Counterintuitive Effects of Email List Segmentation

November 11, 2009 – 4:15 am

I just read an interesting report on a study that email service provider MailChimp performed on the effects of list segmentation on email marketing. They compared the results of 10,691 segmented campaigns that 1,998 companies sent to 8,762,207 recipients to non-segmented campaigns sent by the same companies.

You’d expect that the segmented campaigns would produce better results than the non-segmented ones. For the most part, that was true, but there were a few surprises:

• Increased Unsubscribes. While the open rate for the segmented lists was 14.4%% better than the non-segmented ones, and click-through rate 15.0% better, the unsubscribe rate was a surprise – 0.6% worse. The only plausible explanation MailChimp could surmise was that segmented emails were sent to a portion of the subscriber list in addition to “batch-and-blast” emails – and that the increased frequency triggered the higher unsubscribe rate.

• Some Filters Lower Response. MailChimp allows users to filter lists based on subscribers’ open and click-through behavior. So, for instance, you can easily spin off a list of your most avid email readers and send them a special offer.

Surprisingly, when this type of segmentation was used, open rates were 2.1% worse than the average, and click-through rates were 1.5% worse. When MailChimp explored further, they discovered that the most common use for this type of segmentation was for sending follow-up emails to people had not opened a previous one – so the reduced response was not so surprising on further inspection.

• Interest Groups vs. Data Fields. You would expect that self-reported interests would produce the biggest boost in response. However, such segmentation produced minimal gains: open rates and click-through rates both just 1.7% higher than the average.

By contrast, segmentation based on database fields such as zip codes or job titles produced significant improvements: 18.9% better open rates and 22.0% higher click-through rates.

You can read the full report here.

By Val Gosset | Posted in Email marketing | Tagged | Leave a Comment

Top Ranked Speakers Return to MGA Conference

November 9, 2009 – 4:15 am

If you’ve been thinking about attending a Mailorder Gardening Association conference, the January 2010 programs looks like an especially good one to check out. Of particular interest are two speakers back by popular demand.

Sundeep Kapur, who received rave reviews at the Summer 2009 conference, will return to discuss 17 Keys to Effective E-mail Marketing. He’s also offering free private consultations, available by appointment on the first day of the conference.

Kip Creel of Standpoint Marketing Group has put together some outstanding customer panels for the MGA in the past. In January, he’s returning with what promises to be an especially informative program: a customer panel shopping MGA member websites and catalogs in front of a live audience. In real time, we’ll get a revealing look at what works and what doesn’t, as seen through customers’ eyes.

The conference runs from January 4 to 6, overlapping slightly with the popular MANTS horticultural how, just a block and a half away. Click here to have a look at the full conference brochure. Hope to see you there!

By Val Gosset | Posted in Events | Leave a Comment

A Study in Pricing Pscyhology

November 6, 2009 – 4:15 am

Duncan Simester of the MIT Sloan School of Management is known for fascinating research on consumer buying behavior, much of it specific to the direct marketing industry. I’ve written about some of his studies in the past, including the surprising long-term impact of discounting and the long-term impact of traditional circulation plans.

I recently came across another interesting study by Simester on the use of $9 price endings. This study was done on two women’s clothing catalogs. In four separate tests, randomly selected samples of customers received catalogs that had different prices on several items.

Study results showed that a price ending in $9 increased demand by as much as 10% to 20% over prices both $5 higher and $5 lower (for instance, $49 vs. $54 and $44). The increase was greatest for new products and those that were purchased infrequently. It appears that, when consumers don’t know what a “normal” price is, they view a $9 price ending as a cue for a sale, and respond accordingly.

By Val Gosset | Posted in Offers | Tagged | Leave a Comment

Welcome, Dorothy Biddle Service!

November 4, 2009 – 4:15 am

We’re pleased to welcome Dorothy Biddle Service as a new client. A third-generation family-owned business, Dorothy Biddle offers more than 300 useful and unusual products for flower arranging, gardening and houseplant enthusiasts. We’re looking forward to helping them grow!

By Val Gosset | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Insights Into How Customers Rate Garden Company Shopping

November 2, 2009 – 4:15 am

In my last blog post, I emphasized the importance of following best practices in all your customer touchpoints if you want to maximize your sales without increasing your marketing budget. As I mentioned, the Secret Shopper Survey sponsored by the Mailorder Gardening Association earlier this year uncovered an astonishing number of opportunities for improvement in this regard. A new program at the next MGA conference is sure to provide even more ideas for low-cost improvements.

For the Winter MGA conference (Jan. 4-6 in Baltimore), Kip Creel of Standpoint Marketing Group is assembling a consumer panel to shop a handful of member companies live. Orders will be placed by phone and web during the session, and the pros and cons of each experience will be evaluated by the panelists. The session is sure to provide an enlightening look at how consumers view the shopping experience.

For more details on the MGA conference, click here. Hope to see you there!

By Val Gosset | Posted in Customer service, Events, Marketing | Leave a Comment

Can You Increase Your Sales Without Increasing Your Budget?

