etailology

As a general rule, email is not terribly well used by etail firms. Here’s why.

List Matters Most: the 50/40/10 Rule

Direct marketers know that the main determinant of program success is not creative execution, but rather the quality of the list. After the list, the quality of the offer comes next…. and creative execution is a distant third priority. As a rule of thumb, think of the list as 50% of the value, the offer as 40%, and the creative as 10%.

That’s good news, right? Not really. Since email list acquisition is SO easy (just ask any spammer) we tend to think that we’re all set and should move right on to making a good offer to those customers. But in reality, the rules that apply to offline list generation still apply to email: it’s not about mailing letters to everyone in the white pages, it’s about identifying those segments into relevant and structured target audiences.

In this regard, I often recommend that etailers think of three types of email communications when thinking about list segmentation and quality:

Customer Acquisition Email. This relatively obvious category depends highly on list quality. The good news is that since etailers are often paying for these lists, they think carefully about list quality. The bad news is that list quality is often “high” in terms of the people on the list, but very low when it comes to the list source and optin status. Reputable etailers do their brand SERIOUS HARM when they purchase “opt in” lists comprised of hijacked email addresses. Yes, the quality of the contacts matters, but the source of those contacts matters too.

Customer Retention. Typically, these emails come in the form of monthly “newsletters” and too often the only offer contained in the newsletter is a coupon of some sort. If you have nothing more to say than “10% off!” you may want to work on your editorial calendar a bit more.

Self-Segmentation. This type of email isn’t usually on the etail radar. These emails are constructed with the primary purpose of soliciting a response from the customer which drives segmentation detail, rather than a sale. Ask a question… but not in so many words. While surveys are an obvious way to gain segmentation data, the inbound link activity from a carefully constructed email can provide dramatic insight.

But remember… Customer segmentation is not just about knowing your customers’ demographic profiles, but understanding what sort of customer they are at the time you want to communicate to them.

Context Matters

We don’t give context enough credit. Why? Primarily it’s because our etail marketing organizations aren’t integrated enough — the email group doesn’t necessarily coordinate their activities in real time with the online components of the business. Remember: even a one day lag in this regard can seem very strange to the customer. For example, how many of us have received offers on our next purchase from an etailer even before our first order with them has arrived? It happens all the time.

Receiving a coupon for my next order when I’ve not yet received my first is confusing and annoying. (Can’t I apply this coupon against what I just ordered?) It also just makes etailers look dumb.

But context extends beyond the obvious. When ordering flowers on May 10, it’s a safe assumption they are for Mother’s day. When asking for gift wrap on virtually any item, it’s likely the gift is for an annual event such as a birthday. And yet, armed with this incredibly relevant information, how many etailers have contacted you a year later to remind you of the event, prompt an order, and offer a discount (which benefits both you and them)? If your experience is like mine, then the answer is “none.” Amazing.

Every box checked during the checkout process provides detail and context about the shopper. Use it.

Service vs. Marketing Emails: No Difference

I will continue to assert that an online customer needs to be “reacquired” for each sale — every new sale is a new competitive experience, and etailers must play to win… every time. The emails sent post-sale to “service” the transaction (from shipping notices to tracking numbers to follow-on communications) have one special attribute: in these communications, you are not competing for the consumers attention.

Think about it. Compared to how quickly you delete marketing spam, how quickly do you eliminate a shipping notification or tracking email? Not nearly as quickly.

Now the bad news. Just as the email and online portions of etail groups can sometimes forget to coordinate their efforts, the service and fulfillment portions of the business are often very separate from the marketing portions. This is a shame.

While those “service people” may be in the warehouse down the street (or in a call center on the other side of the world) it’s important to consider the role of their communications in customer lifecycle. When these departments are in play, consumer attention to communications is abnormally high.

These “service emails” are the fourth and final type of email that I recommend etailers consider carefully. They represent a true source of customer access and can play strongly on the credence and experiential aspects of post sale service.