| Reggie Brady Marketing Solutions 203-838-8138 | ||||||||||||
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| Reggie's articles appearing in Target Marketing Magazine | ||||||||||||
| Beyond Retention: Can Email Work for Prospecting and Lead Generation? April 2005 BY REGINA BRADY Email shines as a customer communication tool to involve customers, build loyalty, and promote products or services. As such, retention email marketing should be your first priority since it will provide you with solid results and profits. But there’s a big world of consumers and professionals who aren’t aware of your company and your products and services. Can email be an effective channel to reach new prospects and leads? As an email champion, I’d like to be able to give you a resounding “YES - of course, it’s wonderfully effective.” But instead, I have to qualify my answer and say it does work, and it will work — if you are willing to apply direct marketing discipline to your efforts. New customers and prospects are the lifeblood of marketers and a good majority of these individuals are out there on the Web and reachable through email. Here’s a roadmap to make your efforts more effective. How Do You Find Them? Work with the experts. This is the easy part! Many readers are already direct mailers. To find lists, you simply pick up the phone and call your favorite list brokers for recommendations. It’s basically the same with email; although, in most cases, you must ask your traditional broker to put you in touch with their email specialist. Email is a different animal from direct mail. Knowledgeable email brokers are worth their weight in gold. They already know the good sources and lists that abuse permission, and can also help you through coordinating a campaign. For readers without a broker, the best place to find list brokerage companies is at the Direct Marketing Association web site. It has a searchable member directory. CPM vs. CPA Most established email lists are available on a cost per thousand (CPM) basis — just like their direct mail counterparts. But there are lists available on a pay-for-performance or cost-per-action (CPA) basis. Many web-marketing techniques such as search engine marketing, co-registration and affiliate programs, operate on a CPA. Marketers define what they are looking for - clicks, registrations or sales - and define what they are willing to pay for responders. This is a great way for marketers to minimize risk, since they only pay for desired activity. I am not a fan of CPA for email lists. My concerns are list quality and the ultimate effect using these lists can have on your reputation. Let me explain. A list owner who provides a list on a CPA basis only makes money if the individuals on the list click, register or order. This presents a big temptation for the list owner to either not target or over-sample. Its interest is in maximizing income, since someone might respond even from non-targeted selections. I’ve heard list owners admit it takes too much effort to select specific audiences for a CPA effort. Doesn’t this sound a lot like spam? Direct marketing works best with targeted offers to targeted audiences, not blasting indiscriminately. I know of some marketers who were doing very well with CPA prospecting until they found out that ISPs or companies were blocking their emails to customers because they’d been blacklisted as spammers. Web systems are networked, and you want to think carefully before you engage in activities that can damage your ability to do business. Capturing attention – The Irresistible Offer Our mailboxes are glutted and today with spam. So, it’s particularly important to cut through the clutter with your prospecting efforts. Consumers and business people may not know about your company, your reputation, your wonderful products or your great customer service. Even well-known brand marketers need compelling creative, content and offers to capture attention. Remember, most direct marketers are willing to acquire a new customer at a loss, because the future lifetime value of that customer will more than offset the initial expenditure. An online prospect that volunteers contact information gives you a reason to use an inexpensive communication channel to build that future value. Construct a solid value proposition. If you’re a consumer marketer, consider offering free shipping and handling on first order; premiums with an order; discounts, sweepstakes and contests, free trials, etc. B-to-B marketers continually use webinars and white papers. One of my favorite prospect emails was from Omaha Steaks. The subject line read “Save 71% plus get 3 Free GIFTS – 3 Days Only.” They offered me more than $200 worth of steaks, pork chops and more for only $59.99. And, that’s not all, folks! I would also receive a 5-piece cutlery set, a cutting board and a cookbook. As a consumer, this was a great deal! And I had to act quickly. So, I bought. Maximize Your Impact You’ve got limited space, so make sure to focus on offer. But your timing might not be right for some recipients. So if you’ve got an email newsletter program, promote it. You’ll then be able to communicate with those individuals in the future. Keep it short and pithy. Attention spans are short; and they are even shorter online — particularly for those not familiar with your company. You must get to the point quickly and fight for attention. A prospecting email should generally be no longer than one to one and one-half screens. Maximize the impact of every inch of your message. A wonderful effort can be short-circuited if the web experience does not deliver on the promise. Craft your landing pages carefully. Make sure the order or registration process is streamlined. (Check Web logs to see how many abandon the process and identify the points of pain.) Plus, the look and feel of your email and your web site should be complementary. Don’t Forget to Test Email prospecting and lead generation certainly can work. This is the lifeblood for many marketers. But it takes combination of the right offer, at the right time, to the right list. No company gets everything right on the first effort. As in traditional direct marketing, every effort should include a test plan. Of course, you are testing and evaluating lists. But make sure you’re learning from each effort. Test offers, subject lines, landing pages … everything. 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 reginabrady@att.net. Return to Articles | ||||||||||||
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