October 30, 2009 – 4:15 am

These days, every company is looking for ways to get more out of their marketing budget. Experience suggests that an internal review of how you handle information requests and your ordering process is likely to uncover a wealth of opportunities. A couple shocking examples illustrate why I say that:

• In a recent column by Stephen Lett in All About ROI, he reported that six weeks after requesting catalogs from a sampling of websites, 50% of the catalogs had not arrived. I’ve heard similar figures about questions emailed to companies going completely unanswered.

• In the Secret Shopper Survey sponsored by the Mailorder Gardening Association earlier this year, only 53% of shipments were rated excellent or very good. The reasons for low scores ranged from poor communication to inadequate packing to missing packing slips. Some of the details were outlined in our blog posts of July 22 and July 24.

Before looking for new income opportunities, make sure you’re maximizing what’s already in front of you. Make sure you respond to your customers’ and prospects’ questions and requests quickly. Look at the shopping experience through your customers’ eyes, and do some comparison shopping with the competition.

Take a closer look at your website, your phone orders, customer support, your outgoing packages and every other customer touchpoint, and you may be amazed at how many opportunities you’ve been overlooking.

By Val Gosset | Posted in Customer service, Marketing | Leave a Comment

Keep Your Subscribers Looking Forward to More

October 28, 2009 – 4:15 am

Here’s a tip for reinforcing the value of your newsletter and encouraging subscribers to open future issues:

In each issue, include a preview of the newsletter topic that follows. Not everyone plans their editorial calendar ahead, but if you do, it’s a great way to keep your subscribers looking forward to future issues.

You don’t necessarily have to promise that particular topics will appear in particular issues. If you don’t want to lock yourself in, you can simply include a reference to “upcoming topics,” without saying exactly when they’ll appear.

By Val Gosset | Posted in Enewsletters | Leave a Comment

Evaluating the Relative Strength of B-to-B Marketing Channels

October 26, 2009 – 4:15 am

Bob Bly, the renowned and prolific B-to-B copywriter, wrote an especially interesting column in this month’s Target Marketing. In it, he ranks 19 different marketing channels, classifies them as “inbound” or “outbound,” and rates them by lead quality and ROI.

Those classified as outbound include channels such as email marketing and direct mail, where the advertiser contacts the prospect. Those classified as inbound are those such as websites or social networking, where prospects seeks out the marketer.

Bly freely admits that his lead quality and ROI ratings are entirely subjective. Indeed, I’d take issue with a number of them. But when an authority I respect reports a different experience than my own, I figure it’s worth another look to see if I’m missing something.

Have a look at the list here. If nothing else, the extensive list of marketing channels may spark some ideas you haven’t considered.

By Val Gosset | Posted in Advertising, Marketing | Tagged , | Leave a Comment

Cement Your Email Marketing Relationships Early

October 23, 2009 – 4:15 am

When people sign up for your email list, what happens next? Do they get a perfunctory “Thank you for subscribing” and then nothing until your next scheduled email – which might be a month away?

It’s important to get new subscribers used to hearing from you, and start sending them helpful information right from the get-go. Autoresponders, which allow you to send a preprogrammed series of emails to new subscribers at specified intervals, make it easy to cement email marketing relationships. Some of the ways you can use an autoresponder program include:

• Sending special offers to new subscribers
• Linking to a free white paper with useful information
• Inviting people to subscribe to your blog
• Sending past newsletter issues
• Highlighting helpful sections of your website, such as videos or product reviews
• Introducing your top-selling products
• Reinforcing your top-notch customer service

Make sure your new subscriber hears from you several times during the first few weeks after they join your list. Offer them content that benefits them, and they’ll reward you with higher open rates over time.

By Val Gosset | Posted in Email marketing, Enewsletters | Tagged | Leave a Comment

Are You Too Close to Your Own Advertising?

October 21, 2009 – 4:15 am

Many entrepreneurs are so close to their own companies that it’s hard to perceive them through customers’ eyes. Two cases in point that I’ve encountered this week:

What are they selling? One company complained to me that their print advertising had completely tanked this past year. When I looked at their ads, it wasn’t surprising. Their most recent ad gave no clue to what they sell. Other benefits were clear: low minimums, fast shipment, wide selection. There was a photograph, but it didn’t clarify anything. My guess is that, because the company has been in business for 73 years, they assume that everyone already knows what they do. Big mistake!

Repeat the important things. Another company published a scaled-down version of their catalog, intending it as a web traffic driver. The new catalog mentioned the fact that it represented only a tiny sampling of the full product line just twice. The first mention was a sentence on the cover, easily overshadowed by other visual elements. The second was a three-sentence paragraph on the inside front cover, which blended in with the other elements on the page.

Guess what – people don’t read catalogs cover to cover. If there’s a point you want to be sure they don’t miss, you need to give it a prominent graphic treatment and repeat it over and over again.

It’s all too easy to become so close to your own advertising materials that you neglect to keep repeating what customers need to know because it’s obvious to you. Soliciting feedback on your marketing materials from those outside your company can go a long ways towards preventing such pitfalls.

By Val Gosset | Posted in Advertising, Catalogs, Marketing | Leave a Comment