Training Marketer

You may want to take a second look at your open rates before making any changes to your email strategies. Email open rates are of limited usefulness, according to those at MarketingSherpa.

Their most recent chart shows that since 2004, email open rates have declined significantly. But, the Sherpas believe that open rates are a highly flawed metric and should be examined carefully before making any rash decisions.

How email opens are measured:
“A line of code resides within an email that asks the server to deliver a single pixel image. When that image gets served, it’s called an open. The problem? If the email client (Outlook, Yahoo! Mail , etc.) doesn’t allow the image to arrive, the open doesn’t get counted.”

With so many email clients (business and consumer) automatically blocking images, you can see why the metric can be tricky.

“Think about your own email reading patterns. How often do you read an article or scan an offer without enabling images? Probably quite often, if you’re like most recipients.”

Proceed with caution …

What do you get when you survey too often? Survey fatigue.

Those at Common Sense PR realize that “there’s a temptation to include custom measurement in every communication activity,” but marketers and public relations professionals should hold back from time to time.

In a recent Quick Tip, they advise to keep your measurement tools less noticeable than the information than you’re trying to communicate. While many customers are happy to fill out a quick survey, asking for too much can cause “survey fatigue” among those who you most want to hear from.

Lesson learned: Ask for customer feedback in the least intrusive way possible.

Example - Before sending post-purchase surveys immediately after a customer checks out, try imbedding a link in the “thank you” email. First thank the customer for their purchase and then ask politely if they would click trough to take a quick survey. It’s not intrusive and gets the job done.

Thanks to those at My Creative Team THINKing for sending out the warning about the trouble in “Email City” and sharing the new study by the Email Experience Council with us.

You have to create an account to view the report, but here’s the gist of it:

• 23% of retailers send emails that are completely unintelligible when images are blocked.
• Of the 77% of intelligible emails, there were significant variations in clarity based on their use of HTML text and alt tags.
• 42% of retailers designed emails that were a good mix of HTML text and images.
• 63% of retailers used alt tags on images adequately or extensively.

Outlook 2007 is a major technical reason for increasing deliverability problems, according to THINKing. Marketers should also be aware that the use of HTML and alt tags are large determinants of email deliverability.

Those at THINKing are working on an email marketing white paper covering the topic of technical considerations in email design that will hopefully shed some light on how to increase deliverability rates.

It is believed by some in the marketing world that consumer marketing tactics should not be mixed with business to business marketing. However, with a strategic campaign combined with the right product line, B-to-B marketing can reap exceptional results by adopting a few consumer marketing techniques and having some fun.

In a case study released this week, MarketingSherpa overturns that marketing myth and studies how B-to-C marketing can work for B-to-B marketers.

Agilent Technologies markets measurement instruments and lab supplies to scientists, with most communication focused heavily on data and detail. The company designed an online game to supplement their data-heavy marketing and saw a 13.79% conversion rate and beat revenue goals by 278%.

The company focused on these 5 steps:

Decide on a theme focused on key products

Agilent’s marketing team created a “Summer of Fun Giveaway,” featuring bright and tropical Flash animation and focused on a select group of products (syringes, vials and lamps for liquid chromatographs). The game was a simple

Visitors had to register on the site before playing the game, providing their name, company name, email address and mailing address.

Customize user experience and prize giveaway

Agilent looked at their customer database looking at product need and purchase behavior. Depending on purchase history, customers would see a certain set of products during the game.

Everyone who played the game received something. Non frequent buyers received a 15% discount code good toward a future purchase. Frequent and loyal customers received a branded beach towel or small cooler.

Set up limits

In order to not go over budget by providing too many giveaways the company set up prize limits. Only 500 prizes would be awarded and the game would only last for two months.

Use a multi-stage email promotion

The marketing team set up a strategic email campaign, hitting customers with three emails in the weeks prior and during the campaign. After the two month game period, sales representatives called customers who had won the 15% discount.

Track customer response

Tracking customers who played the game and their purchase activity with their prize discount gave the marketing team information on how to set up future campaigns.

Even scientists and researchers like to have a little fun here and there. The marketers in this case learned that mixing in some consumer marketing tactics can boost business to  business marketing efforts.

According to Brent Wilson at the B2B Marketing blog, pre-Internet marketing could be compared to deep sea fishing - like throwing a line out into deep water, with the right bait and waiting for a big fish to hook and reel in.

“The Internet has now changed the game of fishing for customers from deep sea fishing to fly fishing in a mountain stream for willey cutthroat trout.”

This isn’t a story of what marketing could do in the future, this is what is happening now … Marketing sends out an e-mail piece with unique urls personalized with the prospect’s name. E-mails are set up with cookies and tracking information allowing sales people to see when a prospect is on a certain url. The sales person gives the prospect a call - “I noticed you were looking at the online offer you received in today’s e-mail, can I answer any questions for you?”

I don’t know about you but I would be out of my seat faster than Speed Racer, poking my head above the cube walls, examining the office for strategically hidden surveillance cameras.

Marketing should be transparent. With regard to what your customers are viewing at this exact moment - remember, just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Your follow up should be planned in a way that you won’t “scare off the fish.”

“So back to that cold mountain stream and the internet metaphor; You can now see the fish in the shallow waters as they approach your drifting fly and watch as they rise all with the magic of analytics, cookies and tracking alerts. You can change the type of fly to get the desired response just like you can change your offer or your message. But let em’ take it before you set the hook. The mantra still holds true… ‘you need to have patience.’”

Surveys are a cost effective and quick way to gain insight on what your customers are thinking. If administered correctly, online surveys can be an invaluable business tool.

Like other emails, you can track and test online customer surveys to find out the best way to mold your marketing for your customers. You can even increase survey response rates drastically by molding your survey content correctly.

