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Mike Longfellow recently wrote about the need to create emails that are targeted and engaging. Mike provides a great example of how some relatively simple web analytics can be used to make email content more engaging and relevant, undoubtedly resulting in better customer experience and ROI for the campaign.
It reminds me of a project we are working on for a large retail client. As a major retailer, they have a huge range of products that they sell, predominately through physical stores but with an increasing online presence. We are working with them to substantially improve targeting of marketing activities and increase the level of engagement with their customers, and thereby drive more sales.
Deriving greater value from their e-newsletters is one part of the overall initiative. They have been sending e-newsletters to a subscriber list but using the same content for all recipients. Open rates and click-through rates were reasonable, but they had hit a plateau and were unchanged for several months.
We wanted to make the newsletters more personalized, relevant and engaging, but in line with Mike’s post, we decided against the blunt “Hi Mike” approach. We wanted relevance and personalization, but in a more subtle manner.
First, we capture the web behavior of many of the recipients of the newsletter (by using Alterian’s Web Journey product). For online shoppers we can easily analyze which products they have put into their baskets (even if they then abandon). However just as importantly, for web browsers who are conducting online research but are not active online purchasers, we can determine which type of product they have been browsing. This is done by analyzing clicks and pages viewed but also by analyzing, for example, over what sort of items their mouse had hovered. Using this data we can then tailor the newsletter by adjusting the subject line, the hero image and the offer to reflect the types of products the recipient was most interested in.
This will achieve a more far more engaging communication with the customers. It is similar to Mike’s Amazon example, but I like to think it goes slightly beyond it in terms of sophistication and subtlety.
How are you using email to increase your engagement with your customers?
Great post James (and same to Mike for the related post). I think what you said about subtlety is key.
Recently, I’ve noticed that when a particular retailer sends me an email showcasing several products and I click on the link to one of them, several days later I receive a separate email focused specifically on that one product.
While I’m all for personalized communication that delivers only the content that is relevant to me, when it is obvious that my behavior is being tracked, I hesitate to engage. “What will the retailer infer if I click here…or here?”
Track my behavior all you want as long as it offers me value and doesn’t smack me in the face.