Mass customization: The next step in the evolution of email marketing www.campaigner.com
Introduction Studies and statistics continue to support the fact that email remains the top performer among all other direct marketing tactics. With a return on investment of $57.00 for every dollar spent (DMA, 2008) how could you go wrong? Nonetheless, businesses today face significant challenges. Competition for the inbox remains fierce and SPAM continues to impact email reputation and deliverability even for those who follow industry best practices. The most successful businesses recognize that email communication constantly evolves. Now that the industry established best practices based on permission, the most savvy businesses have begun to move from one-to-many or broadcast email tactics toward establishing one-to-one relationships with customers and prospects. Personalization --addressing emails directly to recipients by name, and the technology for automating this approach, played an important role in this. But today s consumers continue to demand even more relevance and timeliness from the marketing messages they receive. In a consumer-driven world, one-to-one targeting now means reaching individual customers at exactly the right time in the buying cycle. This requires more than just personalizing your messages with a name, but also segmenting your lists using demographic, behavioral, and transactional data. Achieving this level of sophistication in your email communications is a daunting task. Thankfully, as we enter this next phase in the evolution of email marketing, new approaches and technologies have emerged that will allow businesses of all sizes to take their email programs to the next level. This new approach requires what is becoming known as mass customization. Mass customization can only be accomplished through email automation. This white paper provides practical information for helping businesses make their already successful email marketing programs even more profitable with mass customization tactics through email automation. Campaigner powered by Protus 2
Contents The case for email automation....................................................................4 How email automation enables mass customization................................................. 4 Event or action-triggered automation.............................................................. 4 Trigger campaigns in action..................................................................... 5 The challenge............................................................................... 5 The solution................................................................................. 5 New solutions for overcoming adoption barriers..................................................... 6 Email and CRM a perfect marriage.............................................................. 6 Finding the right email service provider partner for mass customization.................................... 8 Conclusion an action plan for getting started..................................................... 9 About Campaigner............................................................................. 10 Campaigner powered by Protus 3
The case for email automation As the impressive email ROI numbers from the DMA clearly indicate, email drives significant revenue for businesses large and small. Email continues to thrive as one of the most popular forms of communication, as proven by a recent Pew Internet & American Life Project survey that found 91% of Internet users between the ages of 18 and 64 send or read email. Amidst all of the accolades, some obstacles remain, especially when it comes to email deliverability. According to the DMA s Q2 2007 National Email Marketing Benchmark report, delivery rates for retention emails declined by 80% and acquisition emails decreased by 68%. The DMA reported this as the second decrease in a row and advised businesses to improve their sender reputation, email content and authentication; otherwise the delivery declines could develop into trend. This is where email automation can help. Email automation not only helps organizations address deliverability issues, but can also boost the success of already strong email marketing programs by improving targeting and open rates. Getting the right message to the right person at the right time means your recipients will look forward to receiving your emails and will open them. You will build stronger relationships with customers and prospects while receiving fewer spam complaints. The result a better overall email reputation and higher deliverability rates. How email automation enables mass customization Mass customization of your email marketing campaigns dramatically improves campaign performance by enabling you to create highly defined segments based on demographic, behavioral and transactional data. Integrating all of this data and setting up such campaigns manually would be a daunting task, and until now, only large enterprises with complex and costly email solutions have been able to implement email campaigns at this level of sophistication. Advanced email automation tools and technologies make mass customization possible, and today new and affordable email automation tools have been developed that enable businesses of all sizes to quickly and easily design automated campaigns. With these new tools, you can create and design campaigns in minutes that will automatically deliver customized messages to individuals based on their stated preferences, a specified time, date, event or action. Whether you