Association Marketing Benchmark Report

Transcription

1 215 Association Marketing Benchmark Report

2 Table of Contents 2 Introduction 13 Results by Number of Recipients 3 Marketing Metrics, Defined 14 Results by Time of Day 4 Executive Summary 15 5 Trending Now 16 Results by Day of Week Results by Subject Line Length 7 Benchmark Data and Key Findings 17 Open Duration Results 18 8 Mobile Opens vs. Desktop Overall Metrics Opens for Weekdays 9 Results by Frequency 19 Mobile and Desktop Open Duration Comparison 1 Results by Country of Sender 2 Client Preference and Open Rate 11 Results by Client Type 21 Open Results by Client (Detailed) 12 Results by Number of Links 22 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 over 1 billion s sent in 214 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. New this year, trending topics that impact marketing data have been included on pages 5-7. This is the fifth consecutive year we ve reported on association marketing benchmark data and the sixth 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. Delivery rate remained consistent at 98% year over year. volume rose by 12.14% compared to the volume of sent in 213. Click rates were overall lower in 214 compared to 213. Click Rates are influenced by the relevancy of the message, the creative layout, and the placement and size of call-to-action links. Open rates increased by 4.25%, from 34.4% to 35.49%. Unsubscribe rates remained favorable at.5% for

6 Trending Now: Testing on the Rise Simply having your message reach a subscriber s inbox is not the whole story. Everyone has asked themselves questions like why did this perform so much lower than others? or are our messages standing out in the inbox? and what can I do to increase our reach and get our content seen? To begin to answer these questions, the answer is simple: test. Testing is no longer an option; it is a must. into what types of messages resonate with their audience and deliver those messages at the most optimal time. Forward-thinking marketers know that testing is a key component to successful marketing programs. In 214 we have seen subject line testing among clients increase by 26.3% and send time optimization usage increase by 24.5%. Open rates have increased as clients gain insight While subject line testing is most common, testing is also being performed on the friendly from, preheader text, call-to-action, creative layout, and time and day of send. Every test is an opportunity to gain insight and increase engagement metrics. 5

7 Trending Now: Cadence and Frequency frequency is a popular topic for many organizations that wonder whether they are sending too many s. The 214 marketing benchmark data shows that 72% of subscribers were sent five or less s each month. Subscribers that were sent 6-1 s a month had slightly higher open and click rates than those receiving five s or less. We have also seen strong engagement metrics from subscribers that receive 2+ s a month. While volume is a component in subscriber engagement metrics, the single most important engagement factor is still relevancy. That being said, it is important to have an accurate assessment of volume, frequency and engagement rates for your audience. The first step to answer the frequency question is to perform a data analysis. The objective of the analysis is to know: The number of s subscribers receive in a month (broken down by volume thresholds such as 1-5, 6-1, 11-15, etc.) The correlation between open rates and volume. The correlation between volume and unsubscribes. The results of the data analysis will determine what the appropriate next steps should be. As a best practice, preference forms are an effective way to manage cadence and relevancy. Preference forms are a good alternative option for subscribers that might otherwise choose to click the unsubscribe link. 6

8 Benchmark Data and Key Findings

9 Overall Metrics 1. Overall Metrics The average metrics for associations include a 98.34% delivery rate, 35.49% open rate, and 15.87% click rate. 1% 98.34% % % Delivery Rate Open Rate Click Rate 8

10 Results by Frequency 72% of subscribers were sent 1-5 s per month. However, subscribers that were sent 6-1 s had slightly 2a. Results higher by Frequency open and click rates s Sent 2.37% s Sent 6.15% s Sent 2.% s Sent 2.68% 6 1 s Sent 15.17% 1 5 s Sent 71.63% 2b. Results by Frequency 25 Click Rate 23.34% 22.63% Open Rate 21.68% 2 2.2% 17.4% 15.88% % 11.22% 1.59% 1.55% 11.87% 12.69% Number of s 9

11 Results by Country of Sender Average open rates ranged from 42.55% in the United Kingdom to 29.12% in New Zealand. Click rates were lower in the US and Australia and highest in the United Kingdom. Delivery rates did not fluctuate between countries, but the unsubscribe rate in Australia was double the unsubscribe rate of the US and New Zealand. 3. Results by Country of Sender 5% Click Rate Open Rate % 39.1% 42.55% 34.25% % 24.21% 25.13% % 15.79% 18.% 1 US Canada Australia UK New Zealand Country 1

