Many retailers are flunking e-mail 101, a Silverpop survey finds

Web retailers will get better e-mail marketing results if they take the time to personalize their messages and make a few other relatively simple changes, according to new research from Silverpop, an e-mail marketing services company.

As part of a three-part series on web retailers and their e-mail marketing programs, Silverpop analyzed the e-mail promotions and messages of about 175 merchants, including Crate & Barrel, Neiman Marcus, JC Penney, CompUSA and others.

The second part of the study found that 95% of web retailers don’t take the time to personalize the messages they send to their opt-in e-mail lists. A total of 74% of retailers also didn`t ask recipients to forward the merchant’s e-mail to a friend.

“Most retailers studied failed at the most basic and easiest way to reach out and connect with customers: personalization,” the study says.

The study also found that only 25% of retailers included discount offers in their outgoing messages. “When it came to offering reasons why customers should make a purchase, one in four retailers offered discount offers in their e-mails, but slightly more (27%) offered no special reasons to buy at all,” the study says.

To get better results, retailers should take their e-mail programs to a more aggressive and results-oriented level, says Silverpop CEO Bill Nussey. “Too many retailers fail to capitalize on the unique persuasiveness of the medium obtainable through rich content and highly personalized dynamic content and as a result suffer deliverability issues, poor brand image and sub-optimal returns,” he says.