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Email Marketing

Email strategies in all shapes and sizes.

owner: Bob Cloutier
access: public
created on: 2010-04-27 14:13:32
Members: 24

How often are purchase decisions made or influenced by an email that you received?

By Bob Cloutier 1 month ago

Comments (2)

For me, it happens more often than it used to, due to sites like Groupon and LivingSocial that have great, limited-time offers that arrive in my Inbox everyday and help me save money, especially when going out to a restaurant to eat. It's pretty rare that I'll make a purchase decision on anything beyond food based on emails I get.

Commented by Jason Peck 4 weeks ago

For me it happens very often. The majority of my purchases are made from email notifications introducing new arrivals or special promotions and discounts that I otherwise would not have known about.

Commented by Randi Whittaker 3 weeks ago

Do you believe that viewers/subscribers have enough control over email (frequency, content, etc.)?

If not what would you change if you could?

By Bob Cloutier 1 month ago

Comments (3)

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I'd like more companies to give me the ability to control how often I receive emails from them. Also, this may be wishful thinking, but it'd be nice if there was a like/dislike button in emails- consumers could weigh in more on content, and companies could use this feedback to deliver more compelling content.

Commented by Jason Peck 1 month ago

I agree with Jason on having an option to control how often I would like to receive emails. I would also prefer an option on what type of emails I would like to receive. For example, if I just want to receive emails on sale items or new product launches and not monthly newsletters that should be an option when subscribing.

Commented by Randi Whittaker 1 month ago

Frequency is such an important issue. It would be great if studies showed too much mailing turns people off. But in fact studies are showing the more you mail the more money you make, even if you do turn a small portion of your subscribers off. Giving that group a lower frequency option may in fact provide the best of both worlds.

Commented by Neil Rosen 1 month ago

Do you get upset when you recieve "relevent" emails that you never subscribed or registered for?

By Bob Cloutier 2 months ago

Comments (7)

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To be honest, it doesn't happen that often (receiving emails I don't remember asking for). When it does, it sticks out as a little odd, but I don't really feel upset about it, as long as it's relevant.

Commented by Jason Peck 2 months ago

Upset is not the word I would use. I’m more annoyed. I just bought something from a website and they have been sending me 4 or 5 emails a day. I already enjoy their products and visit the website often but I don’t want to be bombarded by them everyday.

Commented by Stephanie Ryska 2 months ago

I could see how I'd be annoyed by that, too.

Commented by Jason Peck 2 months ago

I agree it is not enough for the content to be relevant, in addition the frequency needs to be considerate. You need to trust your customers to buy from you because they like your products and services, and keeping your company top-of-mind certainly doesn't require multiple emails every day.

Commented by Neil Rosen 2 months ago

It's all about the timing for me. Strategically planned campaigns work when the person you are hoping to reach isn't being inundated with offers.

Commented by Jacqueline Causa 1 month ago

Spam is so prevalent that getting emails from people where you never subscribed occurs every day - so often they get no attention - ignored similarly to banner ads which are like the background noise at soccer games :). Plus so many filters send them to bulk where a lot of people never even look. To me its still very much about the brand I see in the from line.

Commented by Neil Rosen 1 month ago

I don't get upset, but there certainly isn't any trust, which means it is highly unlikely that I open the email, much less respond to the offer.

Commented by Jonathan Lawoyin 1 month ago

How much time do you spend each day looking at "advertising" emails?

By Bob Cloutier 2 months ago

Comments (4)

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By advertising-related, do you mean only emails that are specifically created to get me to directly buy a certain product or service? Or would you also count informational newsletters from marketing and publishing companies?

Commented by Jason Peck 2 months ago

Anything you recieve which can be classifie as a non paid subscription.

Commented by Bob Cloutier 2 months ago

Hmmm. Probably 20-30 minutes each day. What about you?

Commented by Jason Peck 2 months ago

I try to be aware of the ones that grab me - even if they are unwanted spam - always interesting to see what I fall for :) Probably close to an hour.

Commented by Neil Rosen 2 months ago

Can you tell me something about email since this group is about all things email?

By Bob Cloutier 4 months ago

Comments (12)

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How about this trinket for starters: "42% percent of email marketers do not know their return on investment from email marketing." Information taken from the Email Census (2009) conducted by eConsultancy and Adestra. How can that be possible? Any thoughts?

Commented by Bob Cloutier 4 months ago

yeah - that's pretty lame.

Commented by d00k1e 4 months ago

Are marketers still viewing email as such a low cost option that they feel they "don't even need to know the numbers"?

Commented by Neil Rosen 4 months ago

Wow. 42% not knowing their ROI...Are they just not taking the time to measure or don't know that they can? Or maybe some other explanation?

Commented by Jason Peck 4 months ago

I think this applies to several smaller companies that manage their own lists and use third party systems. I can not imagine a higher tier mailer running a business like that.

Commented by icewateremerson 4 months ago

Is it easy to measure ROI from online campaigns or are there factors that always make the results a little cloudy?

Commented by Neil Rosen 3 months ago

It is simple to measure the dollars generated by a campaign but much more difficult to calculate a pure ROI. Looking forward, most cannot tell you what the lifetime value of an online relationship is worth!!

Commented by Bob Cloutier 3 months ago

Do you think it is possible to derive an email strategy that will drive customers to have the same level of loyalty to companies online that they used to have offline?

Commented by Neil Rosen 2 months ago

Derive and exceed offline offerings because of the dynamic nature of email marketing. It is far more cost effective to utilize email marketing to craft "one to one" messages. These messages are easily customized and adjusted (images and prodcut offerings) to meet the needs of each customer. It is far less cumbersome to accomplish in the email world than it is in the offline worlds.

Commented by Bob Cloutier 2 months ago

So the people expounding that there is no loyalty online and that everyone will just look for the best deal each time they buy is not necessarily true?

Commented by Neil Rosen 2 months ago

Loyalty wanes during tough economic times regardless of what medium the brand is utilizing. Email marketing creates top of mind awareness which, combined with knowing what the consumer is looking for, puts the brand's email message in a strategic position. Chatter marketing (re-engagement) develops an even stronger position. Point of sale information is valuable but it takes much longer to craft an offline strategy.

Commented by Bob Cloutier 2 months ago

Isn't part of online strategy to move volume and dollars to what works? Isn't that fast pace/quick results part of its allure to new and old marketers alike? Loyalty is to your brand, its reputation and increasing sales all while testing and doing away with what isn't worth your time or dime.

Commented by Jacqueline Causa 2 months ago