The one way to ensure an email survey is abandoned is to be thoughtless in your choice of language. Your returns from email marketing campaigns will help you to ensure the questions do not patronise or confuse the subject, and a little care will negate the chances of being ambiguous. To put it another way, … READ MORE »
Many managers are put off surveys, and for good reason you might think. Aren’t they hard work? Isn’t the return rate too low for dependable results? And surely email marketing software gives the same data but much quicker. All these objections can be overcome. I received an email from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) asking … READ MORE »
With the benefits of email marketing software allied to all but instant returns, you might think that postal surveys have had their day. All one has to do is consider the disadvantages. 1/ They are, most assuredly slow. It will be at least weeks, maybe even months, before sufficient returns arrive. The results could not … READ MORE »
Is there any point to postal surveys? Email marketing fits in perfectly with the modern requirement for instant gratification. Press the button to send and there's not enough time for a cup of tea before the data starts arriving. The particular disadvantage of postal surveys is that the results are historical. The gap between the … READ MORE »
If you want to succeed in email marketing, one truth stands above all others: listen to your subscribers. Data from your campaigns is valuable — open rates, click-throughs, conversions — but it only shows how people reacted to what you’ve already done. If you stop there, you’re flying blind. Your competitors are running the same … READ MORE »
Segmentation isn't a luxury in email marketing – it's the backbone of relevance, personalisation, and ultimately, results. Yes, we've covered the basics – location, age, gender, etc. – but if you want email campaigns that actually perform, you'll need to go deeper. This is where the word "could" earns its place in the title. There's one one-size-fits-all approach. Your segmentation … READ MORE »
If you're in ecommerce, you've likely seen it happen: the algorithm sends a curious browser to your product page, they nose around, check out your glowing testimonials – and then head to Google to see what people really think. This is exactly what happened to me when I got bombarded with Facebook ads from a camping gear … READ MORE »
Wondering how responding to online comments protects your email marketing campaigns? Picture this: you've spent weeks crafting the perfect email campaign. The design is sharp. The offer irresistible. The subject line impossible to ignore. But then… a potential subscriber Googles your brand — and what they find isn't your campaign, but a string of unanswered complaints and … READ MORE »
Are online feedback forms worth all the effort? After all, only a small percentage of your customers will be bothered to complete it. That’s a lot of anticipation to get a few desultory dribs and drabs returned. The answer is ‘Yes’, but only if you accept that you are unlikely to be overwhelmed by responses, … READ MORE »
Simply knowing that a contact is subscribed isn’t going to be good enough in the post-GDPR world; consent will need to be specific. If you are already using a signup form that contains an opt-in checkbox with, “Yes, sign me up”, then that’s going to cease being the gold standard on May 25. In preparation … READ MORE »