A case study of re-activation of lapsed customers with Marketing Automation and Gamification: An email marketing case study from CarDelMar

The well-known marketing rule that investing in acquisition of new customers is six to seven times costlier than re-activating past customers suggests the value of investing in reactivation campaigns. In the omnichannel world we live in,  a wide range of possible methods are available to re-engage those who have lapsed, or if you prefer, are 'churned' buyers. Among the most effective methods is surely re-activation by email marketing. In this case study we present how optivo helped the German online car hire broker CarDelMar with an automated reactivation campaign, which was designed and carried out using the software of email marketing service provider optivo.

The challenge of inactivity

Previously, CarDelMar had been sending out fortnightly newsletters with information on exclusive discount campaigns, useful tips on booking reservations and introductions of new rental agencies. As is usually the case with new…

Examples from big brand Ecommerce sites which smaller businesses can test

The web has transformed the way people compare and buy everything from fruit to flat-screen TVs. The demand to be able to shop online has fuelled a race to join the likes of Amazon, with small independent e-commerce retailers springing up on a daily basis. But it’s important to remember that increasing sales doesn’t necessarily have to cost hundreds of thousands of pounds; small improvements can make a big difference, and even the biggest organisations may be losing revenue unnecessarily. This post features eight of my top tips for maximising e-commerce sales and includes good practice examples from some of the most successful e-commerce sites.

Tip 1: Remove dead ends

Your site should have no dead ends. Full stop. This should be the first rule of thumb. Every page should be designed to channel visitors to the right product, service or sales representative, even…

Quick ideas to increase your followers

With over 70 million Pinterest users, which grew by 58% in 2013, then it's definitely a social media platform to evaluate to see if it fits your business and demographics. See our in-depth Pinterest marketing guide by Rhian Simms and Liz Edwards for more details. In sectors where visual identity of products is important Pinterest can be influential: Did you know that 'a Pin is repinned on average 10x compared to a Tweet, which is typically retweeted less than 1%?' If you are fairly new to Pinterest and looking to grow your Followers to share your boards, then here are some practical steps: Use high impact, high quality, colourful images - those with medium lightness are 20x more likely to be repinned. Comment on the most popular pins to be noticed. Give positive comments about those you are mentioning. Use other social media platforms and offline channels to promote your presence…

A tutorial showing you the options to set up this new GA feature

When Google Analytics launched in 2005 it democratised web analytics with its feature rich offering, since then Google has worked hard to add new features to a product that is now considered a viable alternative to most enterprise level web analytics tools. But until recently GA lacked a key feature that many of it’s competitors have had since the first half of the last decade, that is the ability to group content at the session level. Grouping content has lot's of applications, for retail sites grouping categories and products is important, for media sites, different types of stories and today all businesses need to know which types and formats of content are supporting their content marketing. Other tools around the time of Google Analytics’ launch, such as HBX, dealt with this very well but Google, with its URL based content reports…

What can the best business apps on the market teach us?

A great mobile app adds that little something extra consumers just don’t get from a desktop or mobile site.  Offering instant information and efficient access to products, an app can increase loyalty by providing the consumer with an immediate handheld solution.  A well-designed app well allied to a wider integrated multi-channel retail policy can offer both consumers and brands with huge benefits. Here are 10 inspiring business apps that do just that.

Debenhams

The Debenhams mobile app offers customers a simpler alternative to the department store’s desktop and mobile sites, allowing them to swiftly shop the full Debenhams collection.  The app enables users to scan barcodes while shopping in-store to check for sizes and prices as well as read other…

Do you have an app strategy? 5 options for reaching and engaging your audience  through mobile applications

The growth in popularity of mobile apps

In January 2010 Apple announced that 3 billion apps had been downloaded in the 18 months following the launch of the AppStore. Growth has since increased month-on-month and shows no sign of slowing down. Source: Statista: Number of Downloads from the Apple App Store Number of apps available to download from Apple App Store as…

Get in the game - don’t get stuck on the sideline

More than a third (35%) of senior marketing professionals believe that digital marketing will account for more than 50% of marketing spend by 2019, according to a new report from Accenture.  37% feel it’ll account for 75% or more of all budget. Accenture’s research is based on survey responses of nearly 600 executives in 11 countries conducted between November 2013 and January 2014. My immediate question when I saw this headline for the report is what is "digital investment"? Is this just online advertising rather than actual marketing? We have to guard from a lazy “TV 2.0” mindset towards digital where we move ad spend, literally online. Thankfully the report is more broadly focussed on using digital to orientate around a consumer - so all's good! What's behind the positivity about the future of digital? With the Accenture…

A handy guide to the size specs and range of ads available on Facebook

If like the rest of us you are continually flummoxed by the myriad of ad types on Facebook, let alone the idea size dimensions for mobile, desktop newsfeed and right-hand side, help is at hand. The nice people over at Facebook For Business have given us permission to publish their Facebook Ads Product Guide. You can download it here totally free-of-charge. >> Download the Facebook_Ads_Product_Guide  << You'll find other guides online but most are pre-April 2014 when lots of changes were made. The aim of this guide is to introduce you to the various ad types available but also give advice on how best to drive awareness and engagement whether by video, image, offer or plain old message. It will show you the ad types for driving clicks to your website, driving people…

Why you could be irrelevant to 86% of your target audience... and what to do about it

86% of B2B email marketing does not work. That’s the average level of non-engagement in B2B email marketing databases - the people who never open, never read and never engage with any of your content. Yet email remains an enduring pillar of modern business communication with UK workers dealing with an average of 40 emails per day and spending an incredible 81 days of the working year reading and writing emails. How can email marketing be failing to reach such a large proportion of its intended audience when email communication is still so prevalent? So deeply embedded in our daily work? It is not email marketing that has become less effective, it is broadcast email marketing that has become less effective. That average of…

Research showing how using event-triggered emails boosts open, clicks and retail sales

As customers of retailers, we have all seen triggered messages based on a response to an action we have taken, for example welcome emails on subscribing, onboarding emails after purchasing, and shipping reminders. More generally, they can be used by all types of businesses to welcome and engage prospects and customers where they're known as behavioural emails and are one of the key functions of Marketing Automation. As marketers, we know they can be extremely effective, but research shows, fewer than half of business are using them. This post explains: Why triggered messages are effective, Typical results retailers can expect from triggered messaging Good scenarios for using them, Most importantly when they do or don't work. In a follow-up post, I explain the technical options to send behavioural emails for retailers.

Why are Triggered Messages Effective?

Econsultancy reports that triggered email open rates are four…