12 Results by Client Type Mobile usage has dropped slightly and desktop usage has returned to the most frequently used 4. Results client by type. Client Type Unknown 6.19% Web 16.2% Mobile 38.7% Desktop 39.72% 11

13 Results by Number of Links 5. s Results containing by Number of 1-15 Links links had click rates lower than the click rate benchmark of 15.87%. Messages with 51-7 links had the highest average click rates at 21.17%. 25% % 21.17% 19.56% Click Rate % 13.55% 15.7% 15.85% 15.64% 16.43% Over 7 Number of Links 12

14 Results by Number of Recipients 6. Engagement Results by Number rates of decrease Recipients as mailing size increases. Mailings sent to less than 5 people had open rates 34% higher than the industry benchmark. 5% 47.68% 44.14% Click Rate Open Rate % 36.3% % 27.28% % 23.9% 2.26% 18.5% 22.59% 2.4% 17.89% 14.39% % 9.98% 1.3% 11.7% 9.76% 3.85% < K 1K 5K 5K 5K 5K 1K 1K 25K >25K Number of Recipients 13

15 Results by Time of Day Messages sent at night had the highest open rates and messages sent midday had the highest click rates. 7. Results by Time of Day Click Rate 4% % 35.21% 36.69% 38.6% Open Rate % 16.44% 16.25% 15.9% 1 5 Morning Midday Late Afternoon Night Time of Day 14

16 Results by Day of Week The day of week had very little influence on open and click rates. volume was significantly smaller on weekends, but open rates rose slightly while click rates remained consistent. 8. Results by Day of Week Click Rate 5% Open Rate % 35.17% 35.1% 35.12% 34.5% 36.63% 4.42% % 16.12% 16.17% 16.6% 16.18% % 13.7% Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Day of Week 15

17 Results by Subject Line Length 9. Results by Subject Line Length Subject lines with fewer than 4 characters have open rates above the 35.49% open rate benchmark. 6% % % Open Rate % 36.21% 35.32% 34.57% 33.46% 31.56% 1 9 and less and up Number of Characters 16

18 Open Duration Results 1. Open Duration Results Over 6% of s that are opened are engaged with for more than 1 seconds. Open 25.89% (<3 seconds) Read 61.98% (>1 seconds) Skim 12.13% (3 1 seconds) 17

19 Mobile Opens vs. Desktop Opens for Weekdays Mobile opens exceed desktop opens during late afternoon and evening hours. 11. Mobile Opens vs. Desktop Opens for Weekdays 1% Percent Opens Desktop Percent Opens Mobile am 1am 2am 3am 4am 5am 6am 7am 8am 9am 1am 11am 12pm 1pm 2pm 3pm 4pm 5pm 6pm 7pm 8pm 9pm 1pm 11pm Time of Day 18

20 Mobile and Desktop Open Duration Comparison Mobile and desktop readers had very similar open duration results, with mobile skims slightly higher than desktop skims. 12. Mobile and Desktop Open Duration Comparison Skim (3 1 seconds) 8% Open (<3 seconds) Read (>1 seconds) % 59.16% % 23.79% % 17.5% 1 Desktop Open Desktop Read Desktop Skim Mobile Open Mobile Read Mobile Skim 19

21 Client Preference and Open Rate Over 78% of all opens were viewed just once on a mobile device, desktop or other client, while 22% of all opens were combinations of the three. More readers prefer to view on desktop only than any other client. 13. Results by Client Preference 4% % % Open Rate % % 9.71% Open Rate by Client Preference 1.95% 1.66% Just Desktop Just Mobile Just Other Desktop and Mobile Mobile and Other Desktop and Other All 3 Client Preference 8% Open Rate % 62.8% 57.9% 48.62% 2 1 Mobile Only Desktop Only Other Only Combination Open Rate by Preference 2

22 Open Results by Client (Detailed) n Results by Client, Detailed Over 4% of s are read on iphones or in Outlook 21. The most-used clients are iphones (mobile), Outlook 21 (desktop), and Gmail (web). 18. Open Results by Client, Detailed 25% 25% 21.65% 21.65% % % 1.42% 1.1% en Results by Client, Detailed iphone Outlook Open Results by Client, Detailed iphone ipad Android Phone Android Tablet Highest Usage Highest Usage: Mobile 2% 18.56% 8% % % % 2.58% % 1.67% 1.7% Outlook 21 Outlook 2/23/Express Outlook 27 Highest Usage: Desktop Outlook 213 Gmail Yahoo Hotmail Highest Usage: Web AOL 21

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