Over the years we have seen email marketing change from being a one to all to a one to one medium. Much of this has been not only pushed by the growth in the tools available that email marketers use, but in the tactics and knowledge we apply to bringing communications down to a one to one basis. Now although we would love to see more people using email in this fashion, as it would lift engagement, drive relevant campaigns, and allow people to get emails that they want from companies and brands… the problem always lies in the data.
Now I would state that the challenge does not lie entirely on the tools we use, but in the time that we invest in reading and making decisions based on the data we get back from the campaigns. Communication being taken down to a one to one basis does not rely on the subscriber, they expect it, but it comes down to the marketer doing their job of using what they know.
There are a few things I suggest that you spend some time on in the coming months.
1. The opt in: What are you asking for? An email or a combination of fields?
With simply asking for an email address you are only starting to building a program on a one to many approach. You have very little data to start your intelligent campaigns with so you have placed yourself in a spot that requires you to rely on learning over time, looking at data that may be siloed in web analytics, social data, purchase history, or even offline data collection points. Getting all of these data sources together is a process in itself that will keep you and your teams (if you have a team) tied up constantly in an effort to pull it together in order to get a true picture.
The solution: Many people feel that an email is a safe way to start an opt in and a relationship. So if this is you and you are going to take this approach, look at these techniques.
Progressive profiling allows you a few ways to continue this profile. At the thank you page, thank you email, or welcome email you should be asking them for a little more data. Now asking can be done with input fields (i.e. name, gender, zip, etc) or you can get creative with using simple buttons to ask them to choose A/B answers. Even having these simple answers can help you to append your database with actions and hidden form fields. Now it won’t be perfect, but it is a low impact technique.
If you are using a combination of fields, don’t require all of them to be filled out at opt in. Give them the option of completing them. And if you are going to ask for them, have a plan of what you are going to do with them. If you do not have a plan to use in targeting, communications or relevant content filters/rules then hide them until you trigger a field being answered and then reveal them. We use a progressive disclosure method on our own contact forms which result in higher completion of the forms. Taking a form down to it’s basics until needed visually allows people to know how much they will need to give you in order to get. And when they tip a point where more data is required then we reveal it.
2. Profile Updates:
Many people do not spend time during the year, or after an opt in to go back out and ask for more information. We all change decisions, relationships, jobs, preferences and even locations during the time that we interact with a website. If you are not reaching out to ask for and update (which we suggest 2-3 times a years and not just once) then they are not going to typically think about telling you. I know that we all hope that people would simply fall in love with us so much that they want to hit that Profile/Email preferences link in our emails whenever they see it, but from what I have seen it is only typical when they are breaking up with you during normal email programs. If you don’t ask and present the ask, then odds have it they will never tell you.
The Solution: Create a reason for them to update information with you. Maybe you moved? Maybe you are adding new functionality? Maybe you are launching a new site? Maybe you have something coming up that they would benefit from by giving you a few more answer? Maybe, just maybe, you could use a time of year event for fun in order to engage with them. Recently we used Valentine’s Day to ask, using humor, if they were still our Valentine. I know odd for a digital marketing agency like eROI, but really on cue for our brand culture and personality. Looking for those moments when we can reach out to help make our communications better are a good opportunity for us to engage. Campaigns like this work very well for us.
If you are a software company looking at pre-version release is a good time. Let them know you have a new release coming out and if they allow you to have their time for 2-3 minutes you would be in a better position to see if they were a good candidate for the upcoming release. If you are an ecommerce company using time between holiday campaigns could be positioned as helpful to your shoppers in order to understand their preferred size(s), colors, gender preferences, and maybe tie in some knowledge building as to who they might be shopping for during the next holiday. It all comes down to positioning it to be valuable to them, and not us as marketers. Travel marketers can do the same using vacation preferences, airport preferences, etc to build relevancy into the emails their subscribers receive.
3. Surveys: I know we all get so many surveys today that it might sound like a tired practice, but if you build it in a way that allows them to have an impact with the information that they provide you to lift the experience you are trying to provide them, then you might see a higher completion rate.
The Solution: Tie surveys to rewards. Now rewards can be monetary (gift codes/cards), value-based (access to content/reports) or insider info that others do not get. Presenting the tie in clearly is key here. We have tied some first 50 respondent gift cards to surveys and they work very well. It is a low cost strategy that builds the notion that they need to move fast in order to be one of the lucky 50. Think about what you can do with this data before you build the survey as a survey that has no action plan is a useless survey.
4. Consumer/Customer panels: Lately we have seen an uptick in consumer brands and business to business brands launching panels of people that allow them to get data more regularly. Now you can build variables of these based on customer type, prospect type, and even behavior type (i.e. subscriber, customer, lead, location, etc). Panels are great as they are a velvet rope approach that brings people into the fold with your business and can allow you to get better data as they are engaged with your brand and feel as if you are listening to them closer to make change. It is akin to being a stockholder in a company where your vote counts. If you do run panels you need to make sure to have a follow up to these segments letting them know what you learned and what actions you plan to take based upon the feedback. Listening and not sharing will have a short term negative engagement impact.
