2016 ASSOCIATION MARKETING BENCHMARK REPORT

Transcription

1 216 ASSOCIATION MARKETING BENCHMARK REPORT

2 Table of Contents 2 Introduction 14 Results by Number of Links 3 Marketing Metrics, Defined 15 Results by Number of Recipients 4 Executive Summary 16 5 Trending Now 17 Results by Time of Day Results by Day of Week 7 Benchmark Data and Key Findings 18 Results by Subject Line Length 8 19 Overall Metrics Open Duration Results 9 Results by Subscription Size 2 Mobile and Desktop Open Duration Comparison 11 Results by Frequency 21 Client Preference 12 Results by Country of Sender 22 Results by Client (Detailed) 13 Results by Client Type 23 About Informz 1

3 Introduction We ve performed a study on our association client base to provide marketers from associations benchmarking information for their marketing programs. This report includes a summary of marketing metrics from nearly 2 billion s sent in 215 by associations located in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom. This report is designed for marketers from associations. The data shared will help you understand what metrics to analyze, what goals to set, and how your marketing program is performing in comparison to your peers. Always keep in mind that these are averages from your peers. This is the sixth consecutive year we ve reported on association marketing benchmark data and the seventh association marketing benchmark report we ve produced. 2

4 Marketing Metrics, Defined Four key metrics are used in this report: delivery, open, click and unsubscribe rates. Delivery rate is the percentage of s that were not reported back to Informz as bounced or blocked. Open rate is the percentage of delivered s that were reported back to Informz as having been opened. If the text version of an is read, it is not counted. Likewise, if an HTML is read with the images turned off, it is not counted. However, if an is opened with images off, but a link is clicked, the is counted as being opened. Open rate only includes unique subscribers. Multiple opens by one subscriber only count once. Click rate is the percentage of opened s clicked by the recipient. Clicking a link in a text is not counted as a click. Click rate only includes unique subscribers. Multiple clicks by one subscriber only count once. Unsubscribe rate is the percentage of recipients who unsubscribed from a particular mailing. 3

5 Executive Summary The key performance indicators that defined the success of Informz client programs over the past year. volume rose by 11.87% compared to the number of s sent in 214. Delivery rates remained favorable at 98%. Open rates were slightly higher in 215 at 36% compared to 35.49% in 214. Click rates continue to remain positive at 16.14%. Unsubscribe rates remained favorable at.6% for

6 Trending Now: Marketing Automation Marketing Automation technology is transforming the way organizations do business. In 215, marketing automation penetrated the association market and gained momentum as early adopters reported positive initial results. Associations are making a purposeful shift to integrate and maximize their digital marketing reach utilizing all their data assets. Websites, marketing programs, account management databases, and online communities are no longer perceived as separate functional entities. Taking a holistic approach means moving away from a single communication strategy to a tailored, oneto-one communication approach. Associations using marketing automation technology are leveraging cross-channel business intelligence to deliver tailored customized communications to their audience. Initial results of replacing one-off s with automated campaigns are promising: New member welcome was replaced with a three-part automated welcome campaign and open rates jumped from 18% to 63%. Promotional sales was replaced with a multi-part automated campaign and incremental sales increased by 313%. Audience reach was increased by 58% after leveraging business intelligence from integrated online community and marketing platform. Early marketing automation campaign results are positive with improvements in open rates, conversions, and cash flow. The adoption of marketing automation technology is on an upward trajectory and is a trend that will be closely monitored for benchmarking purposes. 5