MarketingSherpa released a new “How To” last week that examines how one survey company creates powerful surveys with high response rates for their small and mid-size business customers.

Tara Zanecki, Director Online Sales Channel at Workshare Inc. boasts that in the past year, four surveys have had completion rates of up to 12% and they have an average 31% completion rate with new online purchasing customers.

With each survey, businesses find something new about their customers, according to Zanecki. Survey results can help marketing companies and small businesses develop effective email subject lines and messaging.

The survey guru shared 12 tips on broadcasting and writing customer surveys. Here are a few of the best survey tips:

Test and retest. Send the survey out to a test list to see how the email renders in different platforms. Testing surveys and having others read them over helps you catch small mistakes like typos that could be embarrassing once sent out.

Keep surveys short. Try to get the information you need in the least amount of questions. She advises no more than 20 questions for emailed customer surveys, but adds that B-to-B surveys may be longer.

Follow send best practices. The middle of the week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) is generally are the ideal days to send. If you’re sending to international customers, think about where they are. An email sent on Friday to a customer in China may be received on Saturday.

Survey the competition. Take a look at your competitors’ surveys and complete them, with an honest opinion. The more surveys you take, the more you find out what you like and don’t like.

Read the full “How To” at MarketingSherpa.

Initially, all marketing has good intentions - to sell. But, at what point does bad marketing turn into plain stupidity?

Well, we’ve come up with a few examples for you. While there are probably hundreds of stupid methods out there, and some that haven’t been thought up yet, we cut it down for you a little.

Here’s our list of 10 stupid ways to sell along with some suggestions on how to raise your sales IQ:

1. Use a complicated message. Big words, lots of jargon, vague offers — the more complicated the message, the harder it will be for customers to figure out what you’re trying to sell.

Instead, get to the point and keep your messaging simple. Speak to the reader, use the word “you” in your copy

2. Focus only on making the sale. “We want your money now! BUY! BUY! BUY!”

The main focus should be on the value your product/service provides for the customer. We know you want to sell us your fancy new widget, but remember we’re people too. I  want to know how it will solve my problem and make my life easier.

3. Have a complicated purchase/checkout process. “You must register, fill out these 20 forms and give a blood sample before checking out.”

Make it easy for customers to buy your product and navigate around your site. You can have people register, but try to keep it as simple as possible. The more frustration a customer finds, the more willing they’ll be to find another vendor.

4. Think the sale is over at checkout. “Thanks for you’re money, see ‘ya later!”

Wrong. This is just the beginning of your relationship with the customer, nurture it. After the checkout, send a thank you with additional offers or introduce your newsletter, keep the relationship going.

5. Skip customer research. How do you know the best way to sell to your customer before you even know who they are?

Research is critical — knowing your target audience’s demographics will help you mold your message and communicate more clearly. A little time spent now on customer research will help you save money in wasted advertising later.

6. Bombard customer inboxes with dozens of promotional emails. Just because I bought from you today doesn’t mean I want to buy another one in a few hours and even more tomorrow or another fancy widget on Monday.

Emailing customers too frequently is an easy way to turn people away, fast. Even worse, making it difficult for people to unsubscribe can get you in trouble, possibly even blacklisted, a hard thing to bounce back from.

Instead, target emails to different customer groups in your list. If someone just bought yesterday, don’t send them an email tomorrow advertising something else. Look at your sales cycles and determine the best times to email — weekly, monthly, quarterly.

7. Use outside links (ads, emails) that land on unrelated or general landing pages. I clicked on the link for a certain book title I’ve been looking for, don’t make me search through an entire page full of products to find it. I’m lazy, impatient and won’t do it.

Landing pages are a great place to focus your sales, don’t waste them. By clicking on the link, you already know the customer is interested. Keep the sale going and keep your focus clear. Tell them about the main features of the product or service, give them links to find more information, and tell them how to buy.

8. Send people to a “broken” Website. Broken links, missing pages, tons of error messages, poor content - clean up the house before you start bringing guests over.

Instead, spend some time and maybe a little bit of money fixing up your site, be proud of it before you start sending customers there.

9. Fail to respond to customers quickly. “The current wait time is approximately 735 minutes. Please stay on the line, your call is important to us.”

Click.

When a customer calls or sends an email with a question, be sure to respond as soon as possible. Not only will the customer appreciate the attention, but you’ve started a good relationship and established your company as one that cares about it’s customers.

10. Create a Website and then ignore it. This also goes for blogs, online networks and groups.

You put in all of that effort way back when, why throw it away? There’s nothing sadder on the Web than finding a blog that hasn’t been updated since January 24, 2005.

It’s worthwhile to keep your blog or network going, even if you only have time to post once or twice a week. Producing constant keyword-rich content will add value for your readers and make you very attractive to search engines.
Take a look at your marketing and sales activities from the viewpoint of an outsider. How have your past marketing ideas failed? What stupid sales ideas are you still keeping around?

Patch-up the cracks and fix your leaky pipes - your customers will appreciate it and you’ll see the results when all the sales start rolling in.

With email design, less is often more according to a recent blog post from email marketing leader ExactTarget.

“When dealing with designers on certain email projects, I have been reminded of the old saying:

To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

Or, to put it in design terms:

To a designer with Photoshop, everything looks like a canvas to be filled.”

There should be a single purpose to your email communication with customers. Don’t clutter the email with too many messages, images or hard to read text.

An email can be deleted as fast as the blink of an eye. So, be sure to get your message across quickly and keep your primary message at the very top of the email.

Think about how your email will be viewed by the recipient. If the email is delivered to an Outlook account, you may only have the space alloted in the preview pane to catch someone’s attention.

While your designers may want to create a fancy, jam-packed email to wow customers, remember one thing - keep it simple.