Email Marketing tactics from the Pros!

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When Ray Tomlinson sent the first official e-mail message between two computers in 1971, it is unlikely that the computer engineer could have truly grasped the impact that his action would eventually have on the digital world. Today, there are nearly 3.4 billion active e-mail accounts worldwide, a number that is projected to grow to 4.3 billion by 2016 according to The Radicati Group. 1 Simply put, e-mail has quickened the way that people communicate. Similarly, e-mail marketing has had an enormous influence on the way that businesses engage their customers and prospects. Although tactics like social media marketing and search engine optimization generate more buzz among B2B marketers, statistically speaking, e-mail marketing remains one of the most effective online marketing techniques. It also tends to be more personal than tactics like pay-per-click and banner advertisements, and remains relatively inexpensive compared to other outbound approaches. Of course, to execute a successful e-mail marketing campaign, there are several core areas to optimize. As this OpenView Labs report will show, the best e-mail marketers create messages that stand out for their content, design, and platform optimization. The report is the first of a four-part series that will focus in depth on specific online B2B marketing tactics. Similar to this report, the others in the series will present and analyze examples of B2B companies that are successfully implementing online marketing tactics in the space of interactive content, crowd-sourcing, and location-based events. The series comes on the heels of another OpenView report, Above and B2B-eyond: A Look at the Creative Marketing Tactics Leading B2B Technology Companies Are Using Online,” which provided a high-level overview of 10 of the most effective marketing tactics used by leading B2B technology companies. This new series of reports applies a similar research methodology to the one outlined in that publication. 1 The Radicati Group, “E-mail Statistics Report,” April 2012. E-mail Marketing Tactics: Do Your Messages Measure Up? Exploring the evolution of e-mail marketing tactics, and three best practices that marketers can implement to stand out in increasingly discerning inboxes. The Leading B2B Technology Companies Featured in This Report

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Email Marketing tactics from the Pros!

Transcript of Email Marketing tactics from the Pros!

Page 1: Email Marketing tactics from the Pros!

1 | OpenView Venture Partners

When Ray Tomlinson sent the first official e-mail message

between two computers in 1971, it is unlikely that the

computer engineer could have truly grasped the impact

that his action would eventually have on the digital world.

Today, there are nearly 3.4 billion active e-mail accounts

worldwide, a number that is projected to grow to 4.3 billion

by 2016 according to The Radicati Group.1

Simply put, e-mail has quickened the way that people communicate. Similarly, e-mail marketing has

had an enormous influence on the way that businesses engage their customers and prospects.

Although tactics like social media marketing and search engine optimization generate more buzz

among B2B marketers, statistically speaking, e-mail marketing remains one of the most effective online

marketing techniques. It also tends to be more personal than tactics like pay-per-click and banner

advertisements, and remains relatively inexpensive compared to other outbound approaches.

Of course, to execute a successful e-mail marketing campaign, there are several core areas to optimize.

As this OpenView Labs report will show, the best e-mail marketers create messages that stand out for

their content, design, and platform optimization.

The report is the first of a four-part series that will focus in depth on specific online B2B marketing

tactics. Similar to this report, the others in the series will present and analyze examples of B2B

companies that are successfully implementing online marketing tactics in the space of interactive

content, crowd-sourcing, and location-based events.

The series comes on the heels of another OpenView report, “Above and B2B-eyond: A Look at the

Creative Marketing Tactics Leading B2B Technology Companies Are Using Online,” which provided

a high-level overview of 10 of the most effective marketing tactics used by leading B2B technology

companies. This new series of reports applies a similar research methodology to the one outlined in

that publication.

1 The Radicati Group, “E-mail Statistics Report,” April 2012.

E-mail Marketing Tactics: Do Your Messages Measure Up?

Exploring the evolution of e-mail marketing tactics,

and three best practices that marketers can implement

to stand out in increasingly discerning inboxes.

The Leading B2B Technology Companies Featured in This Report

Page 2: Email Marketing tactics from the Pros!

2 | OpenView Venture Partners

Capturing Attention with Compelling Content

As technology has leveled the e-mail marketing playing field — making it virtually effortless for marketers

to create, send, and measure e-mail marketing campaigns — companies have had to work a lot harder to

ensure that their messages stand out among the barrage of e-mails their prospects receive every day.