7 Trending Now: Intelligent Targeting and Message Relevance cadence is always top of mind for marketers, and for the second consecutive year we have seen volume sent to individual subscribers on a monthly basis decline. The data analyzed for this report reveals that 88% of all subscribers were sent 1 or fewer s per month, while 94% were sent 15 or fewer s per month. This is a shift from what we saw in the 214 data and marks a clear trend that marketers are paying more attention to how often they are contacting their members. The data analysis shows that message relevancy impacts subscriber engagement more than message frequency. The slight decrease in individual monthly volume had no significant impact on year-over-year metrics. The open rates across frequency groups remain positive and stable. This is likely an indication that marketers are moving away from large volume blasts and moving towards customized communication to precise target groups. One of the core benefits of marketing automation is the ability to intelligently segment your audience enabling you to respond more appropriately to subscribers and send a more relevant message. Utilizing the data collected on your audience allows you to create custom journeys for each subscriber, resulting in a more relevant, personalized experience and longer lasting memberships. 6

8 BENCHMARK DATA AND KEY FINDINGS

9 Overall Metrics 1. Overall Metrics The average metrics for associations include a 98.28% delivery rate, 36% open rate and 16.14% click rate. 1% 98.28% % % Delivery Rate Open Rate Click Rate 8

10 Results by Subscription List Size 2. Results by Subscription List Size 56% of the s sent in 215 represent associations with subscription lists of 1, subscribers or more. Nearly 35% of the volume came from associations whose subscription list size was between 1, and 4, subscribers. Associations with less than 1, subscribers represent 7% of the volume. < 1, subscribers 7.14% 1k -4K subscribers 15.87% > 4K subscribers 21.14% 4K 1K subscribers 21.3% 1K 4K subscribers 34.55% 9

11 Open Rates by Subscription Size pen Rates KEY by Subscription FINDINGS Size The highest open rate by subscription size of 36.9% came from associations with less than 1, subscribers. In contrast, the second highest open rate of 36.4% was generated from associations with subscription lists of 1, to 4, subscribers. 4% % 36.41% 35.55% 35.33% 34.23% Open Rate < 1, subscribers 1k -4K subscribers 4K 1K subscribers 1K 4K subscribers >4K subscribers 1

12 Results by Frequency 72% of subscribers were sent 1-5 s per month. Almost 16% of subscribers were sent 6-1 s per month and 6% of subscribers were sent s per month. Interestingly, open rates remain stable across all three frequency thresholds reinforcing that relevancy more than 4a. Results by Frequency frequency drives engagement s Sent 2.34% s Sent 6.22% s Sent 1.56% s Sent 2.1% s Sent.12% s Sent.7% 6 1 s Sent 15.82% 1 5 s Sent 71.77% 4b. Results by Frequency Click Rate 25% 23.84% 23.61% 23.2% Open Rate % 2.28% 2.92% 21.51% 2.2% Open and Click Rate % 1.35% 1.61% 1.53% 12.91% 1.87% 7.96% 7.1% Number of s 11

13 Results by Country of Sender 85% of the volume came from senders in the USA. Australia is the second largest sender and had a year-over-year growth in volume of 21.5%. Canadian open rates were 47.26%, which represents a 15.63% increase over 214 metrics. volume and response metrics remain consistent in the United Kingdom. New Zealand year-over-year metrics were favorable with a 1% increase in volume, open rates remained flat while click rates increased by 2%. 5b. Results by Country of Sender Click Rate 5% 47.26% Open Rate 43.36% % 34.48% Open and Click Rate % 24.46% 16.7% 21.91% 29.1% 21.62% 1 US Canada Australia UK New Zealand Country of Sender 12

14 Results by Client Type Mobile usage of 41.17% surpassed desktop and web usage making mobile the most popular client type. 6. Results by Client Type Unknown.35% Web Browser 23.6% Mobile 41.17% Desktop 35.42% 13

15 Results by Number of Links 7. s Results containing by Number of between Links 5-7 links and s with 31 or more links had click rates greater than the 215 benchmark average. s containing 8 or more links represent 77% of the sent volume. 2% 18.59% 19.95% 19.5% % 16.55% 16.12% 16.4% 12.4% 12.41% Click Rate Over 7 Number of Links 14