re a retail, hospitality, business services or technology company, your customers and prospects will receive the exact message they want from you at the right time. Reaching individuals in this way will open up more opportunities whether persuading an existing customer to make a repeat purchase, closing a sale by getting a prospect to buy for the first time or nudging an important lead one step closer to becoming a loyal customer. Mass customization can be achieved through a variety of technologies, tools and approaches. Event or action triggered email campaigns and integrating email marketing with CRM data to automate the lead process are just two approaches we ll examine in this whitepaper. Event or action-triggered automation Event or action-triggered automation allows you to automatically send relevant emails to customers at exactly the right moment based on a specified time, date, event or action. Businesses today use email segmentation to target specific content at unique list segments. Deploying automated event or action-triggered email campaigns allows you to take email marketing relevance even further by ensuring that every email is not only targeted but is also being delivered at the right time. Campaigner powered by Protus 4
Trigger email automation allows you to map out each element of the campaign, including: The event, action or specified time that initiates the sending of an email; Filters to include or exclude contacts; Timer delays for scheduling and initiating message delivery; Select customized email campaigns to send to specific contacts or contact segments; Post-condition settings to assign value fields for tracking specific contacts once the campaign series has been executed. Trigger campaigns in action A brief case study illustrates how event and action-triggered email campaigns can benefit a business. The challenge A regional health club chain wanted to reduce membership churn and increase customer loyalty, a challenge for any fitness organization that sees memberships ebb and flow throughout the year. The marketing team decided that an email campaign would be the best way to reach members in every club with an attractive promotion or offer. Unfortunately inconsistent data collection processes from the various clubs in the chain meant they had a poor quality email list with very little specific profile information about individual members. More detailed member profile information would be needed to run an effective cross-chain email promotion. The solution The health club marketing team crafted a promotion that would help them improve the quality of their email database simultaneously engaging members with an attractive fitness program through a series of highly targeted automated trigger email campaigns tailored to individual member interests and preferences. The promotion began with club managers and directors informing existing members across all of the clubs in the chain about a new eight week in-club weight loss initiative. Interested club members filled out a sign-up form that encouraged them to provide their email addresses along with additional information regarding individual health and fitness preferences and interests. An email was automatically triggered welcoming them to the 8 week weight loss program. Members interested in participating in the promotion benefited from giving information because they were then sent additional support information for the weight loss program further strengthening the relationship between club and member. Once the eight week weight loss program began, the health club was able to stay in close contact with individual members, not only about the program, but with other messages and promotions that suited their stated preferences. With targeted trigger campaigns based on member profile data, the health club provided members with additional value beyond just a great place to come and work out. Email content dynamic, displayed based on join date and geographic segments Automated email Week 5 Automated email Week 2 Automated email Week 1 Automate dynamic segments based on: Membership join date, Geography New York, Boston, Washington, Philadelphia New sports club member Subsequent campaigns consisted of seven emails developed with content tailored to the weekly experience of each member as s/he progressed through the weight loss program. This meant that at the mid way point in the campaign there could be seven Automated email Week 8 Response to Campaign Campaigner powered by Protus 5
different groups receiving seven different messages. The campaigns also used dynamic segments which meant a weekly email could be created that had different logos, different club locations, and different messaging based on the member s club location and join date. All of this could only have been accomplished through an advanced email automation solution, which not only eliminated the physical management of the campaign processing and execution, but also assured that the emails would go out with the right message at the right time to the right club member. New solutions for overcoming adoption barriers The good news is that technologies and tools are available today that are easy-to-use and affordable for any sized business. Users can program automated emails with quick drag-and-drop tools that create a flowchart for visualizing and mapping out each element of the campaign without the need for additional IT services. Nonetheless, perceptions that automated trigger-email campaigns are too complex or costly persist as evidenced by industry analyst research and studies conducted by email