One of the seemingly most obvious, and yet underappreciated, tactics to improve the odds that your

subscribers will read your messages is to develop deliberate, pertinent content. In fact, making a

concerted effort to craft brief, targeted subject lines can increase e-mail conversions by 85 percent.2

Grovo, an online video education and

training platform, is a good example of a

company that grasps the impact of e-mail

content. For example, one of Grovo’s recent

e-mails begins with a broad question

about security, which it quickly ties into

LinkedIn’s June 2012 password security

breach. The subject focus is particularly

thoughtful because of its timeliness and

relevance to Grovo’s broad audience.

Since a large percentage of Grovo’s e-mail

targets are likely to be LinkedIn users,

the immediacy of the security breach is

compelling. Grovo’s e-mail content also

guides readers to an embedded video,

encouraging further engagement.

Throughout the e-mail, Grovo remains

disciplined and maintains its content focus,

only talking about LinkedIn’s security

breach. Even the company’s plug for its

own blog and its “contact us” link — two

points at which the message could easily

deviate from the overarching security theme

of the e-mail — incorporate the theme. The

supplementary video recommendations play

into that theme as well.

OF NOTE: While body copy is critical when it comes to content, don’t forget to spend time crafting a subject line that is concise, timely, informative, and compelling. According to e-mail marketing company MailChimp,3 it is best to limit subject lines to fewer than 50 characters and avoid buzzwords like “free,” which tend to send red flags to readers and spam filters.

2 MECLABS, The MarketingExperiments Quarterly Research Journal, 2011.3 MailChimp, “Best Practices in Writing E-mail Subject Lines,” 2012.

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E-mail Marketing Tactics | 3

“The goal of any good e-mail marketing campaign is to be timely, relevant, and helpful.

Obviously, the content you include in your e-mails is primarily what determines whether

or not you meet those goals. The more compelling your content, the greater your

chances are that your audience will open your e-mails and follow the calls to action

that they set out.”

Jeff Fernandez, Cofounder & CEO, Grovo Learning, Inc.

Delivering Your Message Through Design

As is true in most of the digital world, the success or failure of e-mail marketing campaigns depends

heavily on design. Generally speaking, great e-mail designs employ a clean, easy-to-navigate template

with an eye-catching color scheme and a distinctive font. Design must also take visual flow and other

factors into consideration to ensure that the various content items in the e-mail work together to

accomplish an overarching goal.

Simply put, disjointed e-mail campaigns that lack a consistent visual language are generally less

engaging and therefore less effective. The key is to design a template that uniquely addresses your

audience’s interests and allows them to quickly absorb your message.

Delivery.com, a company that helps

customers place online delivery orders

from their favorite restaurants and stores,

achieves all of the above with its visually

engaging “Welcome Back” e-mail.

Targeted to customers who have not

recently used Delivery.com, the e-mail

uses a creative corkboard layout and

handwriting font that likely resonates with

customers who like the convenience of

using the company’s services for their

errands. The e-mail formatting is

consistent — from the Post-It note to-do

list to the Delivery.com logo on a Polaroid

frame — and the company’s call to action

is obvious and compelling. The end result is an e-mail that clearly conveys Delivery.com’s ability to

effortlessly manage specific chores for its customers using its software.

“Compelling visualization in e-mail is the most effective way for marketers to

communicate messaging and calls to action to their customer bases. Equally critical

is the relevance of the content of the e-mail, which should be tailored based on

customer segment.”

Neeraj Sharma, Vice President, Marketing, Delivery.com

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Statusboard, a project management tool, presents

another example of solid design with its “We’re moving!”

e-mail. When the company transferred its operations

to Amazon’s servers, it sent an e-mail to inform its

customer base and proactively ward off any potential

frustration that the resulting down time could create.

Laid out to look like a piece of snail mail, the e-mail

features a descriptive graphic and headline to capture

readers’ attention while concisely communicating the

e-mail’s intent. By combining the company’s logo with

Amazon’s and an image of a server in the header, Status-

board spurs its tech-savvy customers’ interest. Readers

are then drawn to the bright red text in the next section

of the letter, which succinctly informs them of the most

important details of the upcoming change in servers.

Taken altogether, the e-mail embodies several

repeatable best practices by complementing the

company’s website (using similar color schemes and

fonts) and utilizing a unique layout to organize content

in a simple method that pulls readers through the

important details of the message.

