Why most retailers aren’t making e-mail messages crystal clear
Despite the growing use of e-mail as a marketing tool by online retailers, many web merchants still need to improve how effectively they are branding their intended merchandising message, according to the results of a new survey from Silverpop.
The e-marketing services company recently analyzed the e-mail correspondence of about 175 web merchants. "There were a few, and thankfully a very few, companies that implemented practices generally considered to be less than optimal," says Elaine O`Gorman, vice president of strategy for Silverpop. "For example, most marketers are well aware of the importance of strong branding. But not all of the e-mails reviewed in the study employed fairly basic branding practices."
Silverpop`s e-mail study found that while most campaigns utilized best practices to attract attention, a surprising percentage of web merchants could do much more to improve their messaging and creative efforts.
For example, clear and consistent branding is important, O`Gorman says, and starts with the "from" field, where a brand name can go a long way to ensuring a message is opened. Yet 8% of the e-mails reviewed in Silverpop`s study showed an e-mail address in the "from" field instead of text showing the company`s name. 9% of the e-mails studied also didn`t position the company logo in a prominent, above-the-fold position. A few even buried the logo at the bottom, the Silverpop study says.
"Sometimes you see e-mail designs and you just have to think the retailer is using the same art department that creates its print ads to design e-mails," O`Gorman says. "Logos at the bottom right hand corner of a print ad can work. That position in an e-mail, requiring the recipient to scroll down, is not conducive to solid branding."
Consistent layout designs can also reinforce branding. The Silverpop study found most retailers (43%) used a post card style format, while 17% added columns or rows below a single pane of images and 14% used a long column of product photos and text. Surprisingly, of the companies that sent more than one e-mail during the course of a month, 56% changed formats, Silverpop says.
"While there`s a tremendous amount of science and technology powering the delivery of sophisticated, targeted e-mails, the creative elements of persuasive campaigns are ultimately what separate average return of investments from highly successful e-mail campaigns," O`Gorman says.
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