Recent research identifies key attributes, strategy and structure for the perfect approach.
A recent survey of 1,100 digital marketers points to the email ‘dream-team’ for any company. The Adestra/Econsultancy Email Marketing Industry Census 2014 not only identifies key attributes and structure for the perfect approach, but strategic areas on which to focus when building a team from the ground-up. With email marketing producing the best ROI of any channel, and more sales attributable to it than ever before, getting the approach right is valuable to your business.
Unfortunately, there are many ways to get this approach wrong which leads to lower performance and lower esteem. The majority of emarketers (58%) said their own email campaign results were ‘average’ or ‘poor’. This shows there is significant scope for improvement – and league promotion – for many using this consistently reliable marketing channel.
Heather Hopkins, senior analyst with Econsultancy, said: “While email marketing delivers strong ROI for companies, with the right resources and approach it could contribute even more to the bottom line.
“Email is too often viewed as a cheap channel even though marketers tell us that on average it accounts for over 20% of sales. Putting the right resources behind email campaigns to personalise communications and tailor offers based on advanced segmentation and behavioural targeting, can further improve the results of email marketing.”
So what is the ultimate resource and cost-efficient team structure for an email marketing operation? While it does vary across size and sector, there are common elements that will make campaign return soar. Marketers can use these as a checklist in their quest for reaching the email Premier league . . .
1. A dedicated team
Having human resource dedicated to email marketing, irrespective of size of team or level of dedication, makes email marketing a more effective tool. Companies with teams dedicated to email marketing had the highest proportion of companies rating their email efforts as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ at 83%.
2. Understand and use the functionality available in your email system
Email ROI increases when the use of email functionality increases. Nearly a fifth (17%) of companies using up to a quarter of their email functionality described their ROI from email as poor. However, of the companies using more than three-quarters of their email system functionality, 37% rated their email ROI as excellent, an eight per cent increase on last year.
3. Focus on strategy/optimisation/reporting
Company marketers spend the least time on optimising and most on design – nearly two-thirds (63%) are spending more than two hours on design and content for a typical campaign, with around quarter as many (17%) spending at least two hours on optimisation. In order for companies to improve their likelihood of success with email marketing, for example spending time on optimisation, automation, segmentation and other areas where performance can be improved, companies need to spend proportionately less time on the creative elements of their campaigns.
4. Focus on making automation work
Marketers understand the benefits of automation, such as increased relevancy and customer engagement, but today few are using triggers to send automated emails. It’s perhaps no wonder that success is limited – 49% say implementation has been unsuccessful. But it’s not just about buying the technology, the main challenge to automation is lack of budget/time – ironically, you need to invest time to save time.
5. Use more email marketing best practices
Get the basics right and the ROI will follow. More segmentation, better list cleansing, content personalisation, and CRM integration are all proven to help deliver results. For example, more than three-quarters (77%) of companies using advanced segmentation rated email as ‘excellent’ or ‘good’, 8% more than companies doing just basic segmentation.
6. Don’t forget mobile
While 2013 saw big growth for mobile optimisation, lack of time is preventing further progress. Today 47% optimise email campaigns for mobile devices, therefore most are not, and 61% have a ‘basic’ or ‘non-existent’ mobile strategy. While the trend is encouraging, there’s still a long way to go.
7. Look to the future
Successful marketers cannot stand still and need a clear focus on where they are going. Nearly two-thirds of companies would like to improve their personalisation (64%), marketing automation (64%) and segmentation (62%). And the top area to really focus on in 2014 is email strategy.
8. Match your team to your email platform
Team structure also depends on a company’s email provider – and matching your team to maximise use of the platform. Companies may consider bringing in marketing technologists alongside traditional marketers if their ESP doesn’t have the support to offer help and guidance. And total cost of ownership should be considered, as ROI can be negatively affected if spend on additional support packages is required.
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Trained as a journalist from the age of 18 and enjoying a long career in regional newspaper reporting and editing, Sally Hooton joined DMI (Direct Marketing International) magazine as editor in 2001. DMI then morphed into The GMA, taking her with it!
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