advanced email campaign analysis

IS YOUR EMAIL PRODUCING CHURN, BURN, OR PROFIT?ADVANCED EMAIL MARKETING ANALYSIS

Marketing Profs Digital Mixer 2009

Karen Talavera, Synchronicity MarketingHarvey Morris, Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau

The Evolving World of EmailThe Year of Discovering What Matters

What A Difference A Year Makes

2008 2009

Recession

Effect on 2009 Marketing Budgets Half of all responders reported negative

impact

But Every Cloud has a Silver Lining

Digital Marketing Grew

And Email Flourished

During tough times, more marketers adopted digital marketing Over 90% of marketers polled by eMetrics said

they would increase or maintain their spend on email

The Times They Are-a-Changin’

The Old Model

One-way progression More interested in speaking than listening Goal: Create demand rather than value Sell vs. Serve

The New Way

Two-way dialog, multiple avenues Conversation vs. broadcast Goal: Create long-term value & loyalty Sell by way of Serving

Why Now?

Marketing Fusion

Social Media Explosion

Web 2.0/UGC

Holistic & Transparent

Identity

Email: The New Nexus

Mobile, Ubiquit

ous, Device

-Neutra

l

Increases Engagement with

and Pushes Users to Social Media

Push/Pull to Web-Hosted Digital

Content too rich for inbox

Online Connector to Offline/Legacy

CRM and

Direct Response

World

Email

Consumers Prefer Email

But Consumers Want Permission Merkle’s annual View

from the Inbox study found 47% of permission email recipients cite that well-executed email programs influence their decision to do business with companies both online and off-line

This percentage increases in tandem with online spend, up to 59% for those with an annual Internet spend of $1,000 or more

Let’s Not Forget Social Media

The Year Twitter Doubled,

2008 2009

6 Million 12 MillionSource: http://www.sysomos.com/insidetwitter/

Facebook Exploded,

Nov. 2008

Nov. 2009

60 Million 300 MillionSource: Facebook, Web Strategy Blog (Jeremiah Owyang)

And Marketers Caught On

There’s a Lot More Data to Deal With

So What’s Worth Measuring?

Four Essential Email Measures

• Delivered, opens, clicks, conversions, complaints, unsubs

Process Metrics (Email

Diagnostics)

• Forwards, shares with social, cross-channel conversion

Influence Metrics

• Questions, complaints, critique, frustration, problems, praise

Feedback Metrics

• ROI, AOV, LTV, Share of Customer, Measurement against business objectives

Contribution Metrics

Email + Social Media = A Focus on Engagement

Case Study: CCTB

Three Distinct Audiences

Leisure Visitors (mostly B-to-C)

Bureau Members (B-

to-B)

Meeting

Planners (B-to-

B)

1. Leisure Visitors

Email Audience: 85,000• What’s New in Chicago Semi-monthly

Newsletter

• CHICAGO: Inside Out (GLBT) Quarterly newsletter

• Eat It Up Chicago (restaurant/dining related)

Objective: Stimulate interest in and travel to Chicago among Chicago-friendly tourists

Uncluttered Email Sign-Up Page

What’s New in Chicago (Aug.)

What’s New in Chicago (Sept.)

Chicago Inside Out

Chicago Restaurant Week Promo

Social Media Presence

Social Media Presence

Social Media Presence

Leisure Visitor Program Results

Measure Rate Result

Process Metrics

Deliverability Rate 98.5%

Open Rate 32.5% Interest

Click-Through Rate (on opens) 22.7% Engagement

Click-Through Rate (total) 7.4% Engagement

Unsubscribe Rate .14% Relevancy

Influence Metrics

Social Media Buttons (Find Us on . . .)

Facebook 160 clicks/issue

New FB Fans

Twitter 64 clicks/issue

New followers

Share to Social Link (FB at #1) 108 posts/issue

Residual Lift

2. Bureau Members

Email Audience: 3,000Member Companies: 1,400

• Membership Exclusive monthly newsletter

Objectives: Engage & inform paying members about CCTB

initiatives and leverage strength of group toward common strategic objectives

Grow email list via cross-promotion with members in social networking context

Member Exclusive

Social Media Presence

Member Program Results

Measure Rate Result

Process Metrics

Deliverability Rate 99%

Open Rate 65% Interest

Click-Through Rate (on opens) 13% Engagement

Click-Through Rate (total) 9% Engagement

Unsubscribe Rate .03% Relevancy

Influence Metrics

Forward Rate .2% Residual Lift

Social Media Buttons (Find Us on . . .)

