Lifecycle marketing is changing the way companies interact with prospects and customers through the email channel. This white paper explores five common questions and some ideas on how to jumpstart your lifecycle marketing efforts.
Best-of-breed marketers are shifting from product focused to customer focused email programs. Traditionally, email marketers spent the majority of their time producing and sending one-off campaigns. By adopting a lifecycle approach, marketers are not only generating more timely relevant messaging, but they're also using automation to free themselves up to focus on planning and optimization. This approach has a strong emphasis on program orientation and customer-driven timing.
Your Top Lifecycle Email Marketing
Questions Answered WhatCounts | Lifecycle Email Marketing
Lifecycle Email Marketing
Your Top Lifecycle Email Marketing Questions AnsweredLifecycle marketing is changing the way companies interact with prospects and customers through the email channel. This white paper explores ?ve common questions and some ideas on how to jumpstart your lifecycle marketing efforts.
A Shifting Marketing ApproachBest-of-breed marketers are shifting from product focused to customer focused email programs. Traditionally, email marketers spent the majority of their time producing and sending one-off campaigns. By adopting a lifecycle approach, marketers are not only generating more timely relevant messaging, but they're also using automation to free themselves up to focus on planning and optimization. This approach has a strong emphasis on program orientation and customer-driven timing.
What this means is instead of sending generic mass email campaigns, you're focused on implementing "set it and forgot it" programs that are always working in the background to help you reduce cost and improve ROI.
To do this, you must shift your focus to identifying, understanding, and nurturing your best customers so you can send them highly personalized and relevant communications that speak to where they are in your overall customer lifecycle.
"Online travel agency Hotwire reports that their re-marketing emails are up to 16 times as effective in generating conversions as their mass distribution mailings." Source: Jupiter Research
WhatCounts | Lifecycle Email Marketing
Quite simply, lifecycle marketing is the best and fastest way to make a big impact on the revenue contribution of the email channel. The only way to stay on top is to evolve through the implementation of lifecycle marketing programs to your overall direct communication mix.
Some Numbers to Consider:
. Worldwide email traf?c expected to double between 2009 and 2013 (reaching 507 billion messages per day).Source: Radicati Group, Email Statistics Report, 2009-2013, April 2010
. Email marketing tends to have small teams and modest budgets. especially given the channel's high ROI.Source: EmailStatCenter, Compensation & Resources Study, July 2009
"Shopping cart aband-onment programs that merge email, web analytics, and e-commerce data can result in conversion increases of more than 100%." Source: Forrestor Research, 2008
WhatCounts | Lifecycle Email Marketing
1. What makes a great lifecycle marketing program?In order to create a highly effective lifecycle marketing program, there are ?ve core requirements to ful?ll:
1. Clear program goals You should clearly determine why you are contacting the customer and what call-to-action you want them to take. Each campaign should have a clear business purpose and also a strong value proposition for the recipient.
2. Tightly de?ned business rules Consider program timing and cadence in light of other automated and scheduled campaigns. To do this you'll need to map out your communications to various segments at different points in the lifecycle. Identify the behavioral triggers that will cause a customer to enter and exit each messaging stream, along with necessary suppressions.
3. Thoughtful segmentationEffective list segmentation is essential to improve the relevancy of content delivered. Consider classic segmentation models such as RFM (recency, frequency, monetary value) or start with something simple like prospects versus inactive customers versus active customers.
4. Compelling relevant content The right message at the right time is what differentiates lifecycle marketing from promotional marketing. Email personalization is essential to building a trusted relationship.
5. Creative designed for email Best practice-compliant email creative is an integral part of your messaging. Most readers spend three to ?ve seconds scanning an email before deciding whether to read or ignore it. It is critical to do everything possible to make sure they open and engage with your message.
