Ten Steps to Effective Email Marketing

White paper Integrated Marketing Management
Ten Steps to Effective Email Marketing
Updated strategies and actionable steps to help B2B and B2C marketers deliver integrated and measurable email marketing campaigns in today's quickly changing online landscape
INTRODUCTION a complex and often-misunderstood There's a revolution going on in tool. Many marketers would argue it has marketing today. New technologies been both a blessing and a curse to the A successful email market- continue to emerge. Communication practice of marketing. On the positive ing campaign requires a channels are shifting and fragmenting. side, email is an easy-to-use, low-cost New social media channels change means of connecting with prospects, diligent the rules of marketing and customer customers and partners. However, these and thoughtful approach to engagement on a daily basis. Meanwhile, positives can quickly become negatives. the pressure for marketing to deliver Because of the low cost, there's virtually the entire email marketing measurable ROI has never been higher. no limit to how many emails a company process. Although email marketing has been can send, resulting in inbox overload. around for more than a decade it is still Many customers and prospects feel like they are constantly being spammed with irrelevant messages, and email marketers have had to face the rise of For the following media, what are your spending plans in 2010 spam filters - making it more difficult to 100% 4 reach intended audiences. 10 Increase14 15 20 1427 No Change32 23 Customers and prospects do want to 80% Decrease hear from companies, but the messages must be relevant. The rise of recent 60% 43 communications vehicles such as 37 70 Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google 48 84 82 84 Wave, and SMS have gained popularity, 40% 73 but email is still an important and effective conduit for reaching customers and prospects, launching interactive 20% 38 3520 200% 3 3 3Print Online Broadcast Radio Direct Events Tele- OutdoorMail marketingB2B Magazine 2010 Outlook Survey - Nov 2009marketing campaigns, and driving STEP 2: MANAGE CUSTOMER conversations via new social media DATA EFFECTIVELYand technology channels. As the breadth, volume and complexity of data have exploded over the past But email marketing is not just about decade, data management has become sending emails. The process has many a well-known challenge for direct moving parts that must be well- marketers. Having the right data integrated in order to provide a content- available to help target customers and rich experience for customers and present optimal offers is one of the best prospects. Marketers need to manage ways for an organization to accelerate customer and prospect lists respectfully its marketing efforts, and in order to and create well-targeted campaigns to prepare data for email distribution, it ensure that messages will be delivered must be gathered from the multiple and not disappear into spam filters. sources and scrubbed to ensure ongoing Campaign responses must be carefully accuracy and compliance. monitored in order to evolve content and offers for follow-up campaigns. Gathering customer data: In most businesses, multiple departments Many email solutions can be used to gather and manage customer data, send messages, but unless the recipient often working in silos. Many online opens the email, engages, and takes marketing tools limit the amount action, the campaign will not yield and type of customer data that can results. A successful email marketing be referenced. But in reality, deep campaign requires a diligent and data should be drawn from multiple thoughtful approach to the entire channels such as offline connections, email marketing process. Following email response, form and survey data the ten best practices outlined in and company website browsing history. this paper will help improve overall Powerful new software tools can help email marketing effectiveness, while compile and track insights from all navigating the quickly-changing online existing corporate data assets as well media landscape. as create highly customized content and interactive experiences based STEP 1: ESTABLISH A SINGLE on a complete transactional history MARKETING PLATFORM for each customer.Thanks to the marketing revolution, the days of "batch and blast" emails Scrubbing data: Marketing programs are gone. Instead, companies are now will no... [download for more]