Facebook Avg. 6/issue New FB Fans

Twitter Avg. 3/issue New followers

Join Members-only LinkedIn Group Grow email list

3. Meeting Planners

Email Audience: 16,000(House File 8,000/Rentals 8,000)

• “Chicago Meetings News” monthly newsletter

Objectives: Sell Chicago as a meeting/convention location Grow awareness of free CCTB resources

available

Chicago Meeting News

Official e-newsletter sent to meeting planners

Typical Announcement

Stand-alone message announces new free resources added to Destination Marketing Kit (DMK) for meeting planners

Meeting Planner Program Results

Measure Rate Result

Process Metrics

Deliverability Rate 94.9%

Open Rate 34.1% Interest

Click-Through Rate (on opens) 11.9% Engagement

Click-Through Rate (total) 4.1% Engagement

Unsubscribe Rate .10% Relevancy

Influence Metrics

Share to Social Link (FB at #1) 41 posts/issue Residual Lift

Email & Social Media Integration

Tweet & FB links to Web-hosted versions of What’s New In Chicago and Chicago: Inside Out e-newsletters Also integrating subject-matter-specific hashtags in

Twitter

Post exclusive members-only deals on LinkedIn Group page

New email list sign-ups generated from increased exposure on Facebook and Linked-In

Social Networking sites elevating audience reach Stimulating visitors to consider Chicago as a destination

vs. engaging active planners (role of main Web site)

Key Insights

“A Rising Tide Lifts all Boats” Email combined with social media has exponential

ability to boost influence Leveraging partner or member brands’ social media

efforts a major asset

Don’t underestimate your current email list members’ ability to connect you to new subscribers Solid influence + useful content can double or triple

list size

Use Social Media to spark interest, email to close it Devise an intentional consideration path

social media communityemail list sign-updetailed offers

Advanced KPIs for a Clearer View

Email Analytics: Beyond the Basics

Four Essential Email Measures

• Delivered, opens, clicks, conversions, complaints, unsubs

Process Metrics (Email

Diagnostics)• Successive opens or clicks,

forwards, shares with social, cross-channel conversion

Influence Metrics

• Questions, complaints, critique, frustration, problems, praise

Feedback Metrics

• ROI, AOV, LTV, Share of Customer, Measurement against business objectives

Contribution Metrics

Process Metric Indicators

Metric Insight

Open Rate Identity RecognitionSubject Line EffectivenessTrust

Click-Through Rate

Offer EffectivenessTargeting AppropriatenessMessage/Creative/Design Resonance

Conversion Rate Landing Page EfficacyInformation RelevanceEase of Registration, Purchase

Delivery Rate How much email made it through

Three Views of Process Metrics By Campaign or Program (aggregate response)

Allows for apples-to-apples performance comparison across different messages or campaigns

Compare subject line, offer, creative, landing page performance

By Segment Allows for apples-to-apples comparison of response history

across different subscriber groups Trend analysis of response actions by group attributes

By Responder History Frequency distribution of openers, clickers, converters, repeat

customers Identifies responder engagement levels, gaps, clusters

All Responders Are Not Created Equal

Remember the importance of channel segmentation on your back end

Analyze program results by demographic, behavioral, and channel characteristics such as: Social media participation

Which customers are active on social networks? Have shared to social? Permission type (single opt-in vs. double opt-in)

Is a higher permission standard translating into better response? Source channel

Is a particular name source yielding more responders? Or influencers? Date acquired

Are more recent list members more responsive? Multi-Channel Activity/Status

Are those active in more than one channel behaving different form single-channel responders? How?

Subscriber Engagement Analysis Is the same small minority repeating response

actions from campaign to campaign?

One-ti

me

Two-

Tim

e

Thre

e-Ti

me

Four

+0

10

20

30

40

50

60

OpensClicksConversions

Frequency of Response Action

Perc

en

t of

Lis

t

Analyze who they are . Objective is to stimulate them to open second time

Analyze who they are . Are they the same people campaign after campaign?

Longitudinal View of List Member Response Actions Examine list reach, not just aggregate response

rate Measure cumulative response actions per member

over a period of time

Divide list members by response frequency. Examine frequency distribution of openers, clickers, and buyers Is there good random distribution across your list?

Analyze frequent responders for biased clusters

Goal: Move the needle on less active segments of the list Focus test efforts here

Four Essential Email Measures

• Delivered, opens, clicks, conversions, complaints, unsubs

Process Metrics (Email

Diagnostics)

• Forwards, shares with social, cross-channel conversion

Influence Metrics

• Questions, complaints, critique, frustration, problems, praise

Feedback Metrics

• ROI, AOV, LTV, Share of Customer, Measurement against business objectives

Contribution Metrics

Web Traffic Driven by Increasingly Fragmented Sources

Source: Chief Marketer Oct/Nov 2009

MultiChannel Conversion Tracking

Is essential, will get more difficult as channels proliferate

Email may both directly and indirectly contribute to conversion How do you tell when it influences vs. causes conversion?

