It's that time of year again, when leaves are changing color, children are back in school and Halloween is just around the corner. It's also time for merchants to gear up for another e-mail marketing blitz for the impending holiday season.
The Direct Marketing Association calculated that by the end of last year, e-mail marketing will have delivered $48.56 in sales for every dollar spent, so e-tailers would be wise to have a plan in place for the fourth quarter flurry of activity.
To assist merchants, Campaigner, an e-mail marketing service, is offering time-sensitive tips to help small-to-medium sized retailers get a jump start on their holiday marketing efforts in its "100 Days to Grow Your Business."
Ecommerce-Guide.com recently spoke with Luc Vezina, Campaigner's marketing director, to find out what Web shop owners should do during the month of October as a part of their overall holiday campaign plans.
Tips for October E-Mail Campaigning
Excellent e-mail marketing goes beyond offering a promotion or two in the last couple of weeks prior to the December holiday. Vezina said that merchants need to prepare early for their holiday campaigning. In fact, you'll find many savvy merchants and retailers have started their 2008 holiday campaigns in September. Many retailers will see the largest number of sales in the period following Thanksgiving and through to the Christmas, but by that time, you'll be too busy to be planning e-mail marketing efforts. Merchants really need to start planning now.
This month, Vezina suggests merchants get to work on segmenting their list and testing subject lines; two very important aspects of e-mail marketing that you simply will not have time to work on as the holiday shopping frenzy ensues.
Here are five tips for merchants who are looking to start working on holiday campaigns now:
- Segment and Target Your Message:
Many merchants this time of year are still blasting the same e-mail messages to a large group of subscribers. By October, if not earlier, Vezina suggests that you really look at segmenting your subscriber list. Even if you do not have geographical data for your subscribers, you can use your customer database and target your subscribers based on their past purchases.
If, for example, you see a group of customers who purchased a specific product or gift type last year, be sure you target those types of customers this year with promotions that match their shopping experience at your site. Now is the time to create your segments and marketing plan, as later on merchants will be far too busy to work on this. Segmenting your subscriber list is not just a holiday tip. It's a plan of action that will last the lifespan of your e-mail campaigns.
- Why Not Say Thank-You?: The overall goal in thanking your subscribers is to make them feel like VIP customers long before the holiday shopping season arrives. Let them know they are special customers, not just one in a list in your general database of consumers.
While this is a great way to grow your subscriber list in general, it can also help merchants build a bond with the subscribers at a time when they are browsing and considering where to spend their holiday dollars. In thanking customers, merchants can consider including e-mailing a simple thank-you greeting along with an offer for an e-coupon or special promotion for list-members only. In saying thank-you you are also reminding customers of the value of being on your e-mail list.
- Offer Creative Incentives: This time of year your subscribers are going to expect sales and promotions, and not offering those will disappoint them. Also, it's important to remember that you have to be creative in your incentives to stand out among the competition. The goal is to "wow" your customers with your offers, as opposed to just deliver what they expect.
For instance, if you're offering free shipping, but so are all your competitors, your customers won't necessarily considered this a perk. Make your offers both unique and rewarding this year, perhaps by cutting the price of bundled gift sets or by including a free accessory for purchases over a certain amount.
- Test Those Subject Lines: Vezina said that now is the time to do your A/B testing (also called split testing). This is where you want to send test messages to different groups within your list to see which type of subject lines and included offers get opened the most and result in the most sales.
For example, if your list is comprised of 1,000 members, you can send one campaign to 500 members and a different subject line to the remaining half. Track the open and click through results of each message and use this as guide for lining up your subject lines and promotions for November and December.
- Add a Countdown:
One thing you should start doing this month is begin reminding your customers how many shipping days are left to ensure a delivery before Christmas. You can plant the idea of planning for Christmas delivery by including a countdown in your e-mail messaging. However, it's important to not to over do it.
Vezina said that the countdown should be repeated in future mailings, although not too frequently, just yet. Occasional reminders work best as a hook in October and November, and then the countdown should be added more frequently later on when you need to create the feel of urgency.
Luc Vezina, Campaigner's Head of Marketing, is an advocate of permission-based e-mail marketing and a supporter of relevant, one-to-one mass communications. He is responsible for driving the direction of Campaigner's products, which let marketers carry out relevant, personalized dialogues with their customers. Vezina maintains a sharp focus on industry trends and marketing technology, ensuring that the Campaigner products maintain a value to marketers.
Don't forget to check back in early November and again in December as Ecommerce-Guide.com will be offering you more great holiday e-mail marketing tips from Campaigner and Luc Vezina.
Vangie Beal is a seasoned online marketplace seller, frequent contributor to ECommerce-Guide.com and avid online bargain hunter. She is also managing editor of Webopedia.com.
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