Over the course of the last two years I have been involved in several conversations regarding what we should do with dormant or unresponsive email subscribers. These conversations have always been rather enjoyable due to the complex nature of the issue.
One side of the argument has always been that once an email address has been dormant or unresponsive for 6 to 12 months then it is quite right to remove the address from the email file but I tend to sit on the opposite side of the fence.
We have been producing a monthly e-newsletter for our home shopping client Freemans for a few years and it’s called the “Style Bible”. The purpose of the newsletter is to position the brand as a fashion expert and to give the customer value added content in the form of videos and advice. It also needs to look different to the rest of the email plan (whilst retaining Freemans branding) so that a customer recognises it and looks forward to receiving it. At the beginning of the year we decided to revisit these aims and decided it was time for a re-design.
I was delighted to be put in charge of this and have really enjoyed the challenge. We have updated the look of the newsletter to make it look fresher and feel more like an editorial magazine. Each month I work with both Freemans and the Red C studio to produce a Style Bible that is jam-packed with news about the latest fashion trends and bodyshape advice. Getting under the skin of the customer is important when it comes to briefing and as someone who is interested in fashion; it’s definitely enjoyable because I get to research the latest looks and trends!
If I had a pound for every time a client asked “Are we emailing our customers too much?” I would be a very rich man. However, if I had a pound for every time a client asked if we were sending too much direct mail or are we broadcasting our TV or radio adverts too much then my bank balance would be no different.
Did the marketing team behind the infuriatingly more-ish Go Compare campaign debate whether their adverts were being shown too much during peak times? I very much doubt it. On New Years’ Eve 2008 did Pepsi worry that they were going a little over the top when they launched their new logo with a week-long ‘promotional extravaganza’ in Times Square. Of course they didn’t. So why do email marketers continually question their strategy when it comes to frequency and volume?
He may be a Spuds Spurs fan, but Red C Account Director Steve White is not completely useless. He knows an awful lot about Email Marketing for one thing. So when he gave me a 700-page document from MarketingSherpa called Best Practices in Email Marketing I thought to myself, this is probably worth reading.*
MarketingSherpa is a research firm that specializes in tracking what works in all aspects of marketing (and what does not.) Their goal: to give marketers of the world the stats, inspiration, and instructions to improve their email marketing results.
According to their Research Manager Stefan Tornquist this guide was written “to provide one-stop guidance on building a ‘best in class’ email program, whether you’re managing an enterprise level marketing department or a small business.”
I was overjoyed when I was offered a placement at Red C. Determined to get the placement at that company; I researched it as thoroughly as I could, so that I stood a good chance of success. I am glad I did.
Initially I was overwhelmed by the amount of information that I would have to assimilate. However, I found the team I was working with to be informative, helpful and friendly. The amount of knowledge that I have gained working at Red C has far surpassed what I have learnt at university. I think the best way of learning about a job is to actually do it.
What I have learnt is to prioritise my work, use my initiative and play an active and cooperative role in the team. I have learnt that Red C is a dynamic company with an innovative approach to marketing.
We were approached by the VIP team over at Freemans Grattan Holdings to help improve the financial performance of their email programme, which in their view was massively underperforming. At the briefing, we instantly recognised some quick wins that we could implement to make some initial improvements so we accepted the challenge.
Back in November 2009, I promised a series of blog articles detailing why I enjoy being an email marketer. In my first article I outlined the brilliance that is heat map analysis and how potentially rewarding it can be. This time I’m tackling something that is viewed by many as the next big thing in email marketing: triggered emails.
There are two types of retail focused emails:
1. The trunch email – These are emails sent to batches in batches.
or
2. The triggered (or automated) email– These are targeted emails sent out based on a customer’s action, either positive or negative.
The triggered email has been around for a while, an order confirmation email sent after you’ve made an online purchase is a good example. However, as we become more sophisticated with our email marketing, this type of email has a more important part to play in email marketing strategies.
A couple of months ago, I booked a weekend break with cottages4you – one of the UK’s leading holiday property companies and, incidentally, one of my favourite Red C clients (because they let me write copy like this). Just before I was due to go away, it was suggested that I write an account of my holiday cottage experience and post it here on this website. Naturally, I started to panic. What if it was a holiday from hell? What if I turned up to find a glorified tool shed decorated throughout with kitten vomit? Luckily for me, I needn’t have worried. Everything about the place was just about perfect… Read more…
My school years are long behind me now, but I still have one or two memories of those days that I recall with fondness, now and again. Bunking off double geography with Sarah Kirsopp when I was 16 is one. The other is a conversation I had with the 6th Form’s Career Officer, Mr Kennedy.
The conversation started with a question we’ve all probably been asked.
“What do you want to do when you leave school?”
My enthusiastic response wasn’t greeted with the warmth or indeed excitement that I anticipated.
“Don’t be ridiculous White! How on earth do you expect to be centre forward for Tottenham Hotspur?”
I left that meeting thinking to myself, “I’ll prove Mr Kennedy wrong, I’ll show you. Mark my words”.
To be fair, whilst I haven’t completely given up on the dream, I have to admit it looks like Mr Kennedy was right. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Today I have actually found something I genuinely like doing.
I like handy guides… especially ones that stay with you for years because of how incredibly useful they are. One such guide is Alan Rosenspan’s 101 ways to improve your response, which quite frankly borders on being invaluable!
In the guide, which you can download here, Mr Rosenspan shares with us little tips that prompt people to respond to Direct Marketing communications… thus increasing the effectiveness of marketing spend.
Over the course of the last two years I have been involved in several conversations regarding what we should do with dormant or unresponsive email subscribers. These conversations have always been rather enjoyable due to the complex nature of the issue.
I like handy guides… especially ones that stay with you for years because of how incredibly useful they are. One such guide is Alan Rosenspan’s 101 ways to improve your response, which quite frankly borders on being invaluable!