16 Results by Number of Recipients Audiences between 5,-5, accounted for 63% of all s sent, however the smaller the audience, the higher the open and click rates were. This supports the trend of smaller, more targeted 8a. Results by Number of Recipients audiences resulting in stronger engagement. >25k Recipients.55% 1k-25k Recipients 4.88% 5k-1k Recipients 15.5% <5 Recipients.9% 5-1 Recipients.11% 1-25 Recipients.4% 25-5 Recipients.74% 5-1k Recipients 1.69% 1k-5k Recipients 13.25% 5k-5k Recipients 62.79% 8b. Results by Number of Recipients 5% 48.87% 45.82% Click Rate Open Rate % 36.81% Open and Click Rate % 23.29% 2.58% 17.76% 32.16% 14.25% 28.36% 23.32% 2.3% 21.55% 18.46% 1 12.% 1.9% 9.28% 1.29% 5.38% < K 1K 5K 5K 5K 5K 1K 1K 25K >25K Number of Recipients 15

17 Results by Time of Day For the second consecutive year, s sent during midday hours accounted for the largest percentage of s sent as well as the highest click rates. The highest open rate of 37.38% was from s sent at night. 9. Results by Time of Day Click Rate 4% % 34.87% 36.39% 37.38% Open Rate 3 Open and Click Rate % 16.56% 15.74% 13.34% 5 Morning Mid-Day Late Afternoon Night Time of Day 16

18 Results by Day of Week Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday had the highest volume with an average open rate of 35.4%. Friday had the highest weekday open rate at 37.43%. s sent over the weekend showed strong open rates, however click rates decline significantly. 1. Results by Day of Week Click Rate Open Rate 4% % 36.3% 35.37% 35.64% 35.27% 37.43% 39.6% 3 Open and Click Rate % 16.19% 16.9% 16.41% 16.48% 16.66% 12.21% 5 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Day of Week 17

19 Results by Subject Line Length Subject lines with less than 4 characters have open rates that exceeded the 215 benchmark of %. Results s by Subject with subject Line Length line lengths between 3-39 accounted for over 24% of s sent, the highest distribution for 215 s. 5% 47.39% % 37.68% 36.29% 35.51% 34.43% 33.76% 33.8% Open Rate and less and up Number of Characters 18

20 Open Duration Results 12. Open Duration Results 65.7% of opened had engagement for more than 1 seconds, which is an increase over last year s metric of 61.9%. Open 21.52% (<3 seconds) Read 65.71% (>1 seconds) Skim 12.77% (3 1 seconds) 19

21 Mobile and Desktop Open Duration Comparison Mobile readers engage with s longer than desktop readers with 67.19% of mobile readers spending longer than 1 seconds. 13. Mobile and Desktop Open Duration Comparison Skim (3 1 seconds) 8% Open (<3 seconds) Read (>1 seconds) % 67.19% % 15.92% 17.96% 14.85% 1 Desktop Open Desktop Read Desktop Skim Mobile Open Mobile Read Mobile Skim 2

22 Client Preference 76.67% of opens occur just once, with mobile only having the highest percentage at 35.8%. 14. Results by Client Preference 4% % % Open Rate % % 1.29% 5 2.8% 2.12% Just Desktop Just Mobile Just Other Desktop and Mobile Client Preference Mobile and Other Desktop and Other All 3 21

23 Client Preference (Detailed) en Results by Client, Detailed Over 57% of s are read on iphones or in Outlook. iphones are easily the most popular device, nearly doubling the next closest client. 15b. Open Results by Client, Detailed 3% 3% % % % % 6.94% % 4.34% en Results by Client, iphone Detailed Outlook 21 Outlook 213 Gmail 15d. Open Results by Client, Detailed iphone ipad Android Phone.24% Android Tablet Highest Usage Highest Usage: Mobile 15% 14.1% 8% % % % 4.35% % 2.15% % 1.37%.75% Outlook 21 Outlook 213 Outlook 2/ 23/Express Apple Mail Outlook 27 Apple Mail 3 Gmail Yahoo Hotmail AOL Highest Usage: Desktop Highest Usage: Web 22

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