An email marketer’s wish list for optimizing email performance
It can be difficult to incorporate all the essential components that optimize email performance when crafting numerous email communications. In general, most email marketers first and foremost consider CAN-SPAM, internal legal and messaging objectives. But what about strategic contributions that optimize email performance? Consideration to the customer experience and preferences can provide ample improvements to optimize email performance and customer relationships.
At Jacobs & Clevenger, we analyze methods of optimizing email performance across an array of campaign types. We have designed a wish list of strategic email considerations that would highly impact campaigns if transitioned from a secondary objective to a primary objective of email development. These considerations are what email marketers wish to see implemented upon their campaigns because they are proven to optimize email campaign performance.
Our email marketing wish list consists of 4 valuable categories that can boost response if implemented with careful strategic direction. The key strategies are: clean, usable data; incentivizing customers; user experience; and measurement. Above all, it is necessary to recognize the value in these considerations and plan ways to instill one or all of the methods if you have not yet begun to break ground in these focus areas.
The following considerations further explain how these categories can optimize email performance beyond the traditional level of email development.
1. Clean, usable data
It may seem like a simple task, but managing an up-to-date database of clean email addresses can be a difficult challenge. There are several layers to a database that can impact the usefulness of the information that can be deciphered. We need valid email addresses that have not bounced or opted out. We also would prefer to have active customers flagged as engaged users. Customer engagement, or behavior that is digitally tracked, can be an excellent source to drive relevance when segmenting a data file for an email send. Customers do not prefer to receive a generic message from a company. According to the Jacobs & Clevenger 2013 Marketing Trends Study, 2 out of 3 consumers prefer personalized communications. If there is a way to utilize data for personalization, it will improve the response rates and optimize email performance.
2. Incentivize
Offers within an email add value to customers and drive engagement. The offer is one of the biggest drivers to email response and click-through behavior. Incentivizing a customer to complete a call-to-action will increase conversions and allow more valued customers to gain exposure to your product or service. Customers are keen on finding the best deal and conducting thorough research before making a purchase. An offer can be the additional feature that encourages a customer to take action. There are several ways to incentivize customers: monetary reward, coupon, free shipping, free trial, consultations, content/research or other tools or sources that your customer would find value in.
3. User experience
Execute mobile optimization techniques to satisfy user experience. If a smartphone user is going to engage with an email, it will need to be functionally easy. Using large buttons and fonts, and multiple call-to-action text links and images are mobile email best practices. If users do not have ease of navigation from an email, they will move on and likely discount their perception toward the brand. Adopting mobile responsive design is essential in order to maintain customers’ attention via mobile and consequently optimize email performance.
In order to optimize email performance, measurement must be top of mind. Carefully monitoring metric trend lines can indicate opportunity for future improvement. Testing key message factors can optimize email performance. There is no real way of knowing what customers want unless you test. Perpetual AB testing will optimize email clicks and conversions. Developing a catalog of insights from testing will further enhance future campaigns by initially applying proven techniques.
Next time you are planning an email campaign, consider these methods when making your own wish list of primary objectives to implement into the strategic approach of the campaign.
At Jacobs & Clevenger, we send almost 10 million emails each year for our clients. That’s why we’re such strong advocates of optimizing success of email marketing campaign performance. We strongly suggest a strategic approach to optimize email performance and take email marketing efforts to a more effective level.