Your back-end may not accurately be able to track conversions because responders don’t always follow a trackable path The more complex the sale, the more likely it will be

completed in stages, in multiple channels

Short-term channel-suppression testing one way to gauge individual value of a channel

Capturing Total Conversion

List Size 50,000

Conversions By Channel

Online – Direct from Email Campaign

1,000

Conversion Rate 1,000 / 50,000 2%

Online – via Social Network (share to

social link in email)

430

Conversion Rate 430 / 50,000 .9%

Phone 150

Conversion Rate 150 / 50,000 .3%

In-Store 400

Conversion Rate 400 / 50,000 .8%

Total Conversion All Channels

1,980 / 50,000 4%

Four Essential Email Measures

• Delivered, opens, clicks, conversions, complaints, unsubs

Process Metrics (Email

Diagnostics)

• Forwards, shares with social, cross-channel conversion

Influence Metrics

• Questions, complaints, critique, frustration, problems, praise

Feedback Metrics

• ROI, AOV, LTV, Share of Customer, Measurement against business objectives

Contribution Metrics

How Responsive Is Your Company?

At least 89% of consumers believe they should get a response in 24 hours or less

The Art of Listening

Who/what is monitoring reply-to email boxes and routing complaints, comments or questions?

Who/what is monitoring unsub process?

Who’s managing Twitter? Listening to followers? Receiving DMs and monitoring for brand/product/key words/hashtags?

Who’s managing Facebook & MySpace?

Who runs the LinkedIn Group?

How are you listening across the Web? (Google alerts?)

Four Essential Email Measures

• Delivered, opens, clicks, conversions, complaints, unsubs

Process Metrics (Email

Diagnostics)

• Forwards, shares with social, cross-channel conversion

Influence Metrics

• Questions, complaints, critique, frustration, problems, praise

Feedback Metrics

• ROI, AOV, LTV, Share of Customer, Measurement against business objectives

Contribution Metrics

All Responses Are Not Created Equal

Best way to evaluate total performance is to assign a weighted (or monetary, if you can) value to each action that is meaningful to your business: Example:

Tweet = 1 point (or $x) Landing/Web Site Page View = 5 points (or $x) New List Subscriber = 7 points (or $x) Conversion/Purchase = 10 points (or $x)

Count the number of meaningful actions and multiply them by a weighted value or typical cost to generate for a truer look at the total value of each campaign

Calculating Total Contribution

Total Campaign Cost Factor in list, delivery cost, creative, testing

$1,000

Valuable Response Actions

Sales 100 X Avg $50 $5,000

Sign-Ups 430 X CPA $2.00 $860

Page Views

1,000 X CPA $.50 $500

Forwards 276 X CPI $1.00 $276

Subtotal $6,636

Simple ROI

$6,636 Less $1,000 = $5,636

Set Channel Goals

Create target deliverability, open, click, conversion rates

Benchmark improved performance over time

Test to beat control

Benchmark against industry/sector avg.

Comparative Campaign Analysis

Campaign A may have produced more click-throughs than Campaign B, but if the correlation of clicks to conversions is low in Campaign A, Campaign B will be the better performing effort

Correlations to Measure Opens to clicks Clicks to conversions

Campaign A Campaign B

Open Rate 48% 40%

Click-Through Rate

12% 5%

Conversion Rate

3% 4%

Align Email with Marketing Goals Define key marketing goals

Acquisition? Retention? Branding? Increase ROI? AOV?

Determine how adding email to the mix has impacted achievement of key goals Conduct “before and after” analysis

Determine how using email in conjunction with other online AND offline media improves overall performance of all channels

Measure email’s impact related to highest marketing priorities

ARV/AOV Look beyond ROI by comparing average

response or order value across campaigns. Higher conversion rates alone don’t matter if ARV/AOV is

low

Example: Campaign B required twice as many conversions to produce

the same results as Campaign A. Something is motivating responders to spend more in Campaign A. (Find out what, and then you just need to raise the conversion rate to maximize returns) Campaign A Campaign B

Conversion Rate

3% 7%

Sales $ $10,000 $12,000

Number of Orders

50 120

AOV $200 $100

And Overall Business Goals

Are the results of your email marketing contributing to your company’s overall business goals or detracting from them?

Can the value of the results justify increased email program budget/resources?

Can you integrate and connect email to other marketing channels or functions to maximize its impact?

In Summary

• Know the fundamentals and view from different perspectives

• Record and develop benchmarksMetrics Matter

• Look beyond raw numbers; higher not always “better”

• Develop different KPIs for different objectives

Measure Beyond the Basics

• Gauge more than desired response• Especially when/if integrating channelsLearn to Listen

• Identify outcomes directly related to macro marketing and business goals

• Quantify, justify, prosper

Align with the Big Picture

Stay ConnectedEmail:karen@synchronicitymarketing.com

hmorris@choosechicago.com

Web:www.synchronicitymarketing.com

www.choosechicago.com

Facebook/LinkedIn: Karen TalaveraChooseChicago Fan Page

Twitter: http://twitter.com/SyncMarketing

http://twitter.com/ChooseChicago

THANK YOU, QUESTIONS?

Marketing Profs Digital Mixer 2009