service providers. According to these research findings, businesses understand the value of event, action and behavior-triggered emails and tailored messages versus broadcast emails, but have failed to move beyond the broadcast approach. The conclusion is that even with all of the evidence in favor of automated trigger campaigns and email automation in general, businesses remain uncertain where to start to take their email communications to the next level. Email and CRM a perfect marriage Like event or action-triggered campaigns, integrating email marketing with lead generation systems is another email automation tactic that can significantly increase the bottom line. The majority of participants in the Aberdeen benchmark report, Success Strategies in Marketing Automation (July 2007), indicated that measuring marketing results and lead generation were their top two marketing challenges, followed by lead nurturing and qualification. Based on extensive research, Aberdeen concluded that automating the lead generation process across multiple channels will help companies improve the overall effectiveness and ROI of lead generation programs. Large enterprises with geographically distributed sales forces were the early adopters customer relationship management (CRM) systems. CRM enabled companies to establish uniform processes for gathering and sharing sales and lead information, dramatically improving the efficiency and performance of the sales force. Companies like Salesforce.com developed CRM systems designed specifically to help small-to-medium sized businesses achieve the same benefits once accessible only to larger companies. Today, most businesses even the smallest enterprise use some type of CRM or lead generation system, in addition to email marketing tools and services. Many have taken the next step by integrating these systems, but surprisingly, even more have not -- despite the clear benefits demonstrated by another Aberdeen study Best-in-Class Future Technology Adoption (October 2007). Campaigner powered by Protus 6
87% of the companies that participated in the study are currently using or plan to use email marketing to integrate CRM data and automate the lead process. Aberdeen s research has also revealed the following business benefits of linking email and CRM systems from companies that have already implemented automation initiatives: Reduce the sales cycle 95% surveyed reduce the sales cycle by integrating email campaigns with lead management solutions. Generate more opportunities and control the message 66% pass leads back and forth between sales and marketing, creating more opportunities for qualifying, following up on and prioritizing prospects that are most likely to make a purchase. Save time 42% use automated email follow-ups for lead qualification, improving the overall efficiency of the lead qualification and sales process. Planned marketing automation solution integration Best in class All others 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% Imagine being able to automatically move individual leads through the sales cycle faster with email campaigns that launch automatically as CRM data changes for individual leads? Automating your email campaigns in this way will allow your sales team to concentrate on leads that require personal attention. Businesses can achieve these results by integrating email marketing and CRM systems to provide the following features and capabilities: Automate lead and contact imports Leads and contacts can be auto-imported and updated into your email marketing system at a pre-set frequency, whether weekly, daily, or even twice a day. 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 93% 79% 82% 72% 79% 75% 79% 51% CRM Sales Force Automation email marketing Lead management Aberdeen Group, July 2007 Web Analytics Automate email campaigns Campaigns can be scheduled to automatically launch at any point during the sales cycle, automating lead nurturing. 'Send on behalf of' Email campaigns can be created by your marketing department but appear to come from the lead owner. Replies go directly to the lead owner Automate relationship building between leads and reps. Automatic update of activity history Lead owners can access campaign content in activity history, and easily verify whether an email was opened, clicked, bounced or recipient unsubscribed. Dynamic content and personalization Send information that is highly relevant and targeted, content can be displayed based on the leads or contacts personal information. Campaigner powered by Protus 7
Finding the right email service provider partner for mass customization No matter what size your business, mass customization of your email communications is within your reach with the email automation tools and services that are available today. In-house email marketing solutions are expensive and often do not provide the same features you can find with an ESP at a much lower price. However, there are a lot of providers to choose from and finding the email marketing solution that s the right fit for your business can be challenging. As a first step, make sure you select an email service provider (ESP) that offers on-demand hosted solutions. A hosted service will allow you to focus on your core business while your ESP automatically provides your marketing team with the latest technology and enhancement updates, in addition to automated features for ensuring email marketing best practices are followed to protect your email reputation and improve your deliverability rate. You ll also want email creation and campaign management tools that