Now that you have some of the data, you are empowered to be a better marketer. Yet if you simply ask, ask, ask and never implement and do then you might as well go back to the megaphone approach to your marketing. Remember it is not up to the subscriber to tell us what they want, like or do, but up to us as caring marketers to listen, ask, and provide the opportunity to do better.
And I know you all want to do better, right?
Now I would state that the challenge does not lie entirely on the tools we use, but in the time that we invest in reading and making decisions based on the data we get back from the campaigns. Communication being taken down to a one to one basis does not rely on the subscriber, they expect it, but it comes down to the marketer doing their job of using what they know.
There are a few things I suggest that you spend some time on in the coming months.
1. The opt in: What are you asking for? An email or a combination of fields?
With simply asking for an email address you are only starting to building a program on a one to many approach. You have very little data to start your intelligent campaigns with so you have placed yourself in a spot that requires you to rely on learning over time, looking at data that may be siloed in web analytics, social data, purchase history, or even offline data collection points. Getting all of these data sources together is a process in itself that will keep you and your teams (if you have a team) tied up constantly in an effort to pull it together in order to get a true picture.
The solution: Many people feel that an email is a safe way to start an opt in and a relationship. So if this is you and you are going to take this approach, look at these techniques.
Progressive profiling allows you a few ways to continue this profile. At the thank you page, thank you email, or welcome email you should be asking them for a little more data. Now asking can be done with input fields (i.e. name, gender, zip, etc) or you can get creative with using simple buttons to ask them to choose A/B answers. Even having these simple answers can help you to append your database with actions and hidden form fields. Now it won’t be perfect, but it is a low impact technique.
If you are using a combination of fields, don’t require all of them to be filled out at opt in. Give them the option of completing them. And if you are going to ask for them, have a plan of what you are going to do with them. If you do not have a plan to use in targeting, communications or relevant content filters/rules then hide them until you trigger a field being answered and then reveal them. We use a progressive disclosure method on our own contact forms which result in higher completion of the forms. Taking a form down to it’s basics until needed visually allows people to know how much they will need to give you in order to get. And when they tip a point where more data is required then we reveal it.
2. Profile Updates:
Many people do not spend time during the year, or after an opt in to go back out and ask for more information. We all change decisions, relationships, jobs, preferences and even locations during the time that we interact with a website. If you are not reaching out to ask for and update (which we suggest 2-3 times a years and not just once) then they are not going to typically think about telling you. I know that we all hope that people would simply fall in love with us so much that they want to hit that Profile/Email preferences link in our emails whenever they see it, but from what I have seen it is only typical when they are breaking up with you during normal email programs. If you don’t ask and present the ask, then odds have it they will never tell you.
The Solution: Create a reason for them to update information with you. Maybe you moved? Maybe you are adding new functionality? Maybe you are launching a new site? Maybe you have something coming up that they would benefit from by giving you a few more answer? Maybe, just maybe, you could use a time of year event for fun in order to engage with them. Recently we used Valentine’s Day to ask, using humor, if they were still our Valentine. I know odd for a digital marketing agency like eROI, but really on cue for our brand culture and personality. Looking for those moments when we can reach out to help make our communications better are a good opportunity for us to engage. Campaigns like this work very well for us.
If you are a software company looking at pre-version release is a good time. Let them know you have a new release coming out and if they allow you to have their time for 2-3 minutes you would be in a better position to see if they were a good candidate for the upcoming release. If you are an ecommerce company using time between holiday campaigns could be positioned as helpful to your shoppers in order to understand their preferred size(s), colors, gender preferences, and maybe tie in some knowledge building as to who they might be shopping for during the next holiday. It all comes down to positioning it to be valuable to them, and not us as marketers. Travel marketers can do the same using vacation preferences, airport preferences, etc to build relevancy into the emails their subscribers receive.
3. Surveys: I know we all get so many surveys today that it might sound like a tired practice, but if you build it in a way that allows them to have an impact with the information that they provide you to lift the experience you are trying to provide them, then you might see a higher completion rate.
The Solution: Tie surveys to rewards. Now rewards can be monetary (gift codes/cards), value-based (access to content/reports) or insider info that others do not get. Presenting the tie in clearly is key here. We have tied some first 50 respondent gift cards to surveys and they work very well. It is a low cost strategy that builds the notion that they need to move fast in order to be one of the lucky 50. Think about what you can do with this data before you build the survey as a survey that has no action plan is a useless survey.
4. Consumer/Customer panels: Lately we have seen an uptick in consumer brands and business to business brands launching panels of people that allow them to get data more regularly. Now you can build variables of these based on customer type, prospect type, and even behavior type (i.e. subscriber, customer, lead, location, etc). Panels are great as they are a velvet rope approach that brings people into the fold with your business and can allow you to get better data as they are engaged with your brand and feel as if you are listening to them closer to make change. It is akin to being a stockholder in a company where your vote counts. If you do run panels you need to make sure to have a follow up to these segments letting them know what you learned and what actions you plan to take based upon the feedback. Listening and not sharing will have a short term negative engagement impact.
Now that you have some of the data, you are empowered to be a better marketer. Yet if you simply ask, ask, ask and never implement and do then you might as well go back to the megaphone approach to your marketing. Remember it is not up to the subscriber to tell us what they want, like or do, but up to us as caring marketers to listen, ask, and provide the opportunity to do better.
And I know you all want to do better, right?
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