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…
A definition of Marketing Automation in 2014
Have you noticed that there’s a lot more discussion of how marketing automation can be used by businesses in 2014? Many email marketing service providers (ESPs) are repositioning their services as marketing automation platforms and at the same time, customer relationship management (CRM) systems are including marketing automation and Big Data features as part of their cloud platform services.
As I speak with marketers at different businesses I find that there is varying understanding of what marketing automation means and I'm often asked to define it’s scope. So, in this post I have outlined some of the main features as I see it.
Automated, personalised email sequences are a key feature of Marketing Automation
In reality, the automation concept is not new, for example, automated email sequences are a key feature of marketing automation that have been available for at least 10 years in many capable…
Ideas for the next generation of conversion optimisation
Conversion Optimisation has become a regular fixture in a marketers toolkit. The ability to gain efficiencies based on data driven facts is a great opportunity for many businesses. As testing becomes commonplace we are approaching the next innovation in testing which is rarely discussed. CRO Testing currents involves running variances against a base. You monitor performance on single or multiple KPIs and a winner is found. The winner then get the majority/all of the traffic and we move onto the next test. We look for statistically significant results in the data to show success in performance and live and die by the numbers.
What happens when a user prefers the version of the test that “fails”. If 90% of people preferred the new version - you still have 10 out of every 100 having a preference of your base. We talk about segmentation and targeting when setting…
3 Steps to make the case for better call-tracking
I get it. You’re an online marketer. Equipped with the best there is to offer in web analytics, you save the day for client after client, letting them know what drives visitors to their websites. Clients want to know if visitors actually read the content on their websites? Done. Businesses enquiring on what sites visitors go to after leaving their website? You got it covered.
But what happens when these visitors you thought you knew so well visit your clients website then decide to pick up the phone? Even with a powerful tool like Google Analytics, you still need to be tracking phone calls.
I know… I know, this isn’t 1876, and you aren’t Alexander Graham Bell. You’re a digital savvy marketing pro, why should you worry your clients with something as old school as telephone calls?
Why you should be tracking phone calls
A recent…
How and when to use A/B or Multivariate Test Design
When running a testing programme you will have to decide for each test whether it should be run as an A/B test or a multivariate test. The decisions you make when designing your experiments will significantly impact important variables such as the depth of the insights, the speed of testing and delivering winning variations and therefore the impact of your testing efforts.
The 1,024 Variation Test
So when should we run that 1,024 variation multivariate test (Google actually did this) and when would an A/B test be more appropriate? First, let’s consider some of the important variables:
Time to test - The number of variations in your experiment will affect the length that your test needs to run.
Traffic required - Your traffic volumes will also determine how quickly you…
Why benchmarking is essential to fill the digital marketing gap
In theory, analytics can tell you anything you want to know about your last digital promotion - except whether or not it was successful... For example, analytics may tell you?
Your conversion rate was 3%. Is that good?
Engagement is down. Is it down across your competitive set or is it just you?
Redemption rate exceeded targets by 10%. Was the bar set too low?
You won't get these insights from your digital marketing analytics because all they can give you are your numbers, which are meaningless unless you have something to compare them to. Benchmarking tools provide answers by plotting your data against the industry-specific averages for hundreds of metrics. You'll know what objective success looks like. You'll know if you achieved it. And you'll know how your promotion fared versus the…
4 online appliance retailers rated for the best overall online experience across 150 mobile and desktop touchpoints on the customer journey
Simple Usablity recently reviewed the UX from 4 leading e-commerce sites (Currys, Argos, Appliances Online and Appliances Direct), to find out how they are focusing on the customer experience. The companies were assessed across 120 touchpoints along the customer journey from homepage to checkout, and 30 touchpoints to rate their mobile experience.
PET Assessment - Persuasion, Emotion and Trust
Retailers were assessed on this and other criteria including social proof, salience and gamification. Appliances Online ranked the highest on 'Emotion', Currys on 'Salience' (how they influence what visitors pay attention to and how they interpret the meaningfulness of the information) and Argos on 'Social Proof' (customer reviews and ratings).
Mobile Strategy
All three retailers, except Appliances Online were evaluated across 30…
How to use personalised product recommendations to increase Ecommerce sales
The importance of effective product recommendations cannot be ignored. When done correctly they can heavily contribute to the success of a website, both by increasing the quantity and the size of orders being placed.
Studies of personalisation have revealed that, when recommendations are made intelligently, those products being recommended can enjoy conversion rates over 900% higher than sitewide averages. Amazon have famously leveraged this technique to attract a huge customer base and vast revenues - a look at their homepage will reveal a site committed to personalising its shopping experience around the needs of each and every individual customer.
Today, the importance of website personalisation as a method for boosting conversion rates is recognised by most digital professionals. An Econsultancy report recently named website personalisation as 2014's top digital priority by…
When businesses use eye tracking data to help them design their website they could be missing vital information about their web visitors
Eye tracking studies are undoubtedly useful. Let’s get that fact out-of-the-way first. These specialist studies show exactly where people look on web pages and as a result web designers can ensure that specific elements are positioned for maximum visibility. But are these studies as valuable as they might seem? In this article I shall explain why eye tracking studies have limitations which companies should consider when they are building their websites. What you’ll discover in this article is:
How eye tracking works
What eye tracking tells you
What eye tracking does not tell you
The major flaw with eye tracking
Filling in the gaps of eye tracking
The place of eye tracking in marketing
How eye tracking works
Eye tracking can be performed in various ways, but generally small cameras track the movement of the pupils as…
Better usability testing for websites and apps: the top 10 mistakes to avoid
Done well, usability testing enables organisations to validate ideas and designs for websites and applications with real-world users, helping increase engagement, satisfaction and conversions. But executing a successful user testing strategy brings with it numerous challenges and potential hazards. Think about your redesign and conversion optimisation projects. Are you at risk of committing any common testing mistakes?
Introduction to the value of usability testing
Research from the IEEE has found that fixing problems with software once development’s already begun is twice as expensive as resolving them before development commences.
Conducting lab-based usability testing that provides valuable insight into how users perceive and interact with your site or application before your project goes live can, therefore, deliver significant returns; in fact, it’s been found that for every dollar a company invests to increase usability it receives $10-$100 in benefits, and wins customer satisfaction…