are easy to use so that your marketing teams can perform all of the functions themselves without having to tap into technical or IT support staff. This same ease-of-use without the need for IT support also applies to the advanced email automation capabilities like the trigger campaign and CRM integration features detailed in this article. The following features and capabilities ranging from the basics to advanced services - provide a good starting point for you to find the best ESP partner for your business: Opt-in list building to gain trust. List management to ensure credibility. List segmentation wizards to improve response. WYSIWYG content editors to create graphically rich, professional campaigns. Dedicated postmaster delivery services to achieve industry leading standards. One-time campaign set-up to ensure the simplicity of on-demand. Integration with leading CRM systems like Salesforce.com and Microsoft. Database synchronization ca pabilities to connect to information-rich data systems. Advanced email automation features for event or action-triggered campaigns. Advanced reporting and analysis to improve delivery and response. Third party SPAM scoring services like Return Path Campaign Preview. Campaigner powered by Protus 8
Conclusion an action plan for getting started As outlined above, email automation is emerging as a strategic approach for businesses of all sizes to dramatically improve the targeting, relevance, and the timeliness of their email marketing campaigns. Despite the proven benefits and accessibility to affordable and user-friendly solutions, many businesses have yet to adopt email automation. Organizations still undecided or uncertain about how to begin should follow these best practices to take their email marketing programs to the next level with mass customization: 1. Align sales and marketing. The first step toward implementing an email automation strategy is to align sales and marketing. Your sales team is on the front lines with your target customers every day. Make sure your email communications planning in terms of campaign content and timing aligns with what your customers want and when they want it. 2. Integrate email with CRM. Once you begin sharing planning and strategy between sales and marketing, the next step is to integrate email marketing with your CRM system. Your CRM system could contain vital demographic, behavioral and transactional data that when integrated with your email communications can significantly reduce the sales cycle. 3. Segment your email lists. Many marketers today have dramatically improved email marketing performance by segmenting their email lists based on data collected through their email marketing systems. Now that you ve integrated CRM data with your email marketing system you can take segmentation to the next level of precision marketing by subdividing your segmented lists to even more highly targeted groups of recipients. 4. Deploy event or action-triggered automation. Email communication continues to evolve from one-to-many, broadcast tactics, to establishing one-to-one relationships with customers and prospects. With integrated CRM and segmentation strategies in place, businesses can target their emails even more precisely with trigger campaigns an approach that allows you to automatically send relevant content to customers at exactly the right moment based on a specified time, date, event or action. Email automation tools are available today that allow businesses of all sizes to conduct highly sophisticated trigger campaigns. 5. Find the right email service provider for your business. Email continues to deliver as one of the most effective methods for building close relationships with customers and creating new business opportunities. Customers will continually demand only the most relevant information reaches their inbox. Email automation is the most effective strategy for marketers to adapt to the demand for more precise and timely emails. When seeking an email service provider, make sure you find a company that delivers all of the basics you ll need in addition to the advanced email automation tools that will help you continually improve your email marketing performance and success. Campaigner powered by Protus 9
About Campaigner Campaigner is an industry-leading email marketing service that makes it simple for small businesses and organizations new to email marketing to create sophisticated one-to-one email campaigns that result in profitable relationships with customers. Campaigner s proven email marketing functionality includes list segmentation, personalized messaging, automation, and Salesforce integration. Campaigner improves email marketing ROI and performance by helping small businesses create and send professional e-newsletters, grow opt-in lists, and improve permission-based marketing results. Campaigner includes automatic CAN-SPAM compliance and on demand online access for a low monthly fee. Campaigner resources Campaigner offers a variety of educational materials for the public. Find recent articles, tips, online product and educational webinars, customer case studies, and more. Additional information for Campaigner is available at www.campaigner.com. Toll-free: 1-866-358-6355 International: 1-613-216-7423 Email: support@campaigner.com 2009 Protus IP Solutions. All rights reserved. Protus, MyFax, my1voice, Campaigner are trademarks of Protus. Other trademarks referenced in this document are the property of their respective owners. Customers are solely responsible for ensuring regulatory compliance. CPWP0209 Campaigner powered by Protus 10