Archie Jeter

According to research conducted by the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing was expected to generate an ROI of $42.08 for every dollar spent on it in 2010. As such, it outperforms all the other direct marketing channels examined, such as print advertising.

Email is Still King

Read the above statistic again. People unfamiliar with email marketing often wonder what all the fuss is about. Didn’t spam kill email as a marketing vehicle? What about blogs, Twitter and all the other clever ways we can communicate online? Isn’t email outdated? Yet again and again email prevails, just ask Groupon. Email marketing works for a variety of reasons…
It allows targeting It is data driven It drives direct sales It builds relationships, loyalty and trust It supports sales through other channels

The Value of an Email Address

Each email address impacts the bottom line for your business. For example, Alaska Airlines determined that the value of each email address to them was $160, according to Navin Mithel of Alaska Airlines. Their email group used that piece of information to lobby for more real estate on the Alaska Airline homepage for email address capture.

Real-World List Growth Examples

To grow the list for their “Click ’n Save” emails, Southwest Airlines uses posters at gates; messages on their peanut bags, menus and napkins; ads in their Spirit Magazine; and announcements by flight attendants after announcing that it was safe to use mobile devices. Most of these acquisition messages didn’t cost additional money.
To grow their list, Whole Foods educated store reps on their email program and incented in-store sign- up capture with a 2-month contest. They saw 180% list growth over that period, with store reps using posters, chalkboards, bag-stuffers, etc. to promote sign-ups.

Level 1: Untargeted

Untargeted companies that fall into this level typically have a “batch & blast” email marketing mentality with very little customer targeting. They may be limited in using technology to support the marketing process or use basic software such as Constant Contact. Campaigns are limited to only email and are offer-driven.

As a next step, businesses at this level should focus on improving their ability to leverage basic information about customers to target email communications across multiple channels more effectively.

Level 2: Targeted

Targeted companies at this level segment customer audiences on basic rules and communications use some personalized elements. Managers are starting to think about a more comprehensive email communication strategy.

To improve their skills and move to the next level, these organizations should look for ways to automate existing email campaign processes and make way for new programs.

Level 3: Systematic

Organizations at this level have a strong appreciation for the systematic approach versus a one-off campaign approach and are actively working to increase the relevance of their communications, but marketing tactics are still primarily specific to one interactive channel.

Companies should continue to work towards a more customer-focused approach by developing marketing programs around key customer segments and lifecycle stages. Plans should include a mix of tactics from customized messages to behaviorally triggered communications. These groups should also begin to hone their understanding of the customer through customer-specific metrics.

Level 4: Integrated

Companies that reach this level have a strong understanding of the customer, solid strategic skills, and  cross-channel plans. Social and mobile are more heavily integrated. These marketers leverage automation to implement highly efficient programs.

Data is leveraged across multiple sources for campaign triggers, campaign targeting and channel preference. To progress they must expand their targeted approach across multiple channels. These groups must begin to deploy cross-channel campaigns based on user behavior and preference data.