MARKETING 3.0: A BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGNS

Transcription

1 : A BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGNS

2 Contents Marketing 101: What Your Business Needs to Know 1 Marketing Metrics: What Matters and Why 3 Marketing Best Practices 6 Marketing 3.0: Automation & Integration 10 About LeaDNA 11

3 Marketing 101: What Your Business Needs to Know marketing is far more complicated than simply hitting the send button. With the average subscriber sending and receiving more than 115 messages each day and more than billion messages being sent each day the sheer volume of daily traffic is beginning to dilute its value. By 2017, market research firm The Radicati Group predicts there will be more than 2.76 billion recipients worldwide, up from 2.42 billion this year. While remains a powerful and effective marketing communication channel, without a clear strategy in place, it s all too easy for your message to get lost in a sea of spam. Worse, you risk alienating your customer base and tarnishing your brand s reputation, while also wasting significant time and financial resources. MARKETING WORKS WHEN IT S DONE RIGHT. marketing is more than simply blasting off a quick message to your core customer list. Effective marketing is the strategic use of as a marketing channel to deliver the right message to the right person at the right moment in order to: Build brand awareness Nurture B2B leads Sell to new customers/up-sell to an existing client Strengthen customer relationships When done correctly, marketing works: The average ROI for every dollar invested in marketing yielded $40.56 in 2011, according to the Direct Market Association. 93% of online consumers interact with brands through , more than any other platform. (Prestige Marketing) 81% of B2Bs cite as their most effective lead generation tactic (MarketingSherpa) Page 1

4 45% of recipients made at least one purchase last year because of a marketing (Prestige Marketing) Consumers who click-thru marketing s to make online purchases spend 138% more than those who do not. (Prestige Marketing) Given these glowing statistics, it s no surprise that more than half of all businesses (56%) planned to increase their marketing efforts in Whether your business is ramping up its marketing efforts or puzzled by a spate of low click-thru rates, understanding marketing campaign optimization is key for improving campaign performance and maximizing ROI. This white paper will provide you with the tools necessary to leverage key analytics for improved ROI, as well as introducing you to the benefits of marketing automation in order to get the most out of your marketing campaigns. Page 2

5 Marketing Metrics: What Matters and Why BOUNCE RATE A bounce occurs when an fails to reach the intended recipient. Soft bounce: Recipient is temporarily unavailable (e.g., vacation auto-responder or full mailbox); most mail programs will attempt to redeliver the message at a later date. Hard bounce: Message is permanently undeliverable. An invalid address is the primary cause for hard bounces. The industry standard bounce rate hovers around 1%, according to an analysis of marketing campaigns performed by MailChimp. This rate varies between industries; nonprofits are on the lower end (0.7%) while manufacturing businesses are on the higher end (1.9%). If your marketing hard bounce rate is greater than 1%, this is a red flag that your address list is stale. Nearly one out of three Americans changes their address each year, and professional addresses may change even more frequently. How to lower bounce rate: Keep your list fresh by periodically checking in with subscribers. Every quarter, send a check-in confirming that subscribers wish to continue receiving messages from your company and that you have their correct address. This is especially important if your list is primarily B2B, rather than B2C, as business addresses change on average every six months. OPEN RATE open rate measures how many recipients view or open your . An open rate is typically expressed as a percentage and is calculated by dividing the number of s delivered ( s sent minus bounces) by the number of s opened. For example, if your campaign has an open rate of 20%, this means that 1 out of every 5 delivered s were opened. marketing programs will embed a tiny, invisible graphic at the bottom of your HTML . Each time a recipient opens your and views the HTML version, the tracker graphic is downloaded from the server. This download is recorded as an open. Tracking opens is not perfect; for example, if a recipient views a text-only version of your on their smartphone, this won t be recorded as an open. In general, however, the open rate gives you a good idea of how your business s campaigns stack up to others in your industry. Page 3

