E-commerce Link : Spruce It Up
Big ideas to give your e-mail program traction leading into the new year
October 2009 By Regina BradyYou also should plan for at least three new triggered messages. The beauty of triggered messages is they are relevant to recipients and drive response. The best triggers are based on things you know about them or actions they recently took.
The first place to start is an abandoned shopping cart series. This gives you the ability to capture 5 percent to 15 percent of sales that are otherwise lost. Then, review your order confirmation e-mails to be sure that you include a cross-sell opportunity. According to Jupiter Research's October 2008 study, The Transactional Messaging Imperative: Capitalizing on the Marketing Opportunity of Transactional E-mail, 40 percent of marketers who employ this technique see 5 percent response.
Consider specialized triggers such as a birthday message. Many e-commerce sites ask for birth date during the registration process and then provide a discount in the e-mail. It is virtually guaranteed that someone who receives a birthday e-mail from you will open and read the message. In addition, it will make her feel closer to your brand.
Other ideas for triggered messaging include: behavioral e-mails for those who clicked and browsed but did not buy, upsells based on purchase activity, back-in-stock notices for those who registered on the site for these alerts, sales reactivation efforts for those who have purchased in the past but not recently, and rate and review e-mails.
Exploit Social Media
Facebook, Twitter and other social sites are great ways to involve and engage your customers. There are many ways marketers can take advantage of this new phenomenon.
- Incorporate social networking logos in either the header or footer of your e-mail template. Marketers can be simplistic and only link to Facebook and Twitter, or they can be quite complex and encourage sharing to Digg, Delicious, YouTube and other sites. If you aggressively embrace multiple social media sites, you might want to use a simple "share" icon.
- Send solo e-mails promoting your presence on social media sites. Many e-mail marketers send special e-mails to all recipients encouraging them to partake in their social communities. As an inducement, some offer coupons for those who become fans or create unique promotions.
- Capture data. If you require registration, ask for e-mail addresses.
Be sure to complete your profile. On Facebook, complete the "Info" tab, and include a link to your site and perhaps a link to your e-mail sign-up page. Also consider an "Offers" tab. On Twitter, use keywords in your description so others can see and follow you.
Here's wishing you success with a revitalized e-mail program as we head toward the new year.
Regina Brady is president of Reggie Brady Marketing Solutions, a direct and e-mail marketing consultancy. She can be reached at (203) 838-8138 or reggie@reggiebrady.com.




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