three strategies to covert new subscribers to loyal buyers

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Three Strategies to Convert New Subscribers to Loyal Buyers

Based on research by MarketingSherpa

Sponsored by:

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W. Jeffrey Rice Senior Research Analyst, MarketingSherpa

Email: jeffrey.rice@MECLABS.com

Twitter: @WJeffreyR

Meghan Lockwood Senior Research Analyst, MarketingSherpa

Email: meghan.lockwood@MECLABS.com

Twitter: @meghanllockwood

Introductions

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Join the conversation on Twitter

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Attendees will receive a link of today’s slide presentation after the event

Presentation slides

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Annual research-based process leads to improving email marketing performance

• Benchmark Report - Find what really works for

thousands of email marketers

• Handbook - Identify best practices and

formulate a methodology

• Knowledge transfer - Teach email marketers how to

apply best practices

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• The collective wisdom of more

than 48,000 marketers

• Nearly 5,000 pages of analytical commentary and marketer insights

• More than 6,000 charts and data tables to validate what’s working – and what’s not – in marketing today

Benchmark Research Library – since 2008

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2,735 organizations surveyed on:

– Challenges and goals for email marketing programs in 2012

– Email tactics, list growth, relevancy, deliverability, and metrics

– Testing and optimization methods for 2012

– 170 charts and tables

Research background

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Chart: CMOs top objectives for email marketing

• 85% of CMOs recognize

sales as a priority

• Only 21% of CMOs report

it is very effective increasing revenue

22%

41%

21%

31%

18%

19%

27%

48%

9%

85%

52%

27%

55%

65%

Improving customer retention

Completing post-sales transactions

Increasing sales conversion/revenue

Nurturing prospects

Qualifying leads

Increasing lead generation

Driving website traffic

Source: ©2011 MarketingSherpa Email Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded July 2011, N=2,735

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Address the problem

How do I create the optimal onboard experience to build a long-term customer relationship with the subscriber?

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I. Invest in long-term relationships

II. Increase responsiveness

III. Reduce readers anxiety

3 strategies to convert new subscribers to loyal customers

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3 keys to make a long-term investment in a new subscriber:

1. Make a good first impression

2. Gradually learn more about subscriber

3. Extend the conversation with a

welcome series

Be ready to improvise

"Yes And..." The First Rule of Improvisation

Make a good first impression

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A flawed analogy

g =

9.8

1 m

/s2

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It’s a climb

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Start by giving a hand

The manner in which a company communicates when a sales transaction is not eminent speaks volumes about its credibility and brand truth

“Rather than focus on being interesting, be interested “

Brian Carroll

Executive Director, Revenue Optimization, MECLABS

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Humanize your content

“Effective engagement is inspired by the empathy that develops simply by being human.”

– Brian Solis

Author of Engage and The End of Business

as Usual

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Single opt-in welcome message(s)

• Remind the new subscriber of where and how they opted-in to your list

• Deliver value immediately • Start with a sincere “thank you”

• Give more than expected

• Share evergreen content (past newsletters, video links, webinars, or podcasts)

• Give a discount or exclusive access

• Confirm content and frequency expectations

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Single opt-in welcome message(s)

• Ask to be whitelisted

• Offer links to unsubscribe and privacy policy

Gradually learn more about subscriber

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“The truth must dazzle gradually” - Emily Dickenson

Take it slow

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Ask follow up questions

• Take advantage of welcome emails high open rates to harvest more data

• Remind subscriber of the win-win proposition

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Write as you would a friend

“…And finally, to nurture our Friendship, I’m keen to hear what offers and events you’d like to be invited to. Please take 2 minutes of your time to tell me what you’d like to see.”

Extend the conversation with a welcome series

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Audience Question:

“How many welcome touches perform best? Should you suppress a new address until they complete a welcome series, or

send to them in tandem? - Ben

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• The Company: StudentBeans.com

• The Marketplace: University students

• The Product: online portal with a variety of offers and content

• The Channel: Email

• The Campaign Objective: Drive more revenue from its email program by encouraging new subscribers to make a first purchase sooner

Case Study

Read the full case study at http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=32212

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Step #1. Set the audience and timing

• Opt-ins receive a confirmation email immediately and a welcome email 24 hours later

• The welcome series would span six straight days

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Except for the first email, each email features a single offer to spur action

Based on • Popularity

• Profitability

Customized by • Location

• Self-reported gender

Step #2. Set the offer strategy

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The first email alerts subscribers to the up coming messages • Welcome series note - "over

the next six days, you will receive a bonus bundle of fantastic free stuff and brilliant offers."

• Subscription reminder - "we’ll send our Top Twenty offers to your inbox every week."

Step #3. Design the first welcome email

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• 13% increase in revenue compared to the original welcome email

• 66.7% higher average open rate for the newsletters delivered after the series

Results

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Welcome series

• The goal of the series of emails is to move the subscriber quickly from "kicking the tires" to an educated buyer

• Give the new opt-in something to look forward to with a five-week education course

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Common campaign categories

• Education • Address unanswered questions and concerns

• Metrics, testimonials, and third-party data help calm fears

• Recipient can better represent brand to an unseen committee

• Entertainment • Connect with funny or emotional stories

• Life transition • B2C examples: birth, first home, retirement

• B2B examples: installation steps, activation

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• The Company: Gander Mountain

• The Marketplace: Retail

• The Product: Outdoor equipment

• The Channel: Email

• The Campaign Objective: Leverage its rich subscriber data to improve its deliverability and conversion rates

Case Study – Automated welcome campaign

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Solution

Start by focusing on welcome emails: 1. Instituted automated welcome

emails

2. Sent welcome email with in 24 hours

3. Simple “thank you”

4. Coupon code offer active for a week

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• Gander’s typical email sales-per-delivered rate is at $0.03, but the welcome email is at $1.85

• The average order value from their welcome email is $20 more than the overall ($126 vs. $106)

• The welcome email responses represent 30% of all email marketing revenue

Results

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How quickly will a new subscriber receive an email communication after he or she registers for your email program?

