4 email marketing trends you can’t ignore

February 25, 2009 | Edited by Ken Beaulieu
Permalink: http://www.fuelnet.com/?p=1538

The economy is shuddering. Marketing budgets are under pressure. Yet attracting and retaining customers has never been more vital. The perfect storm of financial pressures has growing businesses turning to permission-based email marketing in droves. And for good reason: it’s trackable, testable, familiar, and relatively cheap. Moreover, consumers check their email religiously. A study by the Columbia, Md.–based database marketing agency Merkle found that 44 percent of consumers check their primary email account more than three times a day, up 38 percent from 2005, and 58 percent said email is a great way for companies to communicate with customers.

What are the trends in opt-in email marketing right now? Experts point to these four:

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1. It’s all about interactivity. Smart marketers are tapping email not just to communicate, but also to converse with their customers. Bullhorn, a Boston-based seller of recruiting software, took a recent email marketing campaign interactive. Instead of just sending out information to its mailing list, Bullhorn developed Recruiter IQ, an online interactive test for recruiters to assess their own skills and industry knowledge. Embedding this interactive tool in the email gave recipients a reason to not just read, but respond. The email drew a 17 percent open rate, a 20 percent click-through rate, and a 2.2 percent conversion rate.

2. It’s a two-screen medium. Gone are the days when customers read email from just a desktop or even a laptop. Today, it’s just as likely your target will access your email campaign via a mobile device. The most successful mobile marketing comes in the form of text messages. Users also respond to surveys and coupons sent to cell phones. To stand out in the mobile space, email marketers must not only design campaigns with the small screen in mind, but also emphasize the writing of the message itself.

3. Segmenting gets results. Most people go to the Brickery Grill and Bar in Atlanta for the all-American menu. But despite their shared tastes, owner Bruce Alterman decided to treat his customers differently. Working with email software provider Listrak, he segmented his email marketing efforts. To customers who generally came in for lunch, Brickery offered a free entrée if they brought the family in for dinner. Wine orderers were invited to special wine-tasting events. Surf-and-turf fans heard about specials on crab cakes and steaks. In addition to the segmented emails, the restaurant sent messages to its full list. Take, for example, a 20 percent off promotion last year for preferred customers during the traditionally slow Memorial Day weekend. Crab cake sales tripled and steak sales nearly quadrupled during the week of their respective email promotions.

4. It’s not a solo tactic. Used by itself, email marketing can trigger what Eric Cosway, chief marketing officer at Austin, Texas–based QuantumDigital, calls in-box anxiety. “We all have had that moment when we get to our in-box and there’s so much there and we’re saying, ‘How am I ever going to read all of these?’” he says. To combat in-box anxiety, pair email marketing with at least one other marketing tactic, and preferably more. For one client, QuantumDigital created a three-step campaign, beginning with three jumbo paper postcards, followed by a dedicated Web landing page, and then an email pitch.