Create Synergy
How to successfully integrate e-mail into your marketing mix
April 2006 By Regina Brady
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e-mail.
Why is this important? I’ve seen results from studies in which marketers created a separate toll-free number to track e-mail orders, and up to 20 percent of revenues were generated via the phone. That’s a hefty percentage. Some of your customers and prospects still prefer that personal touch, particularly if they have a question about your product or service.
An additional point for those of you who may have a toll-free number that doesn’t begin with 800: Not everyone realizes that other phone exchanges are toll-free. In these cases, it’s a good idea to point out that there is no charge to call.
n Support direct mail on the Web and with e-mail. For example, Brooks Brothers has a great strategy in place to support direct mail. If its catalog is slated to arrive on a Monday, its Wednesday e-mail features the catalog cover—and its Web site homepage also features the catalog.
To extend the shelf life of its catalog, the following week’s e-mail might feature an image from the back cover of the catalog followed by an image from one of its spreads.
n Use e-mail to promote retail locations. The simplest way to do this is to include a store locator feature in e-mails that link to the Web site for information, maps and in-store events.
Marketers with a limited retail presence also can effectively use e-mail to promote a specific location with details about in-store events and special offers. For instance, Design Within Reach has a store near me, and I receive solo e-mail communications about events, sales and activities for that particular store. This really has a one-to-one personal feel.
n Connect your e-mail and print advertising. If you have an active print advertising program, reference the design and messaging of that initiative in your e-mails. J.C. Penney, for one, spends significant advertising dollars on Sunday newspaper supplements. To extend the mileage of its investment, it often includes in its e-mails a “This week’s store ad” link. When the recipient clicks on the link, he is brought to a reproduction of the offer promoted in the newspaper inserts.
n Offer multichannel redemption. Allow customers to redeem coupons via the channel of their choosing. Years ago I enrolled in Staples’ “Business Rewards” program. Periodically, I would receive an e-mail from Staples that included a coupon for significant savings on any purchase over a certain dollar amount. It clearly explained how I could redeem the coupon online, contact the call center with my coupon code, or print the e-mail out and bring it into a retail location near me. In
my opinion, Staples was the first company that did multichannel marketing really well.
n Design e-mail to complement your Web site. After all, your e-mail and Web site have the closest tie-in. Recipients interact with e-mails and link directly to your site. One way to extend this value is to incorporate your site’s major navigation features, including a “search” function, into the design of your e-mail or newsletter.
n Integrate your Web and e-mail strategies. Use sophisticated tracking and database information to tailor and trigger highly relevant messages. For instance, smart marketers like SportsSection.com send automated
e-mails to customers who have had items in their shopping cart for more than 24 hours. It uses a subtle approach, and reminds recipients they can easily continue their checkout process. The company recoups up to 25 percent of sales. You also can offer a special discount on items you know the individual is interested in or include a picture of the items in the abandoned cart, and resell the benefits of those products.
Another example of how you can tie your e-mail content to your Web site: Drugstore.com periodically sends me an e-mail that includes all the items I’ve recently purchased online. It makes it easy for me to begin my re-order process directly from the e-mail.
Remember, it’s not just e-mail or direct mail or your Web site. It’s all about how you can create and leverage the synergies between marketing channels. We’ve covered just a few examples here, but I hope it’s stimulated your thinking. yy
Regina Brady is president of Reggie Brady Marketing Solutions, a direct and e-mail marketing consultancy. She can be reached via e-mail at reginabrady@att.net.
Why is this important? I’ve seen results from studies in which marketers created a separate toll-free number to track e-mail orders, and up to 20 percent of revenues were generated via the phone. That’s a hefty percentage. Some of your customers and prospects still prefer that personal touch, particularly if they have a question about your product or service.
An additional point for those of you who may have a toll-free number that doesn’t begin with 800: Not everyone realizes that other phone exchanges are toll-free. In these cases, it’s a good idea to point out that there is no charge to call.
n Support direct mail on the Web and with e-mail. For example, Brooks Brothers has a great strategy in place to support direct mail. If its catalog is slated to arrive on a Monday, its Wednesday e-mail features the catalog cover—and its Web site homepage also features the catalog.
To extend the shelf life of its catalog, the following week’s e-mail might feature an image from the back cover of the catalog followed by an image from one of its spreads.
n Use e-mail to promote retail locations. The simplest way to do this is to include a store locator feature in e-mails that link to the Web site for information, maps and in-store events.
Marketers with a limited retail presence also can effectively use e-mail to promote a specific location with details about in-store events and special offers. For instance, Design Within Reach has a store near me, and I receive solo e-mail communications about events, sales and activities for that particular store. This really has a one-to-one personal feel.
n Connect your e-mail and print advertising. If you have an active print advertising program, reference the design and messaging of that initiative in your e-mails. J.C. Penney, for one, spends significant advertising dollars on Sunday newspaper supplements. To extend the mileage of its investment, it often includes in its e-mails a “This week’s store ad” link. When the recipient clicks on the link, he is brought to a reproduction of the offer promoted in the newspaper inserts.
n Offer multichannel redemption. Allow customers to redeem coupons via the channel of their choosing. Years ago I enrolled in Staples’ “Business Rewards” program. Periodically, I would receive an e-mail from Staples that included a coupon for significant savings on any purchase over a certain dollar amount. It clearly explained how I could redeem the coupon online, contact the call center with my coupon code, or print the e-mail out and bring it into a retail location near me. In
my opinion, Staples was the first company that did multichannel marketing really well.
n Design e-mail to complement your Web site. After all, your e-mail and Web site have the closest tie-in. Recipients interact with e-mails and link directly to your site. One way to extend this value is to incorporate your site’s major navigation features, including a “search” function, into the design of your e-mail or newsletter.
n Integrate your Web and e-mail strategies. Use sophisticated tracking and database information to tailor and trigger highly relevant messages. For instance, smart marketers like SportsSection.com send automated
e-mails to customers who have had items in their shopping cart for more than 24 hours. It uses a subtle approach, and reminds recipients they can easily continue their checkout process. The company recoups up to 25 percent of sales. You also can offer a special discount on items you know the individual is interested in or include a picture of the items in the abandoned cart, and resell the benefits of those products.
Another example of how you can tie your e-mail content to your Web site: Drugstore.com periodically sends me an e-mail that includes all the items I’ve recently purchased online. It makes it easy for me to begin my re-order process directly from the e-mail.
Remember, it’s not just e-mail or direct mail or your Web site. It’s all about how you can create and leverage the synergies between marketing channels. We’ve covered just a few examples here, but I hope it’s stimulated your thinking. yy
Regina Brady is president of Reggie Brady Marketing Solutions, a direct and e-mail marketing consultancy. She can be reached via e-mail at reginabrady@att.net.
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