Consumers Shun Excess, Irrelevant Retail E-mail

Retailers count on e-mail to help drive sales--but overly frequent, poorly targeted e-mail currently may inspire more consumer irritation than shopping, according to recent research. A 2015 survey of more than 1,000 Internet users, conducted by First Insight, found the average consumer subscribes to 2.3 retailer e-mail lists and receives 13.1 e-mails a week from those lists. But most aren't happy about it. Two-thirds of the consumers who received six or more e-mails a week said it was “too many.” In contrast, only 21% of shoppers who received five e-mails per week thought that frequency too high. Individual retailers will want to aim for fewer than five e-mails, however; 61% of consumers said their favorite retailers only send them one or two e-mails a week. Excess frequency is not the only problem. Just 25% of retailer e-mails got opened, and the most common reason consumers gave for not opening more retailer e-mail was lack of relevance. Based on e-mails received, just 18% of respondents felt retailers understood them. Indeed, the average shopper said only about 5% of retailer e-mails were personally relevant. Unfortunately for retail e-marketers, consumers tend to express their frustration by opting out, with 45% saying they unsubscribed from a retailer’s e-mail list in the prior six months. On the other hand, the research also points out a solution: 43% of consumers said they would be more likely to open retailer e-mails if they knew the e-mails contained personalized suggestions of products aligned with past purchases, instead of promotion of products generally available or "on sale." For the study report: http://www.firstinsight.com/press-coverage/how-many-promotional-emails-a-week-is-too-many

Try These Tactics to Cut E-mail Unsubscribe Rate

Reducing the unsubscribe rate is key to a growing, high-ROI e-mail marketing database, so digital marketers will want to check their strategies against a recent Econsultancy.com post listing 10 ways to cut costly e-mail drop-outs. Here's a quick overview of some of the suggestions: The process of avoiding e-mail defection begins at sign-up, as the post points out. Without creating barriers to easy sign-up, such as a multitude of tick boxes, make it clear to potential subscribers what they are opting to receive in terms of content and frequency. Especially avoid a confusing mix of opt-in and opt-out, advises Econsultancy. Test e-mail frequency, a major factor in unsubscribe rates. The optimum strategy may surprise; Econsultancy notes how one e-mailer found that re-sending the same content to non-openers was more effective than reactivation, for example. Automate to craft content and timing for relevancy and engagement when it comes to communications such as welcome e-mails, inventory updates, incentivized reviews, cart abandonment, loyalty rewards, etc. Automation doesn't strengthen customer engagement at all points, however; also segment the database to match promotions to demographics and customer interest. Don't assume you know what is behind e-mail attrition; get feedback from unsubscribes to diagnose--for example, with a list of opt-out reasons before or after the unsubscribe option. Another tactic to combat e-mail loss is to allow for a change of heart by e-mail defectors with an unsubscribe retraction pop-up. Marketers have also had luck retaining e-mail addresses by offering alternatives to unsubscribing, such as a temporary break or frequency change. For details on all 10 tactics, with examples, go to https://econsultancy.com/blog/67644-10-ways-to-reduce-email-unsubscribes/

Getting Opens When Most B2B E-mails Go Unread

Most B2B e-mail recipients instantly delete messages without ever opening and reading them, according to a recent study reported by the KoMarketing Associates digital optimization agency. The "2015 B2B Participation Survey" by Iris found that 63% of respondents delete e-mails they don't think they want to read without ever opening them, per KoMarketing. The study found that another 19% open the e-mails they don't want to read--and then unsubscribe. So is there slim hope for B2B e-mail success? Actually, the same survey provided clues on how to craft e-mails, especially subject lines, so messages don't go straight into the trash. Respondents overwhelmingly (70%) said they do want to receive marketing e-mails that lead with example-driven content, and about 66% also said they like e-mails that are professional rather than overly friendly. Plus, unsubscribes are not a given if companies can manage at least a few open-worthy e-mails; 55% of respondents said they do not unsubscribe from a B2B e-mail list if a company occasionally sends an e-mail perceived as worthwhile. Curiosity works in business marketers favor, too, with 32% saying they stay subscribed to e-mail lists just to see what other B2B marketers are sending out. But if e-mail marketers are looking for a surefire tactic to boost opens, KoMarketing cites another survey by VentureBeat: Personalization--via name use, social profile or demographic targeting--increased open rates for a whopping 95% of 200 marketers surveyed, with the largest portion reporting open rate increases between 5% and 10%. For more, read http://www.komarketingassociates.com/industry-news/survey-majority-b2b-email-recipients-delete-messages-opening-2833/

Research Offers Five Clues to E-mail Success

While chasing the holy grail of e-mail response, marketers can get lost in a forest of subject line and offer gimmicks.  Here's some helpful guidance that Direct Marketing News shared from a recent study by Retention Science, a marketing platform provider. Based on Retention Science's analysis of one billion e-mails, the article can distill five tips for success. Tip No. 1 is that percent signs trump dollar signs: According to Retention Science, 38% of customers are more likely to click on e-mails containing percent-off offers than on dollar-off deals, and 47% are more likely to convert in response to percent-off. Tip No. 2 is that mystery is better than excitement in subject line punctuation: Subject lines containing question marks have a 44% higher open rate than those containing exclamation marks. Tip No. 3 is that brevity is the soul of response: Retention Science found that e-mails containing subject lines with six to 10 words generated the highest open rates, at 21%, compared with a 14% open rate for messages with 11- to 15-word subject lines. Tip No. 4 is that timing matters--depending on whether the goal is click-through, conversion or retention. While open rates are fairly consistent year-round, click-through rates jump during the early holiday months, rising to 30% in October and 27% in November, and conversion peaks in July, with a rate 21% higher than average. But then e-mail list retention hits its nadir in August, with unsubscribes at a 28% rate. And Tip No. 5 is that novelty may spur opens, but familiarity breeds clicks. A novelty item in the subject line yields a 6% lift in open rates, but necessities in the e-mail body (such as groceries) earn a 10% higher click-through rate than featuring specialty items, even if those special items won an open for the subject line. For more on the Retention Science study, read http://www.dmnews.com/email-marketing/how-to-send-the-almost-perfect-email/article/449482/