OF NOTE: While experimenting with different colors or layouts is an acceptable e-mail marketing design strategy, it is critical to design an e-mail format that readers will associate with your brand. While it may be tempting to create a template with numerous elements and graphics in an effort to

stand out, avoid overcrowding it with unnecessary content and design elements.

Optimizing Your Messages for Mobile Platforms

According to recent data from e-mail testing and analytics company Litmus, e-mail open rates on

mobile devices increased by 80 percent from October 2011 to April 2012, and have doubled since

June 2011.4 Litmus also revealed that open rates are now higher on mobile devices (36 percent) than

on desktop (33 percent) or webmail (31 percent) clients — statistics that speak to mobile e-mail’s

emergence and staying power.

As a result, marketers need to think about how to optimize their messages for mobile platforms.

Achieving that means considering multiple factors, including e-mail layout and content placement.

Marketing automation company Eloqua exemplifies that with its welcome e-mail.

4 Litmus, “E-mail Client Market Share,” 2012.

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Eloqua smartly divides its template into two columns. Both can be viewed when the e-mail is opened

on a desktop computer, while just the left column — which contains the most important content —

is initially visible on mobile devices. Additionally, the e-mail header is divided to ensure that the

message makes sense in both desktop and mobile formats.

Eloqua’s buttons are spaced out enough so that they are easy to click on smaller smartphone screens,

an often overlooked detail that can have a huge impact on continuing interaction. Lastly, the call-to-

action is stylized and perfectly placed. It looks centered and natural on desktop computers, while being

immediately viewable on mobile devices.

The most important takeaway for mobile platform optimization is ensuring that the headers, footers, and

calls to action are mobile ready as well. This involves optimally placing calls to action and accurately

sizing headers and footers so that they make sense on both single- and multi-column displays.

OF NOTE: According to a July 2012 study by Gartner, 81 percent of tablet users read e-mail on their mobile or tablet devices.5 Yet, tablet e-mail optimization is not a widely utilized e-mail marketing best practice. As a result, creating e-mail template designs specifically for tablet devices — incorporating things like bigger graphics, embedded video, or even games — could create a significant opportunity for B2B marketers looking for new ways to interact with their customers.

“The most important aspect of any e-mail marketing campaign is ensuring that

your messages stand out in increasingly crowded inboxes. An e-mail’s content and

design, as well as its compatibility with mobile devices, is what will ultimately

determine its success as a marketing medium.”

Tien Anh Nguyen Senior Associate, Research & Analytics, OpenView Venture Partners

5 Gartner, “Survey Analysis: Early Tablet Adopters and Their Daily Use of Connected Devices,” July 2012.

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6 | OpenView Venture Partners

Optimize by Tracking and Acting on the Right Performance Metrics

While perhaps not the most hyped tactic, e-mail marketing remains a highly effective B2B marketing

practice. Like any marketing tactic, however, marketers cannot haphazardly execute e-mail marketing

and hope to be successful.

For marketers to see a significant return on their e-mail marketing investment, they must spend time

developing messages with relevant, targeted, and compelling content and design that immediately

catches their customers’ attention and translates well to mobile devices. Pairing these practices with a

robust, well thought out e-mail analytics program yields the greatest opportunity for success.

Key e-mail campaign metrics to monitor include the open rate, click-through rate, and the distribution

of platforms that the e-mails are opened on. The open rate speaks to the quality of the e-mail content:

low rates indicate that the content is not compelling enough. Similarly, the click-through rate can

provide insights into the design of an e-mail. If the click-through rates of the links and buttons at the

bottom of an e-mail are poor, the design can likely be improved to pull readers through the content

until they reach the bottom.

Lastly, understanding the platform on which your recipients read your e-mails can point to that

platform your company should cater to. Although e-mail campaign measurements can be much more

complex, monitoring these metrics provides useful insights into which aspects of your e-mails need

the most improvement.

Are You Doing Enough to Ensure E-mail Engagement?

Contrary to what some marketing experts might suggest, e-mail is not a dying medium. The issue is not

whether B2B marketers should be engaging their customers through e-mail messages, but rather if they

are doing enough to ensure their messages are being read, not deleted.

To learn more about how OpenView Venture Partners can help accelerate your success, contact us at

(617) 478-7500 or e-mail [email protected].

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