6 In the United States, the overall open rate for s in 2012 was 18.9%. Just north of the border, Canada boasts an open rate of 24.2%. By industry, education has the highest open rate (26.2%) while computer hardware/telecom/electronics has the lowest at 13.4%. How to improve open rate: Focus on the subject line. 35% of recipients report opening an solely because of the subject line and 69% of recipients have marked an as spam solely because of the subject line. In general, the best performing subject lines are 35 to 50 characters, the optimized length for smartphones. CLICK-THRU-RATE (CTR) CTR measures the percentage of recipients who click-thru from your to your target landing page. The average click-thru-rate (CTR) hovers between 2 and 5%. And while this figure may be slightly lower or higher depending on your industry, a CTR less than 2% is a surefire sign that your current marketing strategy is failing. Even if your current CTR is on par with your industry, that s no reason to settle for average. According to an analysis performed by How to improve CTR: Use design to make your hyperlinks and call-to-action (CTA) stand out. Test your subject lines and CTA. Include social sharing options; just one social sharing option increases CTR by 30%. Segment your lists to match the right offer with the right target. Create a sense of urgency by putting a limit on offers. Add a P.S. to the bottom of your message to re-iterate the CTA. Ensure your s are optimized for mobile viewing. UNSUBSCRIBE RATE The unsubscribe rate is the rate at which recipients unsubscribe from your communications. In general, a rate of less than 2% is within most industry norms, although this rate may vary. Page 4

7 unsubscribes are not always a terrible thing. Yes, it s never great to see a customer or client leave your list, but if they genuinely are not interested in your product or service, it s better for them to leave than stay on your list. Don t obscure or hide the unsubscribe link; you want your recipients to be left with a good impression of your business, rather than become the target of spam complaints. Finally, for some individuals, remember that may genuinely not be their preferred method of communication. These individuals may prefer to follow your business on Twitter or LinkedIn or subscribe to your blog s RSS feed, for example. Offer these options, along with frequency customization, on your unsubscribe page. This gives your business another way to stay in touch with customers and clients. How to lower unsubscribe rates: Keep unsubscribe rates below the industry average with the following: Offer customized frequency; for example, depending on your business, you may allow subscribers to choose between daily offer s, weekly digests, or a monthly highlight message. Give customers and clients a reason to stay subscribed; leverage exclusivity by providing recipients access to valuable content first (e.g., an early white paper release) or special offers. Be consistent; if you send a regular digest , for example, send it at the same time each day. Recipients will expect to hear from you at this time and the will become part of their daily routine. Page 5

8 Marketing Best Practices BUILD A BETTER OPT-IN LIST Your marketing program is only as strong as your opt-in list. Opt-in list building is the first phase of list management. Building a list of good, engaged users is key for successful marketing; after all, you only want to contact people who wish to receive your message. The following tactics improve lead capture and help your business get started building a better opt-in list: Add an opt-in box to your website s home page and call to action pages Invite customers to join your list when making a purchase online Require an address in order for businesses to download a free copy of your latest white paper or ebook Add a join my list button to the bottom of your blog entries. Keep the copy simple: Don t miss out join our list for more valuable insights. Offer incentives to build your list; for example, invite trade show participants to sign up for a free product demo or prize drawing with their address. Transparency is key, however; be clear to participants that by signing up, they will be opting-in to receiving s. SEGMENT LISTS The right message for a new sales prospect is very different from the right message for a longtime client. List segmentation is the process of dividing your current or prospective customer/client list into unique groups of buyers. After you have built a strong opt-in list, list segmentation is the second phase of list management. List segmentation makes it easier to send the right message to the right client at the right time: Segmenting lists increase open rates by 39%. (Prestige Marketing) Page 6

9 Segmentation improves click-thru-rates by delivering a targeted call-to-action that is specific to your client s needs. How you choose to segment your list reflects how your business wishes to target its customers and clients. The following are common ways to split up your list: User state: How active is this customer? Have they made a purchase in the past? Did they contact your office last week for more information? For example, segmenting between active versus inactive customers allows you to send less generous offers to current clients and more generous offers to inactive clients in an effort to bring them back to your business. Purchasing history: What types of products has this customer purchased in the past? For example, if your business sells home décor, you could segment the list based on individuals who have recently bought feather comforters and then these customers to upsell your company s matching feather pillows. Geographic region: Your company may be national, but that doesn t mean your s can t still have a local or region touch. Segmenting based on geography enables your business to target customers in a certain location (e.g., home improvement stores offering special discounts for East Coast residents affected by Hurricane Sandy) or even reference local lingo or cultural touch points that generate an emotional response in your recipient. Customer value: Segment based on average customer spending, order size, company size, or overall value to your business. Customers that regularly spend a lot with your business may not need a major discount offer in order to bring them back in the door, but they will appreciate s that recognize their valued status with your business and use more exclusive language. WRITE BETTER SUBJECT LINES A compelling, creative subject line is the best way to connect with target audience and get your s opened. Great subject lines require polishing, tweaking and practice. These best practices will help you head in the right direction for your business: Don t bury the lead: Be relevant and make a compelling offer/announcement that appeals to your audience s current challenges, interests and needs. Page 7

