Understanding Email: The Landscapes, the Recipients' Rules, and the Path to Success

UNDERSTANDING EMAIL The Landscape, the Recipients' Rules and the Path to Success Marketers are doubling down on email. According to recent research, 61% of marketers identify email as an important or extremely important channel for customer engagement. They're investing more resources, upping their send rates and integrating messages across multiple channels, all in the hopes of growing their lists and increasing conversions. But they've run into a problem. Only 41% of marketers consider their emails to be personalized to the consumer. And this is at a time when consumers are exerting more control than ever when it comes to their email marketing relationships. 41% The World Of Email Isn't Flat .... . ... Marketers send a lot of emails, but whether that email gets opened, how it gets opened, and who engages with it depends on a variety of factors. 100.5 BILLION 82.4 BILLION DAILY EMAILS BUSINESS EMAILS CONSUMER EMAILS Email success depends on the industry 48.3% 31% 30.7% 30.8% 22.6% 20.4% 17.6% 16.3% 11.1% 11.5% 10.7% 10.8% 9.4% 7% 3.4% 2% B2B Consumer Financial Technology Hospitality & Travel Insurance Publishing Retail Services Services Click-to-open rate for desktop and mobile A Spotlight on Mobile More than half of all emails are now opened on mobile devices. webmail desktop 51% 29% 20% Total email market share 38% 12% 93.94 48.10 Average order value by device Emails opened on Emails opened on an iOS device an Android device Opportunities for Marketers 91% of consumers check their emaildaily. 49% 54% 33% 40% 63% 58% On weekends On vacations/ holidays Before going When traveling Immediately after waking While to bed commuting for business A Gateway to Sales 74% Consumers prefer email for commercial communications over any other channel 37% Consumers say email is the top channel when it comes to pre-purchase influence 66% Consumers have made a purchase online as a result of a marketing email 67% Consumers interested in receiving real-time email offers Sealing the Deal Products of Interest Subject Lines 42.7% 33% 42.7% 33% Consumers are likely to open emails that reference products they Consumers decide whether to open an email based on subject like or item they recently viewed lines alone The Recipients' Five Rules No matter your business, an overwhelming majority of email marketing recipients agree on five basic tenets that a marketer should follow: 1. Ask for permission 75% of consumers say a purchase alone does not give brands the OK to send marketing emails. 2. Make it look good 80% of consumers will immediately delete an email that doesn't display well on their mobile device. 30% will unsubscribe. 3. Stop blasting 35% of consumers said their primary reason for unsubscribing is frequency of messages. 25% said the emails they were receiving weren't relevant enough. 66% of consumers say poorly personalized emails are annoying because the attempts are "superficial." 4. Keep it valuable 80% of consumers initially opt-in to marketing email to receive discounts. 5. Be personal 82% of shoppers say they would buy more items from a brand if the emails they sent were more personalized. Three Strategies for Success Tailor Your Messaging It's no secret that segmenting your lists delivers improved metrics. But those results are usually only positive outcomes for open rates and click throughs. Segmentation alone doesn't necessarily translate to improved ROI. Trade in your "broadcast email" strategy for a "relevant email" strategy. Think Inside-and Outside-the Inbox Divergent technology and a lack of design standards means the same email renders differently across devices and email clients. You don't necessarily need responsive design to solve this problem, but you do need a solution (think fluid design). And studies show that most marketers don't have a solid one. Still, email design isn't just about ensuring your messages render appropriately across all devices and channels. You also need to ensure your landing page is optimized for consumption no matter the device and that you present a consistent experience from one window and screen to the next. Act In Real Time Only 13% of marketers use a consumer's real-time location to drive interactions, so take the time to differentiate your email marketing from your competitors by planning your strategy around your recipients' actions, like when they actually open a message. Dynamically adjusting your message at the time a recipient opens an email guarantees you're sending content that is highly personalized and the most relevant to the customer at that time. monetate Sources: Direct Marketing Association || Harris Interactive | IBM | Litmus | Merkle Follow @monetate on twitter! %24