Testing for Email Marketing Success

It is always surprising to learn when companies have not incorporated basic tests into their previous email marketing efforts. 

Of course, there are many reasons for this -- with responses ranging from "you can do that?!" to technology limitations, to lack of time, or even lack of perceived value.  Alas, many companies still send out one email to their entire file.

Why should you test?

There are many reasons to test in emails.  Among them, testing forces you to:

• Put assumptions and biases aside;
• Learn what motivates customer behavior;
• While at the same time (presumably) creating more personalized and targeted emails....

The net effect of testing should be increased sales and customer loyalty, as well as you becoming a better email marketer.

Here are some basic email tests you can try.

Test 1: Does Personalization Boost Response?

Segment 1 Example: [First Name], Get the Latest New Products!
Segment 2 Example: Get the Latest New Products!

To verify your results, it is best practice to reverse the test on the next email before making a conclusion -- so in the next email, Segment 1 WILL NOT receive their first name in the subject line, but Segment 2 will.  It might look like this:

Segment 1 Example Subject Line: Free Gift Offer Inside
Segment 2 Example Subject Line: [First Name], Free Gift Offer Inside

Personalization can take many forms aside from being used in the subject line, as shown in this example. It could include content

Test 2: Which Offers Perform Best?

Segment 1 Example Subject Line: [First Name], Get 15% Off Your Next Order
Segment 2 Example Subject Line: [First Name], Save $10 Off Your Next Order

Of course, you'll have to include unique offer codes within each email to measure the sales results separately, but really the only variable changing is the offer itself.

On the next email, switch the offers but change the subject line slightly, as well as create fresh content -- you don't want to be boring or predictable!

Segment 1 Example Subject Line: [First Name], Limited Time Only to Save $10
Segment 2 Example Subject Line: [First Name], Limited Time Only to Get 15% Off

You might also consider testing Free Gift vs No Free Gift, Free Shipping vs Dollar (or Percent) Off, Minimum Order Values required to receive an offer, etc.

Test 3: How Does Performance Vary by Order Recency?
For this email you'll have to run a sales report to obtain the last-date-of-sale for each email address, then sort your email addresses from "Most Recent Order Date" to "Least Recent Order Date."

Then, create two equal sized groups -- one for your oldest orderers, one for your newest orderers -- and send them an identical email.

Segment 1 Example Subject Line: Top 5 Holiday Gift Ideas
Segment 2 Example Subject Line: Top 5 Holiday Gift Ideas

You'll likely want to repeat this test on your next email to validate results.

Test 4: How Does Performance Vary by Lifetime Orders?
For this email you'll have to run a sales report to "count" the number of orders placed by each customer. Sort your results from "most lifetime orders" to "least lifetime orders."

Then, create two groups -- one for customers that have placed just 1 order, one for customers that placed 2 or more orders -- and send them an identical email.

Segment 1 Example Subject Line: 10 Most Highly Reviewed Birthday Gifts
Segment 2 Example Subject Line: 10 Most Highly Reviewed Birthday Gifts

Then, repeat this test on your next email to validate results.

Goals
The goals of testing should certainly include:

• Learn what motivates customer behavior
• Determine performance differences based on customer order history
• Send more interesting and targeted emails
• Increase sales and customer loyalty

Apply what you learn from email to other marketing activities that may be more expensive or have longer lasting effects. 

Change the role of email into an important research tool that can benefit other areas of your company!

Need help incorporating testing into your email program?  We have the expertise and technology to make testing easy and highly trackable.

Contact Us today!

Email Marketing: Don't Be Afraid of the Word "Segment"

As a verb, dictionary.com defines Segment as "to separate or divide."  In email marketing, the word Segment can be scary. 

You might think, for example, "if I segment my file I'm not going to email everyone."  Naturally, small business owners and email list managers want to build a large email list and take full advantage of it. 

After all, you've spent a lot of time, money, and effort to get here!  Don't worry, you can still segment AND email everyone.

Starting now, you should no longer be afraid of the word "Segment!"  Here's why:

1.  First and foremost, substitute "segment" with "we know X about this group of people, and we know Y about this group of people."  

You may even know "nothing" about the last group of people, and THAT'S OKAY...for now.

2. Segmenting your list doesn't preclude you from emailing everyone.

3. For those you know something about, create a more targeted or "relevant" email for them. 

As an example, let's assume you operate a home improvement store. For simplicity's sake, you might create three emails:

• A targeted email for everyone who purchased from your "kitchen" department;
• A different email for everyone who purchased from your "outdoor" department;
• Lastly, you may have another group with limited or no product data from your "old system" - it's okay to send them a more general email

The bottom line: when possible, use your data to profile (segment) your customers. For those you don't know anything about, send a more general email.

Ask yourself: are you more likely to open a general email about home improvement products, or an email with a subject line that references a product line you've actually purchased?

Segmenting your customers will boost your email campaign performance. Yes, it takes some planning, but your customers will often think of you differently: "They've taken time to understand me and not treat me like a number."

In the end, isn't that what you want - to build loyalty and have customers specifically seek you over the competition?  Email marketing is an excellent tool to showcase how your brand is unique.

In a future article, we'll discuss how to email effectively when you know little or nothing about your email list. Stay tuned!

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Need help profiling or segmenting your email list?

Contact us today!  The Admiral Company offers email marketing campaign management and can leverage the segmentation tools in our Email Marketing Suite to create rewarding campaigns.