Sales is in Denver. But the reality is we could be anywhere. The only thing that separates us from Exact Target, our platform, is a login and password. While we meet regularly with meeting tools and we’re virtually connect with messaging screen share, etc. Nothing will ever replace the schmooze. So, when we can find a way to get the team together it’s a big deal.
That occasion happened last week when the family calendars fell in sync with the company calendars and we had a meeting and BBQ. The big points of discussion were our upcoming trade show exhibits in both the Outdoor Retailer in St. Lake City (July 21 – 24) and The Collective in Chicago (August 9-11). We designed the landing page and booth.
We also spent some brain storming our integration with Frogmetrics an exciting opportunity to integrate state of the art market research collection with automated email marketing using a POS collection tool.
Here’s the team: L to R: Gerry Garcia, John Fell, Matt Anderson, Lisa Jordan, Tom Gwaltney, Usha Rajbhandari, and Jacob Fell.
E-Mail Logic Team
MR Magazine Feature on E-mail Enhancement May 17, 2009
Posted by emaillogic in Uncategorized.Tags: brick and mortar, e-mail, email marketing, John Fell, Menswear, MR, Specialty Stores
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Read the Article
Issue Story
From the April 2009 issue of MR Magazine
Features
E-mail Enhancement
Elise M. Diamantini
How the web can help your business.
In a time when traffic is down, and retailers are trying to cut costs, online marketing is becoming increasingly important. The web is a fantastic tool for maintaining and forming new customer relationships. John Fell of E-Mail Logic works with retailers on new ways to stay connected. He’s using innovative techniques such as online basketball pools (for tournaments like March Madness). “It’s a difficult time to get people in the store, so this is a way to keep the retailer’s name on the top of customers’ minds. We can’t force them to buy, but if they’re a part of a pool sponsored by the store, it’s a fun way to interact with your customer.”
Fell says the top two reasons to be online are for acquisitions and retention. “The odds are that someone is Googling your store before they’re driving by it. You have to accurately and positively portray your brand to customers online.”
Using tools like Google Analytics can help you discover common search words. Then you must make sure you’re using those words, so your site comes up in an organic search.
“E-mail is the greatest retention tool because it’s all about permission. Customers want e-mails because they’ve signed up to get them. The key is to develop an on-going dialogue with frequency and send the right message to the right customer.”
John Fell’s E-mail Must-Haves
1. Strong Call to Action
Be specific and have fun with it. You want the e-mail to excite the customer enough to come into the store.
2. The “Wow” Effect
E-mails should reflect the same feeling your store gives when a customer walks through the door.
3. Personal Touch
Illustrate e-mails with photos of storeowners or employees. It’s a great way to differentiate your store from the competition.
E-mail Advantages
*Cheaper than direct mail: Karen Penner of M. Penner in Houston, Texas says (even though they still use some direct mail) they’ve cut about 20 percent of D.M. costs by switching to e-mail.
*Non-Invasive: Customers choose when and where they read the message. The subject line is important; it has to draw the reader in.
*Tracking: E-mail allows you to track all types of behaviors. Julie Lansky of Lansky in Memphis, Tenn. elaborates: “You can find out exactly who opened it and when, what links they clicked on, what sections they read, what brands they’re interested in. You’re able to see whether graphics or text draw people in more. It is as exact as what time and day of the week gets the best response.” At Lansky it’s in the afternoon, towards the end of the week because people are preparing for the weekend. Lansky says people are bogged down with other e-mails early in the morning, so mid-afternoon is a better time to send them.
Social Networking
Before you create a social networking page for your store, you must know your objective. Lee Odden, CEO of Top Rank Marketing, emphasizes this importance, “Too many companies will create a page without thinking about what it is they want to achieve. You must decide its purpose: do you want to increase sales or create brand awareness? It’s important to research and define your online audience and then come up with a strategy.”
Lansky has a successful MySpace page and they’re growing their “fans” on Facebook. “It’s more for our contemporary customers, but it’s a way to reach out to people who aren’t on your e-mail list.” You can post bulletins about new product, sales or events on your page. Lansky says, “It helps with recognition and maintaining relationships. The page keeps our name out there and we’ll have customers come in and tell us they saw something on our MySpace page.”
Will Levy recently set-up a Facebook page for Oak Hall in Memphis, Tenn. and they signed up 100 people in half a day. He says, “It’s another way to communicate with customers. Why use yesterday’s communication today? People say it’s the future, but it’s not, it’s what’s happening right now. I think the fact that we signed up the amount of people we did that fast really says it all.”
Common Mistakes
When marketing via e-mail, Fell says the biggest mistake a retailer can make is if their e-mails and website don’t measure up to the store’s aesthetic. If you have a luxury store, your internet marketing should portray that vibe to the customer. It’s also important not to over e-mail. Will Levy of Oak Hall says, “Our customers appreciate the e-mails we send them because they’re meaningful. You can’t flood your customer’s e-mail with junk. The best way to do it is to look at their buying record and send personal e-mails based on their previous purchases.”
Odden says that social networking doesn’t work the same way as direct marketing where you have an “A, offer to B, audience. It’s an A+B+C approach. The customer sees the message and connects to it in some way, then the retailer must follow up with an advertisement or a direct mail piece, and hopefully that will draw the customer into the store. It’s important to bring awareness through the web, but don’t forget the follow-through.”
Hubert White in Minneapolis, Minn. promoted an event via e-mail and used the tracking system to see who opened and clicked through it. From there, employees followed up with their clients and called them to make sure they would attend the event. Brad Sherman advises, “You have to be careful so it doesn’t look like ‘Big Brother is watching,’ but if you have a good relationship with the client it’s more like a coincidental call.”
PROCRASTINATION April 16, 2009
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Procrastination
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Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Procrastination is a behavior which is characterized by deferment of actions or tasks to a later time. Psychologists often cite procrastination as a mechanism for coping with the anxiety associated with starting or completing any task or decision. [1] Psychology researchers also have three criteria they use to categorize procrastination. For a behavior to be classified as procrastination, it must be counterproductive, needless, and delaying.[2]
Ok that’s me…it’s been 5 months since I’ve posted and now I’m posting…
It’s not like I have’nt had anything to say. Below are the posts from an interview with Joel Book from Exact Target.
Email Marketing by the Book – How Small Retailers Use Email to Get More Juice for the Squeeze from their Marketing Expenditures April 16, 2009
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Email Marketing by the Book – Email: The Secret Weapon of Small Business Success Part 2 April 16, 2009
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Email Marketing by the Book – Email: The Secret Weapon of Small Business Success April 16, 2009
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