10 Personalize: When ing a specific group of people, name this group (e.g., Austin dog owners or West Coast Marketing Affiliates ). Write for your audience. If you are marketing products to college students, a casual Hey, Checkout Our Favorite Vines may be plenty appropriate. Likewise, a nonprofit should include its call-to-action in the subject line, such as Joe Your $5 Will Save 10 Acres of Rainforest Today. Don t be mysterious: Tell your recipient exactly what to expect from the and give them a clear reason to open it. Watch out for words that trigger spam filters. Words like free, video, sample and cash may be perfectly innocuous in the context of your subject line, but they can also sound gimmicky and trigger spam filters. A single word can make the difference between landing in the in-box or the spam folder. OPTIMIZE FOR SMARTPHONES As of August 2013, 2 out of every 3 Americans (145 million people) owned a smartphone. One out of every two Americans checks using a smartphone, making the top activity on smartphones, ahead of both web browsing and Facebook. And three out of four smartphone users say they are highly likely to delete s that they cannot read on their phones. A 2012 Litmus study found that only 3% of users view an message in more than one environment; longer s (with in-depth info) or those that include offer deadlines are more likely to be opened a second time Current marketing tactics, however, have yet to catch up with the smartphone revolution. The majority of s are still not optimized for smartphone viewing: subscribers must zoom in to read text, buttons are small, and graphics are clunky. With mobile, subject lines and the from name are critical; without a compelling subject line and a trustworthy from name, all it takes is a quick swipe of the finger to permanently delete your message. Smartphone optimization best practices: Keep subject lines between 35 to 50 characters; opt for either creative and compelling or direct and descriptive, depending on your 's tone and purpose. Limit body content to no more than 2-3 short paragraphs. Page 8

11 Selling a product or service? Include an image optimized for quick download and smartphone viewing. One-column layouts work best for both responsive and aware designs. Don t limit your call-to-action (CTA) placement to the end of the ; since recipients frequently skim only the first few lines, include the CTA early on in your message as well as the end. Optimize size; an of 40KB and 300KB may load just as quickly over Wi-Fi, but the 40KB will load much faster over a cell network. Page 9

12 Marketing 3.0: Automation & Integration Whether your business is a small start-up or a Fortune 500 company, successful marketing is more than just making another sales pitch; it is an important opportunity to cultivate a long-term relationship with clients and customers. While there are many different services available for distribution and list management, very few of these services also integrate campaigns with a broader approach to automated marketing. When selecting an service, think beyond the basics of design and distribution. Today s competitive marketplace demands a fresh approach to marketing that integrates your campaigns with all your digital marketing channels, including social media and website blogs. works best when sent at the right moment. Marketing 3.0 is an automated, integrated approach to marketing that anticipates and responds to specific triggers. For example, if a client looks at your website, thanks to marketing automation, a follow-up is already primed to send. This integrated approach to marketing is key to taking advantage of the sales moment, a small window of time in which your target customer is primed to buy, but has yet to make a purchase. By following up during this window with a targeted , you increase conversion rates and ensure that no sales lead is left behind. Automation streamlines the touch process for tracking and monitoring leads. According to Marketing Sherpa, for companies with a lead nurturing program in place, the most common frequency of touches is monthly at 34%. Others are weekly at 22% and quarterly at 15%. Nine percent indicated daily and 2% only annually. Automation streamlines this process and makes it easier to effectively integrate into your company s existing marketing program. Integration and automation are essential for maximizing your marketing ROI: Intelligent, adaptive list segmentation Automated, personalized follow-ups based on status Data visualization for in-depth analysis of performance metrics Marketing 3.0 also recognizes that not every needs to be a sales pitch. For B2B companies with a long sales cycle, for example, s that follow a help now, sell later approach are equally important for cultivating leads. And once these leads are ready to make a purchase, thanks to marketing automation, you can instantly follow-up with the right at the right sales moment. An automated, integrated approach to marketing delivers maximum ROI for your business. Page 10

13 About LeaDNA: LeaDNA helps organizations lead through innovative marketing automation software and demand based lead generation service. Getting to the very essence of what helps organizations lead is at the core of our DNA. We believe that a steady stream of demand based sales leads combined with innovative marketing automation software helps our clients lead. Contact: LEAD.895 LeaDNA by USAWeb 3 Columbus Circle 15 th Floor. New York, NY twitter.com/leadna360 Page 11