The Integrated Email
By Debra Ellis
About Debra
Email marketing is the most effective way to increase sales, improve service, and keep customers coming back. Getting the most out of email campaigns requires an integrated strategy that crosses channels and motivates people to act. “The Integrated Email” provides realistic solutions and best practices for navigating the land mines of spam filters, short attention spans and increasing competition that marketers face today.
Debra Ellis is a seasoned direct marketer specializing in using integrated strategies to keep customers coming back and buying more. She is the author of several marketing guides and the Multichannel Magic blog. She can be reached via email (below), on Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and Facebook.
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1-Click Emails Make Sales and Donations Easy
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When it comes to service, people prefer easy to exceptional. They want to complete their transactions and resolve any issues in the most efficient manner possible. According to a study by the "Harvard Business Review" and Corporate Executive Board, 57 percent of the people who called customer care departments tried to resolve their issues online before making the call. Customers who reported ease in making transactions were four times more likely to be loyal. This is good information for the service team, but how could it apply to the email marketing strategy?
Attention spans are getting shorter every day. Emails have nano-seconds to capture the recipients' attention long enough to get them opened. Once open, the offer has to be compelling to move people into the buying process. Every click along the way provides an opportunity to abandon the process. Providing one-click links shortens the path from email receipt to order completion reducing opportunities for people to become distracted or change their mind.
The first image in the media player at right is an example of a one-click fundraising email for a political candidate. It began with a salutation followed by a short story and call to action. The email provides five suggested amounts and the option to donate another amount. A click sends the donor to a confirmation page (the second image) to confirm the donation or choose a different amount.
Amazon offers a similar process with their wish list click, which you can see in the third image in the media player. Instead of an option for the one-click buy, the recipient can add the item to a personal wish list. This is the next best thing to a buy because it provides additional information so the recipient can be better targeted for future promotions. The email is crafted to be personal and well-targeted. A brief look at the anatomy reveals:
- The recommendations are chosen specifically for the recipient. Having my name in the first line shows that it isn't a phishing email.
- Personalizing the message increases responsiveness. The letter begins by asking if I am looking for something in the fountains department. I chuckled when I read it because they know for a fact that I was looking for an automatic watering bowl. Two weeks earlier I spent an hour searching their site for one.
- Clicking on the "Learn More" button opens the item page so you can review it in more depth. Interestingly, the first item presented in the email is the one where I spent the most time in my search.
- The "Wish List" button opens a confirmation page (the fourth image) to verify that you want the item added to your wish list.
- The item title is clickable. It opens the same page as the "Learn More" button.
The Amazon email provides multiple ways to enter the buying process. Adding a "1-Click" option to buy would make it even easier to complete the transaction.
Making things easier for your customers or donors may improve their responsiveness. Here are some tips for testing it:
- Count the number of clicks required from the initial click-through link to completion of order. Redefine the path to eliminate any extraneous steps. (This should be done for every email.)
- Provide enough details in the email for recipients to make a decision.
- Follow Amazon's lead and offer multiple options so people are choosing between more information and buy now instead of buy now or not at all.
- When reviewing results pay close attention to where people are abandoning the buying process. Test different options to find the best ones for moving them forward.
- Always provide a custom confirmation page.
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