Email Audit: the perfect way to start 09
OK, so you know that email marketing is going to be huge in 09. As part of your strategy to achieve a more accountable marketing spend, you’ve assigned some additional resources to the high return channel, and you are preparing for battle, as are your competitors, in the quest to drive sales and retain customer relationships through the economic downturn.
Yes, the Australian email marketing industry is one that will defy the general economy and continue its rapid growth towards an estimated $65 million activity as more marketers latch on to the economic sensibilities of electronic direct marketing.
Email is quickly becoming the central driving component of integrated campaigns, and the channel is credited with the highest rates of conversions and return on spend.
Email is quickly becoming the central driving component of integrated campaigns, and the channel is credited with the highest rates of conversions and return on spend. So it is with good reason that marketers up their email activity in 09, but not without consequences for you and your email plan.
More marketers spending more money on more emails clearly means more competition and more noise in the inbox. Now, more than ever before, your email campaigns need to stand out more, get more attention and get read more often. They need to be more targeted, more relevant, more engaging and more nurturing of the customer relationship. Your policies and list management need to be more strict than last year and more tightly regulated.
I think I’m begging to sound like a more-on! Moron aside, smart email marketers are looking to get more out of their email activities, despite the inevitable dilution of the channel. So, how can you set about improving your email results in 09 rather than letting them slide? It all starts by stepping back and having a good long hard look at where you currently are. Enter the email audit.
While immersed in the art and science that is email marketing, it’s all too easy to consistently focus your attention on specific metrics or creative variations of your campaigns. It’s too easy to be blinded by the numbers and not see the real issues. An email audit is a process that takes a holistic look at your entire campaign creation and execution process. It looks at what is currently working, what can be improved and how efficient the process is. It analyses the data you’ve been collecting and puts it in perspective against your creative, targeting and list management strategies. It looks at your ongoing use of analytics and metrics. Most of all, it provides you with a solid benchmark of where you currently are, and an energising roadmap towards improving your results.
Many email programs, perhaps yours included, began as a side activity without a specific budget, and only receiving ad-hoc attention when significant issues arose. Now that email is big business, you might have a specific line budget and dedicated resources, but your overall process remains infected by legacy. Conducting an email audit can often uncover simple to fix issues you never knew even existed. Generally an email audit will investigate key concerns including security, deliverability, reputation, effectiveness, content and creative quality and process efficiency, with the depth of each area of investigation dependent on the complexity of your email program.
Could an email audit give you the perspective you need to really kick start your email success in 09? Contact Enso for more information.