Immediately

1-24 hours

2-7 days

8-30 days

More than 30 days

Poll question:

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Chart: Response time after registration

The best time to send is now

50%

23%

10% 7%

4%

Immediately 1-24 hours 2-7 days 8-30 days More than31 daysSource: ©2011 MarketingSherpa Email Marketing Benchmark Survey

Methodology: Fielded July 2011, N=2,735

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Automate emails

• A single or series of emails created by a defined set of rules based on dates, events or behaviors that are automatically sent to a subscriber

• Consistently achieve higher open rates due to timing and relevancy

• Make up 22% of organizations

overall email volume

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Chart: Most popular automated email messages

11%

13%

16%

17%

22%

24%

26%

32%

48%

54%

63%

Shopping cart abandonment

Triggered based on website behavior

Event countdown

Win back/ reengagement

Date triggered (e.g. renewals, reorder)

Activation (e.g. how to)

Upsell (e.g. product recommendations)

Post purchase (e.g. product review)

Transactional (e.g. bills, receipts)

Thank you

Welcome

Source: ©2011 MarketingSherpa Email Marketing Benchmark Survey Methodology: Fielded July 2011, N=2,735

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• The Company: SavvyMom

• The Marketplace: Digital publishing

• The Product: Exclusive email devoted to practical solutions for moms in Canada

• The Channel: Email and mobile

• The Campaign Objective: Educate new subscribers on the choice of five separate city newsletters editions and a website packed with mom-centric content

Case Study

Read the full case study at http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=32168#

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Step #1. Define the messages and timing with the reader’s perspective in mind

The overall goal of the series was to gradually warm the reader up to the brand and then teach them how they can best engage with it. Message 1: Guide subscribers to their next step Message 2: Enhance the subscriber expérience Message 3: Increase awareness of future emails

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The personalization is in how they became subscribers.

• Website – dynamic text fills in readers name and simply thanks them

• Contest - dynamic text is used remind readers of the contest name and show appreciation

Step #2. Personalize the content

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• Kept a consistent look and feel with both the email and website so there was no surprise once a reader clicked through

• Leveraged technology to ensure emails rendered correctly • Cascading Style Sheet 3 for small screen

• Use of Alt text to display alternative text with a functioning link when a image doesn’t render

Step #3. Make engagement natural for readers

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Improvement of subscribers’

long-term engagement

• The open rate for the subscribers who received the

new welcome series was 63% higher than for those who didn’t.

• The clickthrough rate for this

group was 117% higher.

Results

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• Immediately sending a welcome message can prevent future spam complaints

• Reinforce expectations set during the opt-in process • Confirm subscription

• Restate the frequency

• Separate new subscribers • Send a double opt-in welcome

message from a separate server until you determine the addresses are accurate

Communicate cautiously

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1. WHAT - Clearly state what type of content you will be sending

2. WHEN - Identify how often you will be sending email communications

3. WHY - Spell out the features and benefits to crystallize your value proposition

4. WANE WORRY- Add a link to your privacy policy

Establish explicit expectations

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• Creativity consistency

• The registration page’s style should be similar to the style of the ad or email that brought visitors to it

• A consistent brand image, language and tone will give the potential subscriber comfort in knowing he or she landed on the correct page

Review registration page design

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• Similar to homepage, sets expectations

• Single minded focus to capture email address

• No distractions, only reinforcement of the value proposition

• Testimonials and third-party endorsements reduce anxiety

Review registration page design

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Audience Question:

“How many registration fields should I ask the new subscriber to enter?

- Matt

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Confirm registration with welcome email

• Thank you and welcome emails confirm the opt-in

• Continue to set content expectations

• Subscribers know what to look for in their inboxes

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A brand’s definition of compelling content may differ from its recipients’

• Are you delivering what you promised?

• Has the brand message or email design been altered since the subscriber has opted in?

Put yourself in a subscriber’s shoes

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Be considerate

Other notable brands include: Avon, NASCAR, PETCO and Sears

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Our research indicates email marketers extract the greatest value from their opt-ins when they…

Invest in the long-term

Increase responsiveness

Reduce reader anxiety

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Visit MECLABS.com/100-bronto and

use the promo code 302-HB-5004

This handbook report includes:

• 252 pages focused on top email marketing strategies

• 65 Real-life examples of what works • 13 Marketing Research charts with analytical

commentary • 7 Worksheets and 4 exercises • 5 elements for effective Welcome emails • 10 mobile design tips

Get your copy for an additional $100 off

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Sherpa’s new Mobile Marketing Survey

• Open today thru 8/16/2012 http://sherpa.bb52fb6a3099.sgizmo.com/s3/

Receive a complimentary copy of the 18-page 30 Minute Marketer “Start Mobile Marketing” for completing this survey. ($47 value)

#sherpawebinar

W. Jeffrey Rice Senior Research Analyst, MarketingSherpa

Email: jeffrey.rice@MECLABS.com

Twitter: @WJeffreyR

Meghan Lockwood Senior Research Analyst, MarketingSherpa

Email: meghan.lockwood@MECLABS.com

Twitter: @meghanllockwood

Thank you!